Editing Television pilot

{{short description|Trial episode made to sell a television series}}
{{For|a list|List of television episodes titled Pilot}}
{{Globalize|article|United States|date=September 2022}}
A '''television pilot''' (also known as a '''pilot''' or a '''pilot episode''' and sometimes marketed as a '''tele-movie''') in [[Television in the United Kingdom|United Kingdom]] and [[Television in the United States|United States television]], is a standalone [[episode]] of a [[television series]] that is used to sell a show to a [[television network]] or other distributor. A pilot is created to be a testing ground to gauge whether a series will be successful. It is, therefore, a test episode for the intended television series, an early step in the series development, much like [[pilot studies]] serve as precursors to the start of larger activity.

A successful pilot may be used as the [[series premiere]], the first aired episode of a new show, but sometimes a series' pilot may be aired as a later episode or never aired at all. Some series are commissioned straight-to-series without a pilot (although an increasing number of such series have their first episodes [[List of television episodes titled Pilot|titled "Pilot"]]). On some occasions, pilots that were not ordered to series may also be broadcast as a standalone television film or special.

A "[[#Backdoor pilot|backdoor pilot]]" is an episode of an existing series that heavily features supporting characters or guest stars in previously unseen roles. Its purpose is to introduce the characters to an audience before the creators decide on whether or not they intend to pursue a [[Spinoff (media)|spin-off]] series with those characters.

Television networks use pilots to determine whether an entertaining concept can be successfully realized and whether the expense of additional episodes is justified. A pilot is best thought of as a [[prototype]] of the show that is to follow, because elements often change from pilot to series. ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' estimates that only a little over a quarter of all pilots made for American television proceed to the series stage.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=slanguage_result&slang=busted+pilot&x=0&y=0 |title=''Variety'' defines "busted pilot" |publisher=Variety.com |access-date=2016-03-05}}</ref>

==Pilot season==
Each summer, the major [[Television in the United States|American]] [[broadcast television networks]] – including [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], [[CBS]], [[NBC]], [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]], [[PBS]], [[Univision]], and [[Telemundo]] – receive about 500 brief [[elevator pitch]]es each for new shows from writers and producers. That fall, each network requests scripts for about 70 pitches and, the following January, orders about 20 pilot episodes.{{r|chozick20110512}} Actors come to [[Los Angeles]] from within the area or elsewhere in the United States and around the world to [[audition]] for them. By spring, actors are cast and production crews assembled to produce the pilots.<ref>{{cite web|last=Nocutt|first=Tamara-Lee|title=A Survival Guide to Pilot Season|date=2 February 2011 |url=http://www.backstage.com/bso/advice/a-survival-guide-to-pilot-season-1005019592.story|publisher=Backstage|access-date=2 February 2011}}</ref>

Casting is a lengthy and very competitive process. For the 1994 pilot of ''[[Friends]]'', casting director [[Ellie Kanner]] reviewed more than 1,000 actors' [[head shot#Entertainment industry|head shots]] for each of the six main roles. She summoned 75 actors for each role to audition, and she then chose some to audition again for the show's creators. Of this group, the creators chose some to audition again for [[Warner Bros. Television]] executives, who chose the final group of a few actors to audition for NBC executives; as they decide whether to purchase a pilot, network executives generally have ultimate authority over casting.<ref name="kolbert19940406">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/06/arts/finding-the-absolutely-perfect-actor-the-high-stress-business-of-casting.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all | title=Finding the Absolutely Perfect Actor: The High-Stress Business of Casting | work=The New York Times | date=1994-04-06 | access-date=May 1, 2012 | author=Kolbert, Elizabeth}}</ref> Since the networks work on the same shared schedule, directors, actors and others must choose the best pilot to work for with the hopes that the network will choose it. If it is not chosen, they have wasted their time and money and may have missed out on better career opportunities.{{r|lots2007}}

Once they have been produced, the pilots are presented to studio and network executives, and in some cases to test audiences; at this point, each pilot receives various degrees of feedback and is gauged on its potential to advance from one pilot to a full-fledged series. Using this feedback, and factoring in the current status and future potential of their existing series, each network chooses about four to eight pilots for series status.{{r|chozick20110512}} The new series are then presented at the networks' annual [[Upfront (advertising)|upfronts]] in May, where they are added to network schedules for the following season (either for a fall or "mid-season" winter debut), and at the upfront presentation, the shows are shown to potential advertisers and the networks sell the majority of the advertising for their new pilots.<ref name=lots2007>Lotz, Amanda D. (2007) ''The Television Will Be Revolutionized''. New York, NY: New York University Press. p. 103-104</ref> The survival odds for these new series are low, as typically only one or two of them survive for more than one season.<ref name="chozick20110512">{{cite news | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703864204576315240324571266 | title=The Math of a Hit TV Show | work=The Wall Street Journal | date=2011-05-12 | access-date=May 12, 2011 | author=Chozick, Amy}}</ref>

==Types of pilots==
===Premise pilot===
A premise pilot introduces the characters and their world to the viewer; it is structured so that it can be run as the first episode of the series if substantial changes are not made between the pilot and [[greenlight]]ing. In the event the changes being made are so substantial that they would cause confusion to viewers, the pilot (or portions of it) is often re-shot, recast, or rewritten to fit the rest of the series.

The pilot for ''[[Gilligan's Island]]'', for instance, showed the castaways when they had just become stranded on the island. However, three roles were recast before going to series, with the characters either modified or completely altered to the point where the pilot could no longer be used as a regular episode. As a result, [[CBS]] aired ''Gilligan's'' second produced episode, which opened with the same scene of the characters just stranded on the island (showing only those not re-cast), first; the story from the pilot from that point onward was largely reworked into a flashback episode which aired later (with several key scenes re-shot). Even ''Gilligan's'' theme song, which was originally done as a calypso number, was rewritten and recomposed to be completely different.

Another example is [[Star Trek: The Original Series|''Star Trek'']], where footage from the unaired original pilot, "[[The Cage (Star Trek: The Original Series)|The Cage]]", was incorporated into the two-part episode, "[[The Menagerie (Star Trek: The Original Series)|The Menagerie]]", with the story justification that it depicts events that happened several years earlier. Conversely, the second pilot for ''Star Trek'', "[[Where No Man Has Gone Before]]", aired as the third episode of the show's first season, even though it included some casting and costuming differences that set it apart from the preceding episodes.

If a network orders a two-hour pilot, it will usually broadcast it as a [[television film]] to recoup some of its costs even if the network chooses to not order the show.<ref name="lowry20000508">{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-may-08-ca-27673-story.html | title=The Saga of O.J.'s Last, Lost Pilot | access-date=April 5, 2011 | author=Lowry, Brian | date=May 8, 2000 |work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> Sometimes, a made-for-TV-movie is filmed as a pilot, but because of actors not being available, the series intro is reshot for the first aired episode. The original ''[[Cagney & Lacey]]'' movie co-starred [[Loretta Swit]] (of ''[[M*A*S*H (TV series)|M*A*S*H]]'' fame) as Chris Cagney, but when she could not get out of her contract, they reshot it with [[Meg Foster]], who after the first season was replaced with [[Sharon Gless]]; therefore, the original movie is not considered part of the television series, and is not included in the series collections on DVD. In some cases, this does not hamper broadcast, such as [[Jackie Cooper]] playing the role of Walter Carlson in the TV movie pilot of the 1975 series ''[[The Invisible Man (1975 TV series)|The Invisible Man]]'', but being replaced by [[Craig Stevens (actor)|Craig Stevens]] for the remainder of the series; the pilot is still considered part of the series and released to DVD as such. Likewise, ''The Homecoming: A Christmas Story'' had an almost entirely different cast from the series it was intended to pilot (''[[The Waltons]]''), but both have been rerun for many years.

===Proof of concept===
A [[proof of concept]] pilot usually takes place chronologically further into a series run than a premise pilot, to give network executives a better feel for how a typical episode would appear (since a premise pilot may have to deviate from a typical episode in order to properly introduce characters). ''[[Remington Steele]]'' used both a proof of concept and a premise pilot.<ref>''Steele Loved After All These Years: A Remington Steele Retrospective'', Judith A. Moose (Bear Manor Media, 2007) 28.</ref><ref>Michael Gleason audio commentary "License to Steele," ''Remington Steele,'' season 1, disc 1 (Beverly Hills: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2005).</ref> Proofs of concept were particularly common for [[game show]]s; in such cases, the pilot may be entirely or partially scripted (and thus, due to regulations passed after the [[1950s quiz show scandals]], illegal to broadcast in many jurisdictions) and use fake contestants and "returning champions" to demonstrate those concepts. The adventure series ''[[Lassie (1954 TV series)|Lassie]]'' had both a premise pilot, "The Inheritance", designed specifically to air as the series' first episode, showing how Lassie's series owner, Jeff Miller, came to acquire her; and a proof of concept pilot, "The Well", showcased situations typical to the series, which aired well on into the first season of the series.

===Backdoor pilot===
A backdoor pilot is a film or miniseries that serves as a [[proof of concept]] for a full series,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://complicationsensue.blogspot.com/2005/02/backdoor-pilots.html |title=Alex Epstein on Backdoor Pilots |publisher=Complicationsensue.blogspot.com |date=2005-02-04 |access-date=2016-03-05}}</ref> but may be broadcast on its own even if the full series is not picked up.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=slanguage_result&slang=backdoor+pilot&x=0&y=0 |title=Slanguage Dictionary |publisher=Variety |access-date=2016-03-05}}</ref>  The term may also be used for an episode of an existing television show that serves to introduce a potential or already planned [[Spin-off (media)|spin-off]]. Such backdoor pilots commonly focus on an existing character or characters from the parent series who are to be given their own show.

For example, to introduce ''[[A Different World]]'', built around ''[[The Cosby Show]]'' character Denise Huxtable ([[Lisa Bonet]]), the ''Cosby Show'' episode "[[Hillman (The Cosby Show episode)|Hillman]]" was devoted to the Huxtable family visiting Denise during her freshman year at Hillman College though no characters from the upcoming series were introduced. A 2018 episode of ABC's 1980s-set sitcom ''[[The Goldbergs (2013 TV series)|The Goldbergs]]'', titled "1990-Something", heavily featured teachers who were recurring characters on the series and served as the backdoor pilot to ''[[Schooled (TV series)|Schooled]]'', which debuted in early 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2018/05/the-goldbergs-series-gets-title-first-image-abc-adam-f-goldberg-1202389081/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180512045558/http://deadline.com/2018/05/the-goldbergs-series-gets-title-first-image-abc-adam-f-goldberg-1202389081/|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 12, 2018|title='The Goldbergs' Spinoff Series Gets Title & First Image|first=Denise|last=Petski|date=May 11, 2018}}</ref>

In other cases, an episode of the parent show may focus on one or more guest characters who have not previously appeared in the show. For example, the ''[[JAG (TV series)|JAG]]'' season eight episodes [[NCIS backdoor pilot|"Ice Queen" and "Meltdown"]] introduced the characters for what would become ''[[NCIS (TV series)|NCIS]]'', while the ''NCIS'' season six two-part episode "[[NCIS season 6#ep135|Legend]]" introduced the characters for what would become the ''NCIS'' spin-off series ''[[NCIS: Los Angeles]]'', and the ''NCIS'' season 11 two-part episode "[[NCIS season 11#ep252|Crescent City]]" introduced the characters for what would become ''[[NCIS: New Orleans]]''. ''NCIS: Los Angeles'' itself also included a backdoor pilot for a potential further spin-off – ''NCIS: Red'' – but the series was not picked up.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/ncis-failed-spinoff-ncis-new-orleans.html/|title = 'NCIS:' the Failed Spinoff That Eventually Gave Us 'NCIS: New Orleans'|date = 18 February 2019}}</ref>

Similarly, the backdoor pilot for the television sitcom ''[[Empty Nest]]'' was an episode of ''[[The Golden Girls]]'', which relegated that show's regular stars to supporting characters in an episode devoted to new characters who were introduced as their neighbors. Feedback on the episode resulted in ''Empty Nest'' being extensively reworked before its debut; while the concept and the "living next to the Golden Girls" setting was retained, the series ended up featuring different characters from those in the original ''Golden Girls'' episode.

An 1972 episode of ''[[All in the Family]]'', "[[Maude (All in the Family episode)|Maude]]", centered on the Bunkers visiting their cousin Maude Findlay at Maude's house in Tuckahoe. [[Norman Lear]] was so impressed he wanted to make Maude as a separate show. ''[[Maude (TV series)|Maude]]'' would debut 5 months after the episode aired, in September of 1972.

An 2011 episode of the [[TV Land]] original sitcom ''[[Hot in Cleveland]]'' focused on the wedding of the character Elka (played by [[Betty White]]). Boyce Ballentine ([[Cedric the Entertainer]]), an R&B singer-turned-preacher, was introduced as the pastor for the wedding, with the intention of Boyce eventually having his own series on the network. That came to fruition in 2012, when TV Land introduced ''[[The Soul Man]]''.<ref>{{cite web|author=Pavan -- SitcomsOnline.com |url=http://blog.sitcomsonline.com/2012/04/tv-land-brings-back-i-love-lucy-in-june.html |title=TV Land Brings Back I Love Lucy in June 2012; Good Morning America's TV Reunion Blowout: One Day at a Time, Laverne & Shirley, and More – SitcomsOnline.com News Blog |publisher=Blog.sitcomsonline.com |date=April 23, 2012 |access-date=June 7, 2012}}</ref>

A historically important venue for backdoor pilots has been the [[anthology series]]. They have variously been used as a place to show work still being actively considered for pickup, and as a venue for completed work already rejected by the network. With the decline of anthology series, backdoor pilots have increasingly been seen as episodes of existing series,<ref>[https://www.avclub.com/tonight-s-special-guests-the-cast-of-a-whole-new-show-1798219928 "Tonight's special guests? The cast of a whole new show!: 21 TV episodes that tried and failed to spawn spin-offs"], from The AV Club</ref> one-off [[television film]]s, and [[miniseries]]. As backdoor pilots have either failed to sell or are awaiting audience reception from its one-time broadcast, networks will not advertise them as pilots, only promoting them as a "special" or "movie". It is thus often unclear to initial viewers of backdoor pilots that they are seeing a pilot of any kind, unless they have been privy to knowledgeable media coverage of the piece.

Not all backdoor pilots lead to a series. The ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' episode "[[Assignment: Earth]]" was a backdoor pilot for a spin-off of the same name, featuring a human named [[Gary Seven]] (played by [[Robert Lansing (actor)|Robert Lansing]]), taken from Earth's far past and raised by aliens to be sent to watch over Earth in the 1960s; while the series was not picked up, its characters have appeared in numerous non-canon ''Trek'' productions set in the 20th century.<ref name="Dutton">{{cite web|last1=Dutton|first1=Scott|title=Assignment: Earth|url=http://www.assignmentearth.ca/|website=assignmentearth.ca|access-date=28 February 2016}}</ref> The third season two-part episode "Terra Firma" of ''[[Star Trek: Discovery]]'' is generally regarded as a backdoor pilot for a series featuring the character Philippa Georgiou.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://meaww.com/amp/star-trek-discovery-season-3-episode-10-philippa-georgiou-guardian-of-forever-cbs-all-access |title='Star Trek: Discovery' Season 3 Episode 10: Where was Philippa Georgiou sent by the Guardian of Forever? | date=2020-12-17 | website=meaww.com}}</ref> The final two episodes of the CBS sitcom ''[[Green Acres]]'' (1965–71) were both backdoor pilots. With CBS being pressured by advertisers to develop more urban-themed shows (ultimately at the expense of the network's [[Rural purge|rural-themed programs]]), ''Green Acres'' creator [[Jay Sommers]] was given an opportunity to develop two series ideas, both of which were rejected.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.metv.com/stories/the-last-two-episodes-of-green-acres-weren-t-really-episodes-of-green-acres | title=The last two episodes of Green Acres aren't really episodes of Green Acres | date=2020-09-09 | website=metv.com |access-date=2020-12-16}}</ref>

ABC attempted to create a spin-off of ''[[Charlie's Angels]]'' in 1980 called ''Toni's Boys''.<ref>Condon, Jack and David Hofstede, ''Charlie's Angels Casebook,'' Pomegranate Press, Ltd., 2000 pgs. 254=256</ref> The backdoor pilot that aired near the end of season four was simply titled "Toni's Boys" and guest starred [[Barbara Stanwyck]] as Antonia "Toni" Blake, a wealthy widow and friend of Charlie Townsend's who ran a detective agency she inherited from her late husband. The agency was staffed by three handsome male detectives: Cotton Harper ([[Stephen Shortridge]]), Bob Sorensen ([[Bob Seagren]]), and Matt Parrish (Bruce Bauer). The three took direction from Toni and solved crimes in a manner similar to the Angels. The show was not picked up as a regular series for the following season.<ref>Di Rocco, Gian-Luca. ''The Angel Factor: A Critical Appraisal of [[Charlie's Angels]] 1976-2019'', Independently published, 2021.</ref>

The series finale of ''[[One Day at a Time (1975 TV series)|One Day at a Time]]'' in May 1984 served as a backdoor pilot to a spin-off featuring [[Pat Harrington Jr.]]'s character Dwayne Schneider in a new setting, but CBS ultimately passed on the potential series.<ref>[http://tvland.tumblr.com/post/21786131504/what-you-didnt-know-about-one-day-at-a-time "What you didn't know about One Day At A Time,"]''TV Land'', 25 April 2012.</ref> Similarly, the 1988 two-part series finale of ''[[The Facts of Life (TV series)|The Facts of Life]]'' ("The Beginning of the End" and "The Beginning of the Beginning") also served as a backdoor pilot that focused on the decision Blair Warner ([[Lisa Whelchel]]) made in using her trust fund to purchase the financially troubled Eastland Academy. Blair became headmistress and opened enrollment to male students for the first time in Eastland history. Up-and-coming actors [[Juliette Lewis]], [[Mayim Bialik]], [[Seth Green]], and [[Meredith Scott Lynn]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/bp/facts-of-life-dvd-box-set-trivia-202115869.html |title='The Facts of Life': 23 Things You Never Knew About the Classic Teen Sitcom |first1=Kimberly |last1=Potts |date=2015-01-13 |access-date=2020-04-08| website=yahoo.com}}</ref> were featured as some of Eastland's new students. NBC did not pick up the new series.

''[[The Dukes of Hazzard]]'' aired two episodes, named "Jude Emery" and "Mason Dixon's Girls", which served as a backdoor pilot complete with the Dukes cast interacting with the new characters. Ultimately, CBS passed on the two series in favor of a [[Enos (TV series)|series]] starring Hazzard County deputy [[Enos Strate]].

A pair of ''[[Married... with Children]]'' episodes aired as backdoor pilots that would not be picked up. The first, ''Radio Free Trumaine'', featured [[Keri Russell]] as a college student who winds up working at the campus radio station, with [[David Garrison]] set to reprise his role as Steve Rhoades. The other was ''Enemies'', which was intended as an antithesis to ''[[Friends]]'' in the same way the flagship ''Married... with Children'' was for ''[[The Cosby Show]]''. The pilot featured a guest appearance by [[Alan Thicke]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://splitsider.com/2011/06/the-lost-roles-of-married%E2%80%A6-with-children|title=The Lost Roles of Married… with Children - Splitsider|work=Splitsider|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214102028/http://splitsider.com/2011/06/the-lost-roles-of-married%E2%80%A6-with-children/|archive-date=2014-12-14}}</ref>

In June 2010, [[Lifetime (TV network)|Lifetime]] pursued a spinoff procedural drama of ''[[Army Wives]]'' featuring [[Brigid Brannagh]]'s character, police officer Pamela Moran.<ref name="spin off1">{{cite web |last=Andreeva |first=Nellie |title='Army Wives' Spinoff Gets Green Light for Embedded Pilot & Taps Gabrielle Union |url=https://deadline.com/2010/06/army-wives-spinoff-gets-green-light-for-embedded-pilot-taps-gabrielle-union-46631/ |website=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |access-date=August 6, 2012 |date=September 1, 2010 }}</ref> The fourth-season episode "Murder in Charleston" was intended to serve as a backdoor pilot for the proposed spin-off.<ref name="spin off1" /> The episode sees Moran teaming up with an Atlanta-based detective on a murder that is related to a case she has been working on for the past three years. At the end of the episode, the detective encourages Moran to take a detective's exam, and to look for her if she is in Atlanta.<ref>{{cite episode |title=Murder in Charleston |credits=Writers: Zimmerman, Bruce; Mitchell, T. D.; Director: Liddi-Brown, Alison |series=Army Wives |network=Lifetime |airdate=August 15, 2010 |season=4 |number=17 }}</ref> In September 2010, however, Lifetime declined to pick up the project to series.<ref>{{cite web |last=Andreeva |first=Nellie |title=CABLE NOTES: 'Memphis Beat' Looks Good for Renewal, 'Army Wives' Spinoff A No-Go, 'Facing Kate' Order Trimmed |url=https://deadline.com/2010/09/cable-notes-memphis-beat-looks-good-for-renewal-army-wives-spinoff-a-no-go-facing-kate-order-trimmed-64539/ |website=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=August 6, 2012 |date=September 1, 2010 }}</ref>

In 2013, [[The CW]] announced there was a spin-off of their genre hit ''[[Supernatural (American TV series)|Supernatural]]'' in the works. The 20th episode of [[Supernatural (season 9)|season nine]] titled "Bloodlines", served as a back-door pilot, revealed in January 2014 to have been titled ''[[Supernatural: Bloodlines]]''. The series was set to explore the "clashing hunter and monster cultures in Chicago". The show was not picked up by the CW for the 2014–2015 season due to dismal overall reception by viewers. The ''[[Gossip Girl]]'' episode "[[Valley Girls]]" was supposed to be a backdoor pilot for a [[prequel]] spin-off series starring [[Brittany Snow]] as a young [[Lily van der Woodsen]], however the show was not picked up. "[[The Farm (The Office)|The Farm]]" was an episode of [[NBC]]'s ''[[The Office (American TV series)|The Office]]'' that was supposed to act as a backdoor pilot for a spin-off series starring [[Rainn Wilson]] and focusing on his character, [[Dwight Schrute]].<ref name="variety">{{cite web |url=http://weblogs.variety.com/thevote/2012/07/greg-daniels.html |title=Greg Daniels and the Future of 'The Office' |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |publisher=[[Penske Business Media]] |first=Jon |last=Weisman |date=July 5, 2012 |access-date=July 12, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120709092927/http://weblogs.variety.com/thevote/2012/07/greg-daniels.html |archive-date=July 9, 2012 }}</ref> Upon review, the spin-off was not picked up by NBC<ref name="eonline">{{cite web |last=Bricker |first=Tierney |title=Rainn Wilson's Office Spinoff, The Farm, Not Picked Up by NBC |url=http://www.eonline.com/news/358277/rainn-wilson-s-office-spinoff-the-farm-not-picked-up-by-nbc |publisher=[[E! News|E! Online]] |access-date=October 30, 2012 |date=October 30, 2012 }}</ref> and the original version was never aired; instead it was reworked with additional material shot later, as the original version contained "certain aspects that were appropriate for a pilot of a new show".<ref>{{cite web |last=Roots |first=Kimberly |title=''The Office'' Boss: Retooled Spin-Off Episode Will Still Air – and Change Up the Dwangela Plan |url=http://tvline.com/2012/12/26/the-office-season-9-the-farm-episode-dwight-angela/ |publisher=TVLine |access-date=December 26, 2012 |date=December 26, 2012 }}</ref>

The [[Arrow (TV series)|''Arrow'']] episode [[The Scientist (Arrow)|"The Scientist]]" served as a backdoor pilot for the spinoff series [[The Flash (2014 TV series)|''The Flash'']], introducing Barry Allen as a CSI searching for super-powered people in an attempt to find his mother's murderer.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Mitovich |first1=Michael Ausiello,Matt Webb |last2=Ausiello |first2=Michael |last3=Mitovich |first3=Matt Webb |date=2013-09-13 |title=Arrow Casts Glee Villain as The Flash |url=https://tvline.com/2013/09/13/arrow-the-flash-grant-gustin-cast-season-2/ |access-date=2022-07-20 |website=TVLine |language=en-US}}</ref> This episode also created the [[Arrowverse]], a [[shared universe]] of interconnected [[DC Comics]] superhero TV series. The "[[Heroes Join Forces]]" crossover was a two-part backdoor pilot for another spinoff series set in the Arrowverse called ''[[Legends of Tomorrow]]'', featuring a team of heroes and villains originally introduced in ''Arrow'' and ''The Flas''h. The penultimate episode of ''Arrow'', "[[Green Arrow & The Canaries]]" served as an unsuccessful backdoor pilot for a [[Green Arrow and the Canaries (TV series)|series of the same name]]. ''[[The 100 (TV series)|The 100]]'' episode ''"''[[The 100 (TV series)#Cancelled prequel series|Anaconda]]''"'' also served as an unsuccessful backdoor pilot for a prequel series.

===Put pilot===
A put pilot is a pilot that the network has agreed to broadcast either as a special or series; if it does not, it will have to pay substantial monetary penalties to the studio. This usually guarantees that the pilot will be picked up by the network.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/static-pages/slanguage-dictionary/#p |title=Slanguage Dictionary |date=20 February 2013 |publisher=Variety.com |access-date=2021-04-06}}</ref>

===Unsold pilot===
An unsold pilot or "busted pilot" is a produced episode that is never broadcast or made into a television series. ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' estimates that only a little over a quarter of all pilots made for American television proceed to the series stage.<ref name=":0" />

===Test run===
Instead of a single pilot episode, an alternative is a ''test run'', a small number of episodes that air as a short-run series with the potential to go into full production if successful. This is particularly common among shows that are intended to be [[strip programming|stripped]] (airing five days a week).

Talk shows occasionally use test runs. [[Metromedia]] and its successor [[Fox Corporation]] were particularly associated with using test runs for talk shows, with examples including ''[[The Wendy Williams Show]]'',<ref>{{cite web|title=Fox O&Os to Bring The Wendy Williams Show to TV|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/programming/fox-oos-bring-wendy-williams-show-tv/32182|first=Paige|last=Albiniak|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]|publisher=[[Cahners Business Information]]|date=April 21, 2008|access-date=June 24, 2015}}</ref> ''The Huckabee Show'' (a spin-off of ''[[Huckabee]]'' that aired for six weeks in summer 2010),<ref>{{cite web |last=Weprin |first=Alex |url=http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/generalities/mike_huckabee_talks_syndicated_show_as_bob_barker_comes_on_down_168762.asp |title=Mike Huckabee Talks Syndicated Show as Bob Barker 'Comes On Down' |publisher=Mediabistro.com |date=July 26, 2010 |access-date=September 4, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100730105355/http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/generalities/mike_huckabee_talks_syndicated_show_as_bob_barker_comes_on_down_168762.asp |archive-date=July 30, 2010 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> the final version of ''[[The Jerry Lewis Show#Syndicated version|The Jerry Lewis Show]]'',<ref>{{cite news |last1=O'Connor |first1=John J. |title=TV Review: Jerry Lewis Talk Show |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/13/arts/tv-review-jerry-lewis-talk-show.html |access-date=2020-05-13 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 13, 1984 |page=C26}}</ref> and ''The Kilborn File'', an unsuccessful comeback vehicle for [[Craig Kilborn]].<ref>[https://www.nexttv.com/news/fox-test-kilborn-seven-markets-summer-36447 Fox to Test Kilborn in Seven Markets This Summer] ''NextTV'' May 19, 2010</ref>

In 2021, [[Fox Alternative Entertainment]] utilized a [[test market]] approach for its new reality talent competition format ''[[The Big Deal (2021 TV series)|The Big Deal]]'', producing a season of the series for Irish broadcaster [[Virgin Media One]] with the intent to use it as a pitch for Fox and other broadcasters.<ref>{{Cite web |last=White |first=Peter |date=2021-09-08 |title=Fox Looks To Ireland To Test Non-Scripted Formats That It Can Bring Back To U.S. |url=https://deadline.com/2021/09/fox-ireland-the-big-deal-1234829153/ |access-date=2021-09-21 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref>

====10/90====
In a 10/90 production model, a network broadcasts ten episodes of a new television program without ordering a pilot first. If the episodes achieve a predetermined ratings level, the network orders 90 more to bring the total to [[100 episodes]], immediately enough to [[rerun]] the show in [[broadcast syndication|syndication]]. Series that used the 10/90 model include [[Tyler Perry]]'s ''[[Tyler Perry's House of Payne|House of Payne]]'', ''[[Meet the Browns (TV series)|Meet the Browns]]'', ''[[Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse|For Better or Worse]]'', [[Debmar-Mercury]]'s ''[[Anger Management (TV series)|Anger Management]]'',<ref name="rose20130116">{{cite news | url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/anger-managements-charlie-sheen-tvs-412160 | title=TV's $200 Million Charlie Sheen Experiment | work=The Hollywood Reporter | date=2013-01-16 | access-date=2 October 2013 | author=Rose, Lacey}}</ref> and ''[[Are We There Yet? (TV series)|Are We There Yet?]]''. [[Byron Allen]]'s sitcoms followed a similar model, with ''[[Mr. Box Office]]'' and ''[[The First Family (TV series)|The First Family]]'' airing 26-episode first seasons with the intention of following them up with a full 104-episode order if successful; both series failed to reach the threshold Allen sought, though they remained in limited production (three to four new episodes a year, mixed in with the first season) for a few years afterward.

====Other examples====
An earlier variant was the 13-episode pilot run; in the late 1980s and early 1990s, [[Disney Channel]] notably gave a 13-episode pilot order to two series it never picked up, but would go on to longer runs on other networks: ''[[Good Morning, Miss Bliss]]'' (which also had a traditional pilot on [[NBC]] and would be revived by that network as ''[[Saved by the Bell]]'') and the Canadian drama ''Hillside'' (which would move to [[Nickelodeon]], Disney Channel's primary rival, and air as ''[[Fifteen (TV series)|Fifteen]]'').

==As distinguished from the series premiere==
{{Main|Series premiere}}
A successful pilot is often used as the [[series premiere]], the first aired episode of a new show, or it may be aired as a later episode or never aired at all. For the Canadian supernatural drama ''[[Lost Girl]]'', the pilot that sold the series to [[Showcase (Canadian TV channel)|Showcase]], "[[List of Lost Girl episodes#ep8|Vexed]]", was used as the eighth episode of the first series.<ref>{{cite web|last=Killingsworth|first=Melanie|title=Lost Girl: How 'Vexed' works as the perfect pilot |url=http://mehlsbells.wordpress.com/2013/06/06/lost-girl-how-vexed-works-as-the-perfect-pilot/|date=June 6, 2013}}</ref> In the case of ''[[Firefly (TV series)|Firefly]]'', the original pilot ("Serenity") which was intended to serve as the series premiere was rejected by the network, and a new first episode, "Train Job", was shot specifically for broadcast.<ref>Whedon, ''Firefly: the complete series: "Train Job" commentary'', track 1</ref>

Sometimes, too, viewers will assign the word "pilot" to a work that represented the first appearances of characters and situations later employed by a series – even if the work was not initially intended as a pilot for the series. A good example of this is "Love and the Television Set" (later retitled "Love and the Happy Days" for syndication), an episode of ''[[Love, American Style]]'' that featured a version of the Cunningham family. It was in fact a failed pilot for the proposed 1972 series ''New Family in Town'', but was recycled as a successful pilot for 1974's ''[[Happy Days]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sitcomsonline.com/loveamstyle.html |title="Love and the Happy Days" at |publisher=Sitcomsonline.com |access-date=2016-03-05}}</ref> So firmly embedded is the notion of it as a ''Happy Days'' pilot, that even series actress [[Erin Moran]] (who did not appear in the episode) viewed it as such, as well as its creator, [[Garry Marshall]], since ''Happy Days'' itself did not have a separate pilot of its own.<ref>[http://www.popcultureaddict.com/close/erinmoran.htm Pop Culture Addict interview with Erin Moran.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928082910/http://www.popcultureaddict.com/close/erinmoran.htm |date=September 28, 2007 }}</ref> In a similar situation, the 1962 pilot ''Howie'' was resurrected 13 years later to form the basis of ''[[The Paul Lynde Show]]''.<ref name=filmthreat>[http://www.filmthreat.com/features/1477/ Film Threat: "The Bootleg Files: The Paul Lynde Show"]</ref>

The original ''[[Star Trek]]'' TV series had two pilots, neither of which became the premiere episode when the series was picked up.  The first, titled ''[[The Cage (Star Trek: The Original Series)|The Cage]],'' didn't sell, but [[Desilu]] head [[Lucille Ball]] convinced [[NBC]] executives to allow shooting of a second pilot, ''[[Where No Man Has Gone Before]],'' which was accepted by the network.  ''The Cage'' was edited and expanded into a two-part story, shown as ''[[The Menagerie (Star Trek: The Original Series)|The Menagerie]].''  This turned out to be an auspicious decision, because of various challenges which bogged down series production during the first season. The second pilot was also shown during that first season, as the third episode.  The only major character to appear in both pilots was [[Spock]].

On other occasions, the pilot is never broadcast on television at all. Viewers of ''[[Temple Houston (TV series)|Temple Houston]]'', for example, would likely have considered "The Twisted Rope" its pilot because "The Man from Galveston" was only publicly exhibited in cinemas four months later. Even then, "The Man from Galveston" had an almost entirely different cast, and its main character was renamed to avoid confusion with the then-ongoing series.

Some television series are commissioned "straight-to-series" where a network orders a season without viewing any produced episodes, hence no episode is considered a pilot. For instance, "[[Invasion of the Bane]]", the first episode of ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'', is not a pilot because the [[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]] had committed to the first season before seeing any filmed content<ref>Cook, Benjamin. "Doing it for the Kids". ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (378) p. 37.</ref> – yet it is routinely referred to as a pilot.<ref>[http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/01/08/180012.php Criswell, Casey. "TV Review: ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''". ''Blog Critics Magazine''. 8 January 2007.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013034250/http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/01/08/180012.php|date=October 13, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Various reviews of ''Invasion of the Bane'' at Behind the Sofa |url=http://www.behindthesofa.org.uk/sarah_jane_adventures/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061531/http://www.behindthesofa.org.uk/sarah_jane_adventures/ |archive-date=2016-03-04 |access-date=2016-03-05 |publisher=Behindthesofa.org.uk}}</ref> The straight-to-series model is usually used when established talent is attached to a series, or it is based on an established property or franchise. [[Amazing Stories (1985 TV series)|''Amazing Stories'' (1985)]] is credited as being one of the first series commissioned without a pilot. The model has seen a rise since [[Netflix]] popularized it.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Adalian|first=Josef|title=Straight to Series: The Networks' Big-Money Bet to Skip Pilots|url=https://www.vulture.com/2013/11/tv-pilots-endangered-species.html|access-date=2022-02-07|website=Vulture|date=27 November 2013 |language=en-us}}</ref>

==Theatrical release==
A number of unsold pilots have been reworked into theatrically-released feature films, including ''[[Lum and Abner Abroad]]'' (1956), which wove together three pilot episodes for a 1956 series that would have starred the comedy duo of [[Lum and Abner]]; ''[[Agent for H.A.R.M.]]'' (1966); and ''[[Mulholland Drive (film)|Mulholland Drive]]'' (2001), which was composed of an unsold pilot episode appended with an ending shot specifically for the film. The 1966 film release, ''[[Tarzan and the Trappers]]'' was edited from the unbroadcast pilot of a proposed 1958 ''Tarzan'' series. 

In addition, a number of unsuccessful pilot episodes have been released as [[direct-to-video]] films, including ''[[Belle's Magical World]]'' (1998), ''[[Cruel Intentions 2]]'' (2001) and ''[[Atlantis: Milo's Return]]'' (2003).

On a few occasions, pilots have been released as a theatrical films prior to the debuts of their respective series. Examples include ''[[Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]'', whose pilot was theatrically released during the summer of 1978, prior to its broadcast as the opening episodes of the TV series that fall, and 1979's ''[[Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (film)|Buck Rogers in the 25th Century]]'', released in early 1979, with the series launching in the fall. In both cases there are substantial differences between theatrical and televised version: both BSG and Buck Rogers' theatrical pilots had recurring characters (Baltar and Tiger Man, respectively) killed off, the BSG pilot was extended for television, and the televised version of the ''Buck Rogers'' pilot utilized a different opening credits sequence and featured a newly added epilogue scene intended to lead into the weekly series.

==Use in anthology series==

By the mid-1950s, the practice of television executives of ordering dozens of pilots for proposed television series each year — far more than their networks could possibly broadcast as series — had created a sizable body of unsold pilots that had never aired.<ref name=tvobsecurities19561967>{{cite web |url=https://www.tvobscurities.com/articles/unsold_pilots_on_television_56_66/ |title=UNSOLD PILOTS ON TELEVISION, 1956-1966 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=15 August 2019 |website=tvobscurities.com |publisher=Television Obscurities |access-date= 3 June 2024}}</ref> By 1954, the American [[television industry]] had begun to consider the idea of packaging these unsold pilots in [[anthology series]] and airing them during the summer, providing television networks with a way of both providing fresh programming during the summer rerun season and recouping at least some of the expense of producing them.<ref name=tvobsecurities19561967/>

On June 8, 1956, the ''[[New York Times]]'' reported that the [[American Broadcasting Company]] (ABC) would begin airing a package of unsold pilots that summer under the title ''[[G.E. Summer Originals]]'', adding that "the problem of what to do with 'pilot' or sample films of projected television series that previously have failed to sell has been solved."<ref name=tvobsecurities19561967/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1956/06/08/archives/ge-will-sponsor-tv-series-in-summer-using-previously-unsold-sample.html |title=G.E. Will Sponsor TV Series in Summer Using Previously Unsold 'Sample' Films |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=8 June 1956 |website=[[The New York Times]] |page=37 |access-date= 3 June 2024}}</ref> ''G.E. Summer Originals'' premiered on the evening of July 3, 1956, at exactly the same time as another anthology series of unsold pilots, ''[[Sneak Preview (TV series)|Sneak Preview]]'' on [[NBC]], and these thus became the first two series of unsold pilots to air in the [[United States]].<ref name=tvobsecurities19561967/>

A number of summer anthology series consisting entirely or partly of unsold pilots were broadcast in the United States between 1956 and 1989. These series were:<ref name=tvobsecurities19561967/><ref name=tvobsecurities19671989>{{cite web |url=https://www.tvobscurities.com/articles/unsold_pilots_on_television_67_89/ |title=UNSOLD PILOTS ON TELEVISION, 1967-1989 |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=5 May 2018 |website=tvobscurities.com |publisher=Television Obscurities |access-date= 18 June 2024}}</ref>

* ''[[G.E. Summer Originals]]'' (ABC, 1956)
* ''[[Sneak Preview (TV series)|Sneak Preview]]'' (NBC, 1956)
* ''[[Colgate Theatre (1958 TV series)|Colgate Theatre]]'' (NBC, 1958)
* ''[[Decision (TV series)|Decision]]'' (NBC, 1958)
* ''[[New Comedy Showcase]]'' ([[CBS]], 1960)
* ''[[The Comedy Spot]]'' (CBS, 1960 and 1962)
* ''[[Westinghouse Preview Theatre]]'' (CBS, 1961)
* ''[[Vacation Playhouse]]'' (CBS, 1963–1967)
* ''[[Summer Playhouse (1964 TV series)|Summer Playhouse]]'' (CBS, 1964–1965)
* ''[[Preview Tonight]]'' (ABC, 1966)
* ''[[Summer Fun (TV series)|Summer Fun]]'' (ABC, 1966)
* ''[[Premiere (TV series)|Premiere]]'' (CBS, 1968)
* ''[[Comedy Playhouse (American TV series)|Comedy Playhouse]]'' (CBS, 1971)
* ''[[Just for Laughs (1974 TV series)|Just for Laughs]]'' (ABC, 1974)
* ''[[Comedy Theatre (TV series)|Comedy Theatre]]'' (NBC, 1976 and 1979)
* ''[[Comedy Time]]'' (NBC, 1977)
* ''[[Comedy Theater]]'' (NBC, 1981)
* ''[[CBS Summer Playhouse]]'' (CBS, 1987–1989)

By the mid-1980s, the rise of [[cable television]] outlets had led to an increase of original programming during the summer months and ABC, CBS, and NBC began to experience a decline in summer viewership;<ref name=tvobsecurities19671989/> the launch of [[Fox Broadcasting Company|Fox]] as a fourth major network in 1987 only exacerbated the problem for the former "Big Three" networks.<ref name=tvobsecurities19671989/> Although CBS viewed ''CBS Summer Playouse'' — broadcast during the summers of 1987, 1988, and 1989 — as original programming that addressed this issue, it was the last anthology series of unsold pilots.<ref name=tvobsecurities19671989/> Unsold pilots aired as one-offs occasionally during the 1990s, but then the practice of broadcasting them ended almost entirely.<ref name=tvobsecurities19671989/>

==See also==
* [[Series premiere]]
* [[Season premiere]]
* [[Series finale]]
* [[Season finale]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book | first=Lee | last=Goldberg | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=dRRLDAAAQBAJ | title = Unsold Television Pilots, 1955–1989 | publisher = CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
| year = 2015 | isbn = 9781511590679 | pages = 828pp | no-pp=y }}
* {{cite book | first=Vincent | last=Terrace | url= https://books.google.com/books?id=XxTx1xK-q14C | title = Encyclopedia of Television Pilots, 1937-2012 | publisher = McFarland | year = 2013 | isbn = 9781476602493 | pages = 380pp | no-pp=y }}

==External links==
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/18/arts/television/18minor.html?_r=1 NYTimes: No Smooth Ride on TV Networks' Road to Diversity  (2009)]
* [http://www.tvobscurities.com/articles/unsold_pilots_on_television_56_66/ Television Obscurities – Unsold Pilots on Television, 1956–1966]
* [http://www.tvobscurities.com/articles/unsold_pilots_on_television_67_89/ Television Obscurities – Unsold Pilots on Television, 1967–1989]
* [http://beyourcraft.com/2017/07/27/pilot-season-secrets/ Pilot Season Secrets: Are You Ready?]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Television pilots| ]]
[[Category:Television terminology|Pilot]]