Series premiere

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A series premiere is the first aired installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. In the United States, many series premieres are aired in the fall time or, for mid-season replacements, either in the spring or late winter.

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As distinguished from a pilot

A television series' first episode often originates as a pilot, a standalone episode that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its creation, the pilot is meant to be the testing ground to gauge whether a series will be successful. As such, "Pilot" is overwhelmingly the most common title used for a series premiere. [1]

Sometimes a series' pilot 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, "Vexed", was used as the eighth episode of the first series. [2] In the case of Firefly , the original pilot ("Serenity") was intended to serve as the series premiere but was rejected by the network, and a new first episode, "Train Job", was shot specifically for broadcast. [3]

Other 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. 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) is credited as being one of the first series commissioned without a pilot. The model has seen a rise since Netflix popularized it. [4]

Most watched series premieres in the U.S.

RankShowViewers
(in millions)
RatingDateNetwork
1 A Different World 38.931.3%September 24, 1987 NBC
2 Undercover Boss 38.719.1%February 7, 2010 CBS
3 The Last Precinct 39.7January 26, 1986 NBC
4 Dolly 37.424.7%September 27, 1987 ABC
5 Veronica's Closet 35.07 23.3%September 25, 1997 NBC
6 Twin Peaks 34.6 21.7%April 8, 1990 (two hours) ABC
7 Brothers and Sisters 31.722January 21, 1979 NBC
8 Full House 31.321.7%September 22, 1987 ABC
9 Roseanne 30.823.7%October 18, 1988
10 Grand Slam 30.765January 28, 1990 CBS
11 seaQuest DSV 30.4 (8–10pm)[ citation needed ]17.8 ratingSeptember 12, 1993 NBC
12 Chicken Soup 30.221.8%September 12, 1989 ABC
13 Suddenly Susan 30.1 20.4%September 19, 1996 NBC
14 Caroline in the City 30.020.5%September 21, 1995
15 Delta 30.020.5%September 15, 1992 ABC
16 Dear John 30.019.8%October 6, 1988 NBC
17 The Single Guy 29.119.2September 21, 1995
18 Frasier 28.119.3%September 16, 1993

See also

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References

  1. "The 20 most common/laziest TV episode titles". The Independent. 2017-01-18. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  2. Typaldos, Olivia (2021-07-19). "The Untold Truth Of Lost Girl". Looper.com. Retrieved 2022-03-20.
  3. Whedon, Firefly: the complete series: "Train Job" commentary, track 1
  4. Adalian, Josef (27 November 2013). "Straight to Series: The Networks' Big-Money Bet to Skip Pilots". Vulture. Retrieved 2022-02-07.