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.
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 (1985–1987) is credited as one of the first series to be commissioned without a pilot. The model has seen a rise since Netflix popularized it. [4]
| Rank | Show | Viewers (in millions) | Rating | Date | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Different World | 38.9 | 31.3% | September 24, 1987 | NBC |
| 2 | Undercover Boss | 38.7 | 19.1% | February 7, 2010 | CBS |
| 3 | The Last Precinct | 39.7 | — | January 26, 1986 | NBC |
| 4 | Dolly | 37.4 | 24.7% | 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 | 31.722 | — | January 21, 1979 | NBC |
| 8 | Full House | 31.3 | 21.7% | September 22, 1987 | ABC |
| 9 | Roseanne | 30.8 | 23.7% | October 18, 1988 | |
| 10 | Grand Slam | 30.765 | — | January 28, 1990 | CBS |
| 11 | seaQuest DSV | 30.4 (8–10pm)[ citation needed ] | 17.8 rating | September 12, 1993 | NBC |
| 12 | Chicken Soup | 30.2 | 21.8% | September 12, 1989 | ABC |
| 13 | Suddenly Susan | 30.1 | 20.4% | September 19, 1996 | NBC |
| 14 | Caroline in the City | 30.0 | 20.5% | September 21, 1995 | |
| 15 | Delta | 30.0 | 20.5% | September 15, 1992 | ABC |
| 16 | Dear John | 30.0 | 19.8% | October 6, 1988 | NBC |
| 17 | The Single Guy | 29.1 | 19.2 | September 21, 1995 | |
| 18 | Frasier | 28.1 | 19.3% | September 16, 1993 |