Aseries premiereis the first aired installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often atelevision series.In the United States, many series premieres are aired in the fall time or, formid-season replacements,either in the spring or late winter.
As distinguished from a pilot
editA television series' first episode often originates as a pilot, a standaloneepisodethat is used to sell the show to atelevision 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" isoverwhelmingly the most common titleused 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 dramaLost Girl,the pilot that sold the series toShowcase,"Vexed",was used as the eighth episode of the first series.[2]In the case ofFirefly,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 sinceNetflixpopularized it.[4]
Most watched series premieres in the U.S.
edit| 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[1] | 23.3% | September 25, 1997 | NBC |
| 6 | Twin Peaks | 34.6[2] | 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[3] | 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 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^"The 20 most common/laziest TV episode titles".The Independent.2017-01-18.Retrieved2022-03-21.
- ^Typaldos, Olivia (2021-07-19)."The Untold Truth Of Lost Girl".Looper.Retrieved2022-03-20.
- ^Whedon,Firefly: the complete series: "Train Job" commentary,track 1
- ^Adalian, Josef (27 November 2013)."Straight to Series: The Networks' Big-Money Bet to Skip Pilots".Vulture.Retrieved2022-02-07.