For a television series to take off, its first episode, or pilot, needs to be spectacular.
Indeed, if the pilot doesn't cut it, it will be the only episode of the series that ever gets shot.
Indeed, even as little as 10 minutes into the pilots of This Is Us, Will & Grace, and Ted Lasso, it was clear that viewers were in for a treat, and they weren't disappointed.
That being said, a pilot isn't always guaranteed to be the beginning of a great series.
Sometimes the pilot proves to be the only good episode of the series, with the end result being anything but a Smash (pun intended).
Redditor snuskbusken was curious to hear what people considered to be the best pilot episodes ever, leading them to ask:
"Which tv show has the strongest first episode?"
The Theme Music Though...
"Six Feet Under."- Ok-Masterpiece-1359
Each And Every Season
"Fargo."
What Is That Oh No GIF by IMDb
Expectations Were Certainly High
"'Attack on Titan', unironically."- skraaaaw
Season 1 Was Good At Least...
"'Heroes' started off really strongly."- apathyontheeast
The Premise Was Hard To Sustain...
"Designated Survivor."- SadcoreEmpire168
keifer sutherland GIF by ABC Network
Giphy
Just About Says It All...
"'Dead Like Me'."
"Any show that has it's main character killed by a flaming toilet seat falling from space within the first ten minutes is okay in my book."- CapnDonal23
People Had A Lot To Say...
"I love introducing people to 'The Boys', just for their reaction to the first episode."- Reggis13
...Still Doesn't Make Up For The Finale Though...
"Lost."
"Can't believe I'm the first one to have written it."- jakec11
lost jack GIF
Giphy
They Didn't See That Coming
"'Ozark'’s first episode was pretty chill and then whoa."- 1itslizzxoxo
Best Enjoyed With A Little Chianti...
"'Hannibal' sets up the tone for the whole show quite well."- Far_Ad3346
Talking Quickly While Walking Down A Hallway Was Never More Cool...
"The West Wing."- Electrical_Top_7731
The West Wing Leadership GIF by NBC
Giphy
An Instant Animated Gem...
"Futurama."- Mela_Min
Beware The Man In Black
"'Westworld'."
"When she slapped that fly my entire watching group went "OH SH*T"- Badloss
Seriously, How Was This Only One Season?
"Freaks and Geeks."- Substantial_Field_60
freaks and geeks GIF
Giphy
Even if the rest of the series didn't quite live up to expectations, these pilots instantly earned the series a place amongst the television legends.
Even if there's nothing more disappointing than a great pilot leading to a not-so-great series.
Looking at you Glee...
