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.

As distinguished from a pilot

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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.

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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

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References

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  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.