A series premiere is the first aired installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

. 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

A television series' first episode often originates as a pilot, a standalone

episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Greek term ''epeisodion'' (), meaning t ...

that is used to sell the show to a

television network A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or multichannel video programming distributo ...

. 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. Sometimes a series' pilot may be aired as a later episode or never aired at all. For the Canadian supernatural drama ''

Lost Girl ''Lost Girl'' is a Canadian supernatural drama television series that premiered on Showcase on September 12, 2010, and ran for five seasons. It follows the life of a bisexual succubus named Bo, played by Anna Silk, as she learns to control ...

'', the pilot that sold the series to

Showcase Showcase or vitrine may refer to: *Cabinet (furniture) *Display case Music * ''Showcase'' (Bill Anderson album), 1964 * ''Showcase'' (Patsy Cline album), 1961 * ''Showcase'' (Buddy Holly album), 1964 * ''Showcase'' (Philly Joe Jones album), 1959 ...

, "

Vexed ''Vexed'' is a British comedy-drama, police procedural television series for BBC Two that aired in 2010 and 2012. Created and written by Howard Overman, the first series starred Lucy Punch as D.I. Kate Bishop and Toby Stephens as D.I. Jack ...

", was used as the eighth episode of the first series. In the case of ''

Firefly The Lampyridae are a family of elateroid beetles with more than 2,000 described species, many of which are light-emitting. They are soft-bodied beetles commonly called fireflies, lightning bugs, or glowworms for their conspicuous production ...

'', 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. 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 Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

popularized it.

Most watched series premieres in the U.S.

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A Different World ''A Different World'' is an American sitcom (and a spin-off of ''The Cosby Show'') television series that aired for six seasons on NBC from September 24, 1987 to July 9, 1993. The series originally centered on Denise Huxtable ( Lisa Bonet) an ...

'' , 38.9 , 31.3% , September 24, 1987 ,

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

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Undercover Boss ''Undercover Boss'' is a reality television series franchise created by Stephen Lambert and produced in many countries. It originated in 2009 on the British Channel 4. The show’s format features the experiences of senior executives working u ...

'' , 38.7 , 19.1% , rowspan="2", February 7, 2010 , rowspan="2",

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

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Super Bowl XLIV Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champions New Orleans Saints and the American Football Conference (AFC) champions Indianapolis Colts to decide the National Football League (NFL) champ ...

Post Game'' , ''75.5 '' , ''33%'' , - , 3 , align="left", ''

The Last Precinct ''The Last Precinct'' is an American sitcom television series that premiered on NBC January 26, and then aired weekly from April 11 to May 30, 1986 on Friday nights at 9:00pm. The series stars Adam West as Capt. Rick Wright, leading a group of ...

'' , 39.7 , , January 26, 1986 ,

, - , 4 , align="left", '' Dolly'' , 37.4 , 24.7% , September 27, 1987 ,

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

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Veronica's Closet ''Veronica's Closet'' is an American sitcom television series created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, that aired on NBC for three seasons, from September 25, 1997, to December 7, 2000. The show stars Kirstie Alley as Veronica "Ronnie" Chase, ...

'' , 35.0

, 23.3% , September 25, 1997 ,

, - , 6 , align="left", ''

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery serial drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It premiered on American Broadcasting Company, ABC on April 8, 1990, and originally ran for two seasons until its cance ...

'' , 34.

, 21.7% , April 8, 1990 ''(two hours)'' ,

, - , 7 , align="left", '' Brothers and Sisters (1979 TV series), Brothers and Sisters'' , 31.722 , , January 21, 1979 ,

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Full House ''Full House'' is an American television sitcom created by Jeff Franklin for ABC. The show is about widowed father Danny Tanner who enlists his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and childhood best friend Joey Gladstone to help raise his three dau ...

'' , 31.3 , 21.7% , September 22, 1987 , rowspan="2",

, - , 9 , align="left", ''

Roseanne ''Roseanne'' is an American sitcom television series created by Matt Williams and Roseanne Barr which aired on ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May 22, 2018. The show stars Barr as Roseann ...

'' , 30.8 , 23.7% , October 18, 1988 , - , 10 , align="left", ''

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

'' , 30.765 , , January 28, 1990 ,

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seaQuest DSV ''SeaQuest DSV'' (stylized as ''seaQuest DSV'' and also promoted as simply ''seaQuest'') is an American science fiction television series created by Rockne S. O'Bannon. It originally aired on NBC between 1993 and 1996. In its final season, it ...

'' , 30.4 {{fact, date=April 2020 , 17.8 rating , September 12, 1993 ,

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Chicken Soup Chicken soup is a soup made from Chicken (food), chicken, simmered in water, usually with various other ingredients. The classic chicken soup consists of a clear broth, chicken broth, often with pieces of chicken or vegetables; common addition ...

'' , 30.2 , 21.8% , September 12, 1989 ,

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Suddenly Susan ''Suddenly Susan'' is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from September 19, 1996, to December 26, 2000. The series was created by Clyde Phillips and starred Brooke Shields in her first regular series. Shields played Susan Keane, ...

'' , 30.

, 20.4% , September 19, 1996 , rowspan="2",

, - , 14 , align="left", '' Caroline in the City'' , 30.0 , 20.5% , September 21, 1995 , - , 15 , align="left", ''

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also ...

'' , 30.0 , 20.5% , September 15, 1992 ,

, - , 16 , align="left", '' Dear John'' , 30.0 , 19.8% , October 6, 1988 , rowspan="3",

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The Single Guy ''The Single Guy'' is an American sitcom television series that ran for two seasons on NBC, from September 21, 1995, to April 14, 1997. It starred Jonathan Silverman as struggling New York City writer Jonathan Eliot and followed several of his c ...

'' , 29.1 , 19.2 , September 21, 1995 , - , 18 , align="left", ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Case ...

'' , 28.1 , 19.3% , September 16, 1993

References

Television terminology

As distinguished from a pilot

Most watched series premieres in the U.S.

See also

References