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16 Plot Twists In TV Pilots That Turned People From Casual Viewers Into Hardcore Fans

"How to Get Away With Murder probably had one of the best pilots I’ve ever seen."

Ajani Bazile-Dutes
by Ajani Bazile-Dutes

BuzzFeed Staff

We asked people of the BuzzFeed Community to tell us the best plot twists in TV pilot episodes. Here are the plot twists that left them speechless:

🚨Warning: MAJOR spoilers ahead🚨

1. When it was revealed that the dead body the students were burning was Annalise's husband, Sam, on How to Get Away With Murder.

Michaela, Connor, Wes, and Laurel burning Sam's body in the woods
ABC

"It's probably one of the best pilots I’ve seen that made my jaw drop to the floor, plus the rest of the show did NOT disappoint with crazy unexpected plot twists."

—xdaniellax

2. When Ted said, "And that's how I met your Aunt Robin" at the end of the How I Met Your Mother pilot.

Ted telling his kids about how the story he was telling about the woman he liked was about meeting their Aunt Robin not their mother
CBS

"Watching the show as a teen, for me, that was a big plot twist. But we all know how downhill that went."

—sushisaahimi

3. When it turned out all of the families were related at the end of the Modern Family pilot.

Cam, Claire, Jay, Gloria, and Phil all hugging before a Cam and Mitchell's big announcement
ABC

"For some reason, I remembered being shook that all of the families on Modern Family were related. It makes total sense when you think about it, but I was so invested in the separate stories that I hadn’t yet considered they were related."

—jentevanwingerden

4. When it turned out that Rebecca and Jack's scenes in the This Is Us pilot took place in the '80s and that Kevin, Kate, and Randall were actually their children.

Jack in the hospital looking at his newborns while the background behind him reveals that the setting is in the 80s
NBC

"I literally gasped and then cried. Learning how everyone was connected, they did such a fantastic job at showing that. It was really a great first episode!"

—nutmeg

5. When Eleanor revealed that she had no idea what she was doing in the Good Place and she was not the person everyone thought she was in The Good Place.

Eleanor telling Chidi she is in the wrong place
NBC

—ahsoka401

6. When Alex showed up at the same prison as Piper in Orange Is the New Black.

Alex walking up to Piper at prison and saying "Maybe this is a bad time to say hi, huh?"
Netflix

"Throughout the episode, Piper remembered some of the memories with Alex that got her into prison in the first place and then Alex appeared at the end."

—dikatkeith

7. When the smoke monster appeared in the first episode of Lost.

Everyone on the island looking at a big black cloud of smoke that's making a roaring sound
ABC

"I knew from then that this was going to be about a lot more than a plane crash."

—charlottebeswick30

8. When Sarah saw the face of the woman who jumped in front of an oncoming train, and they had the same face on Orphan Black.

Sarah walking toward a woman at the train station and the woman turns around revealing they have the same exact face
BBC America

—nurseyneesej

9. When the pilot of Mad Men ended with Don going home to his wife after the episode made him seem like a bachelor.

Don sleeping with a women, then later on going on a speech about how love doesn't exist, and then later on going home to his wife and kids
AMC

"It was so well done."

—shouldistayorshouldeggo

10. When it was revealed that Judy was the driver in the hit-and-run that killed Jen's husband in Dead to Me.

Judy looking at her car with a busted headlight
Netflix


—casey99

11. When everyone found out that Vice Principal Martin Harris was Kate's kidnapper AND Kate accused Jeanette of seeing her while she was being held captive in Cruel Summer.

Kate on national television saying that Jeanette Turner saw her while she was being held captive
Freeform

—liv2smile

12. When Prince Charming turned out to be alive and lying in a hospital bed in Once Upon a Time.

Prince Charming dying in Snow White arm and then later in modern day, he is just lying on a hospital bed
ABC

"That moment was the whole reason I kept watching. I was hooked from that moment on."

—kladue11

13. When it was revealed that Mabel knew Tim Kono, the murder victim, in Only Murders in the Building.

A picture of Mabel, Tim Kono, and their two friends
Hulu

—foldinthecheese123

14. When A-Train suddenly ran through and killed Hughie's girlfriend in The Boys.

A-Train running through Hughie's girlfriend and killer her in the process
Amazon Prime

"I definitely wasn’t expecting that in the first five minutes."

—cadenceb02

15. When the princess was released by her captor right before the prime minister had sex with a pig on television because he was told that was a condition of her release in Black Mirror.

The prime ministers about to have sex with a pig on TV and someone calling afterwards to reveal that the kidnappers let the princess go before the program started
Netflix

"Everything the prime minister put himself through to save her ended up being unnecessary."

—ivannar2

16. And when it was revealed that someone knew the girls were on the island in The Wilds and that them being "stranded" was intentional.

Jeanette's dead body on the island and Gretchen watching the girls on the island via screens in a big office
Amazon Prime

"That show excels at plot twists in general. It is so intriguing and felt so well done."

—aidanerinn

What plot twist in a TV pilot completely shocked you? Let us know in the comments!