We recently asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us which TV pilots they think are better than the shows themselves. Here's what they had to say:
🚨 Warning: Spoilers ahead!!! 🚨
1. Once Upon a Time (2011)
"The pilot and basically whole first season were great, but then I don’t know what happened. Too much fan service? Not a thought-out plot? I only watched more of it to see Emma and Hook, honestly."
2. The Umbrella Academy (2019)
"This might be an unpopular opinion, but for me, it's The Umbrella Academy. I was so hyped after the pilot, but I stopped feeling it after three or four episodes. So much happened and yet so little at the same time. I even tried watching it several times, but it wasn't my cup of tea."
3. Glee (2009)
"I stand by the fact that Glee has one of the best pilots ever, but it all goes downhill from there. The pilot makes the show out to be an almost dark comedy, and the wildness seems fun instead of boring. But after the middle of Season 1 when they go to sectionals, everything goes majorly downhill."
4. Stranger Things (2016)
"Stranger Things had such a great pilot! I'd heard a lot about the series online, so I was curious if it was worth the hype. Plus, as a '90s X-Phile, I was naturally open to supernatural/alien conspiracy theory things. The pilot was good, but the following episodes didn't get me hooked."
—kaa
5. Manifest (2018)
"The pilot should have been a movie. It has an amazing cast and cool concept, but they’re really dragging out the reveals and recycling the same plot every week — 'Oh no, the kids are in trouble!'"
6. Riverdale (2017)
"The show had this dark and mysterious tone to it that made it so interesting and very binge-worthy. I loved the small-town murder plot, and the first episode really drew a lot of people in. I think the majority of Season 1 was incredible as well, and then it went downhill. I stopped watching after Season 3, and thank God I did."
7. Revenge (2011)
"Watching Emily get revenge on those who wronged her father was cool for the first few episodes, but it fell flat eventually."
8. Ms. Marvel (2022)
"The pilot was so innovative and interesting, but it’s been slowly going downhill since then. I haven’t even watched this week’s episode yet, because I just don’t care anymore. I checked IMDb, and it seems that everyone else agrees — almost every episode is rated less than the previous."
9. Lost (2004)
"The pilot was awesome, but it started going downhill soon after. The first season was pretty good, but it was a slippery slope. The show started jumping the shark on a regular basis by Season 4."
10. Legacies (2018)
"I love the Vampire Diaries universe, so I was super excited for Legacies. I was immediately invested after the pilot — I loved the concept of centering a show around teenage Hope and her classmates at Salvatore School. The characters were all interesting, and I was excited about having multiple queer characters. However, I ended up being so disappointed with the writing after Season 1. Season 3 in particular was a total mess — it was overly focused on Landon's character and his painfully interesting relationship between him and Hope. The lead girls hardly interacted, and the monsters weren't even interesting. Kaylee Bryant (Josie) leaving was the final straw for me. It was so full of potential, but alas."
11. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017)
"It sets up the story and characters so perfectly, and the music is amazing. The rest of the show kind of lets you down, especially Season 3. I still love the show, but I would consider the pilot to be one of the best pilots of all time."
12. Scandal (2012)
"I think the pilot is perfection and has some of the best writing I'd seen at the time. The fast-paced exposition was so good, and the first season held up to it. But the seasons that followed could never match the magic from the pilot. I still watch the pilot a few times a year because it's my favorite."
13. Girl Meets World (2014)
"Had it been on a network like Freeform, then I think the show would have escaped the cheesiness and handled certain topics, such as cyberbullying and autism, better. Both were handled poorly, and I think being on a children’s network is partially to blame. No one was allowed to show a lot of affection on the show due to the guidelines of the network, and then, half of the storylines were wasted on a 'love triangle' because writers assumed that’s what the fans wanted. I understand what they were trying to do, but after the pilot, it kind of went downhill and ruined the Boy Meets World universe."
14. Dear White People (2017)
"I heard the movie was really good, so I started watching the show. The first episode was one of the best, if not THE best, parts of the whole series. I had to force myself to finish the third season because they completely screwed up the plot and made the show so boring. I finally stopped watching when I heard they made the fourth (and final) season a freaking musical!"
15. Heroes (2006)
"The first season was miles better than Season 2, but I still think the pilot episode was the best out of all of them."
16. Sherlock (2010)
"The first episode is entertaining enough (although the unaired pilot is better), but very quickly goes downhill after that."
17. The O.C. (2003)
"The pilot was so moving and emotional! A kid from across the train tracks gets a chance to live a different life and avoid the jail and abuse he suffered back home. The pilot shows that you can change your destiny with the help of people around you. The rest of the show was teen nonsense, but the pilot? TEARS FLOWING."
18. This Is Us (2016)
"The pilot was one of the best I had ever seen, and I was immediately hooked. I stayed with the show for the first couple of seasons, but then it felt more like a soap opera than a family drama."
19. Into the Night (2020)
"The first episode is edge-of-your-seat material. The first season slows down as it unwinds, and then the second season accomplishes very little on the way to its cliffhanger. This one might have been better as a movie."
20. Raised by Wolves (2020)
"The first episode was so cool, and the world it was building was so fascinating. It really drew me in and had so much potential. But every subsequent episode got progressively worse and worse until it became just ridiculous. By the last episode of Season 1 when [SPOILER] we see the robot mother give birth to a giant flying worm (yes, you read that right), I was laughing out loud at how unbelievably stupid the show had gotten. I didn't even bother with Season 2."
21. Pretty Little Liars (2010)
"I still love Pretty Little Liars and always will, but the pilot (and first season in general) was just so good compared to the mess that the series became later. I loved the tone in the beginning — it was creepy, mysterious, and reminded me a little bit of Twin Peaks. The chaos is part of the charm of the show, but the writing and plot twists made WAY much more sense earlier on. By the end of the show, it was utter nonsense...fun nonsense, but still. I honestly think it's one of the best teen drama pilots to ever air, though."
22. Gotham (2014)
"I’ve fallen for it so many times! I watch the pilot, get hooked, and then get bored three-to-four episodes later."
23. And finally, Finding Carter (2014)
"No show completed the entire arc in one episode like this did. It was supposed to be about a teenager who discovers that she was kidnapped as a child and has a whole family with a twin, a younger brother, and parents. I thought it would be about her conflicted feelings about who her mom was, but she seems to get over that very quickly. The rest of the show is entirely about her friends, her siblings being teens, and family drama."
Reminder that I, Kelly Martinez, do not necessarily endorse all of these opinions!!!
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.