Pilot TV

Empire Magazine

From the creators of The Empire Film Podcast, Pilot TV is your essential guide to every TV show that matters, providing a weekly rundown of all the new must-see TV shows dropping across streaming, terrestrial, satellite, cable, and beyond. Join Empire's James Dyer, Heat's Boyd Hilton, Steph Seelan, and Kay Ribeiro as they bring you breaking TV news, reviews of the week's major shows, and interviews with some of the biggest names in TV.

Pilot TV is here to make sure every minute you spend in front of the box is a minute worth spending. Served with a heavy helping of insider knowledge, irreverence and humour, Pilot TV won't just keep you informed, amused and entertained, but is guaranteed to save countless hours of your life. Because you can’t watch *everything*.

Enjoying the podcast? Sign up to Pilot+ for a bonus episode every Thursday, in-depth spoiler specials, and early, ad-free access to the regular show! Find out more at www.empireonline.com/pilottv

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426 episodes
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Feb 14, 2022 · 1 hr 20 min
#173 Severance, Bel-Air, and One Of Us Is Lying
It's a particularly anarchic show this week as chronology gets thrown entirely out of the window and sections collide, possibly as a result of too much Valentine's Day chocolate - who can really say? Still, we have a giggle looking at the most romantic shows every to grace our screens (Beth has absolutely no time for it), plus engage in an impromptu post mortem of The Book Of Boba Fett. All that and we take a look at Apple's Severance, Sky's Fresh Prince reconceptualisation, Bel-Air, and Netflix's teen detention murder mystery One Of Us Is Lying.
Feb 7, 2022 · 1 hr 56 min
#172 This Is Going To Hurt, Suspicion, No Return, and Starstruck. With guest Adam Kay
Adam Kay, author of bestselling medical memoir This Is Going To Hurt, joins us on the show this week as we look at the BBC adaptation of his work, starring Ben Whishaw as the man in the white coat. Plus we're investigating the kidnapping of Uma Thurman's son in Apple's Suspicion, getting stuck in a Turkish jail in No Return on ITV, and catching up with Rose Matafeo's celebrity shenanigans in the return of Starstruck on BBC2. Not only that but we take a long, hard (steady) look at the rapidly escalating penis count on our screens, list the TV characters we'd happily kill with fire, and get a much-needed update on the status of Risky the cat's drinking fountain.
Feb 1, 2022 · 1 hr 50 min
#171 Reacher, Pam & Tommy, and Chloe. With guests Tiffany Haddish and Mackenzie Davis
If this week got off to a bumpy start for you, there can be no better medication than a prescription of Beth's raucous interview with Tiffany Haddish on this week's show, as the pair get surprisingly frank about the things they'd like to do to Jamie Demetriou (00:18:37-00:32:07). And not content with that, Beth also sat down with Mackenzie Davis to talk all things Station 11 and get tips on the finer points of knife-throwing (00:58:05-01:10:52). But that's not all, because we take a trip with man-mountain Jack Reacher in Prime Video's adaptation of the Lee Child novel series, Reacher, explore the origins of the world's most famous sex tape in Pam & Tommy on Star, and take up a sideline in cyberstalking thanks to Chloe on BBC1. Plus the team mull over their must-watch and must-skip title sequences and Beth explains why Risky, the world's most middle-class cat, has just acquired a drinking fountain.
Jan 24, 2022 · 1 hr 53 min
#170 Station Eleven, The Gilded Age, The Responder, The Afterparty, and The Sinner. With guests Stanley Tucci and Carrie Coon
Stanley Tucci and Carrie Coon are our guests on this week's show, talking to us about La Fortuna (23:00-32:51) and The Gilded Age (53:06-1:02:37), respectively. Plus we have a stupidly long lineup of shows to review, including Starzplay's post-apocalyptic drama, Station Eleven; Julian Fellowes' Downton-in-America drama, The Gilded Age; Apple's whodunnit comedy, The Afterparty; Martin Freeman's gritty BBC police drama, The Responder; and the long-awaited arrival of The Sinner Season 4 on Netflix. All of which was more than enough to keep James, Beth and Boyd glued to screens through most of last week. However, paying no heed to minor inconveniences like the laws of time and space, Boyd still found time to devour Archive 81 and bring us a full update, James gave The Tourist another go, and the team hoovered up the Yellowjackets finale (no spoilers) as well.
Jan 17, 2022 · 2 hr 9 min
#169 Trigger Point, Queens, and La Fortuna. With guests Ricky Gervais, Tony Way, and Nell Tiger Free
Ricky Gervais joins us on this week's show to discuss the finer points of blowing belly raspberries with Tony Way in After Life, plus Nell Tiger Free stops by to dispense childcare advice in the third season of Apple's Servant, where she and Boyd get into such varied topics as incest and the finer points of moth taming. In addition (and we apologise in advance) James finishes his rewatch of The Expanse just in time to watch the finale live, and proceeds to bang on about why it's amazing for what we can only hope is the last time (so sorry). Plus the team reviews bomb disposal thriller Trigger Point on ITV, comeback show Queens on Star, and Stanley Tucci's treasure-hunting adventure, La Fortuna, on AMC UK. NOTE: Ricky and Tony's After Life interview is, unusually, a spoiler interview and goes deep on lots of the third season's plot points, including the finale. If you've not seen it then you might want to do so first, or you can skip the interview entirely to preserve its secrets by avoiding 29:22-1:00:00.
Jan 10, 2022 · 2 hr 1 min
#168 After Life, The Tourist, and Rules Of The Game. With guest Shazad Latif
Happy New Year! Can you hear us? We certainly hope so, because the first Pilot TV podcast of 2022 is brought to you by none other than Clem Fandango, Mr Shazad Latif himself, who joins us to talk all things Toast of Tinseltown. Plus, we take a look at all the TV we didn't cover over the Christmas break and line up Jamie Dornan's outback ordeal, The Tourist, for the full review treatment. Also in reviews are Maxine Peake-starring HR escapade Rules Of The Game, and the third (and final) season of Ricky Gervais' Afterlife (where Boyd decides that Ricky Gervais' character and James might share more DNA than is entirely healthy).
Dec 27, 2021 · 2 hr 29 min
Review Of The Year 2021. With guests Jodie Whitaker, Mandip Gill, Steven Strait, Dominique Tipper, Wes Chatham, and Nadine Nicole
We have a BUMPER year-end special for you this week. We're joined not only by The Doctor herself, Jodie Whitaker, and her companion Mandip Gill, but — in a very special Christmas gift to James — we are also joined by the entire core cast of The Expanse! Aside from ushering in the new year with these titans of modern sci-fi, we take a look back at the year that was, run down our list of the top TV shows of 2021 and generally take a look at the highs and lows of the past 12 months over a glorious two-and-a-half hours. Happy New Year!
Dec 20, 2021 · 1 hr 54 min
#167 - A Very British Scandal, Clarice, and Around The World In 80 Days. With Guest Sarah Phelps
Sarah Phelps joins us on this week's show (39:14-1:01:37) to discuss her new BBC miniseries, A Very British Scandal, which pits Claire Foy against Paul Bettany in a break-up for the ages as the Duchess and Duke of Argyle. Plus we take a trip with David Tenant in Around The World In 80 Days, and find out what Agent Starling got up to after Buffalo Bill (and before eating Ray Liota's brains) in Clarice on Alibi. Plus, James, Beth and Boyd go through some of the shows they're most looking forward to in 2022 and you'll discover why Succession makes Phelpsie want to have a wee.
Dec 13, 2021 · 2 hr 7 min
#166 - The Witcher, The Girl Before, And Just Like That. With Guest Henry Cavill
Henry Cavill, Geralt of Rivia himself, joins us on this week's show, to talk a little bit about the The Witcher's second season and a lot more about fantasy books, Warhammer 40k and general geekery (24:34-46:54). In addition to Netflix's returning fantasy, we take a look at Gugu Mbatha-Raw's living situation as she moves in to David Oyelowo's rather terrifying apartment in The Girl Before on BBC1, and we find out what Carrie Bradshaw's been up to since Sex And The City in follow-up show And Just Like That on Sky Comedy (first episode spoilers exist between 1:21:21 and 1:35:58). PLUS we record a special drop-in to talk about the Succession finale (1:09:20-1:20:16), mull over the best will-they/won't-they relationships, and James manages to trample all over Beth's Ex Machina analogy and she refuses to let him cut it out.
Dec 6, 2021 · 1 hr 52 min
#165 - The Expanse, Landscapers, and Ragdoll. With Guests Olivia Colman and David Thewlis
National treasures Olivia Colman and David Thewlis take time out of their busy schedules to drop by the podcast this week (31:27-52:09), telling us all about quirky black comedy Landscapers on Sky. Plus we take a look at Ragdoll on Alibi, and the team debate the reasons why directors in TV don't get the same credit as their big screen counterparts, while the reverse is true of writers. But all that pales into insignificance compared to the main event this week, as we dive headfirst into deep space for the televisual event of the year — nay, the decade! — when The Expanse returns for its sixth and *final* (for now) season on Prime Video. BELTALOWDA!
Nov 29, 2021 · 1 hr 13 min
#164 - Hawkeye, Yellowjackets, Chucky, and You Don't Know Me
More Star Trek shenanigans abound this week as the team try to work out what in the name of the Prime Directive Pluto TV is. Elsewhere, we finally get to talk about Disney's Hawkeye series, take a trip to the wilderness with a girls' soccer team in Yellowjackets on Sky Atlantic, catch up with killer Charles Lee Ray in Child's Play spin-off series Chucky, on Sky Max, and get a little courtroom monologuing from Samuel Adewunmi in You Don't Know Me on BBC1. Plus, in perhaps the greatest upset in Pilot TV history, James voluntarily watches an animated series — listen now to find out what he thought of it.
Nov 22, 2021 · 1 hr 35 min
#163 - The Wheel Of Time, American Rust, and Hellbound
I spy Aes Sedai on this week's show as we're finally able to talk about Amazon's The Wheel Of Time. Plus we explore the decaying carcass of small town Pennsylvania in American Rust on Sky, and see if we've discovered the new Squid Game in the form of South Korean supernatural thriller Hellbound on Netflix. All that and we vent our righteous fury over the sudden departure of Star Trek Discovery for Paramount+, plus take a trip down memory lanes to discuss some of the best (and worst) pilot episodes we've seen.
Nov 15, 2021 · 50 min
Dopesick: An Empire Podcast + Pilot TV Podcast Deep Dive, In Association With Disney+
To herald the arrival on Disney+ of Dopesick, Danny Strong’s drama chronicling the devastating impact of the opioid crisis on America, the Empire Podcast and Pilot TV Podcast crews have, once again, set aside their differences and come together to have a good old natter. In this very special crossover episode, in association with Disney+, Chris Hewitt, James Dyer, and Beth Webb do a deep dive into Dopesick, which tackles the opioid crisis from the points of view of characters connected to the crisis in various ways. They talk about the crisis itself, about the show’s all-star cast (including Michael Keaton, Rosario Dawson, Peter Sarsgaard, Kaitlyn Dever, and Will Poulter), and much, much more. And if that weren’t enough, Beth also sits down with Danny Strong, Kaitlyn Dever and Will Poulter for an in-depth chat about the show. So sit back, relax, and enjoy Dopesick, an Empire + Pilot TV podcast special with Disney+.
Nov 15, 2021 · 1 hr 54 min
#162 - Cowboy Bebop, The Lost Symbol, and Crime. With guests Dougray Scott & Irvine Welsh
Dougray Scott and Irvine Welsh drop by the show this week to talk about their new thriller, Crime, on Britbox (37:51-54:31), plus we get our Dan Brown on with The Lost Symbol on Sky and put our anime knowledge to the test (ably assisted by Anime-doctorate-holder Beth K Webb) with Netflix's live action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop. Plus we look at which cancelled shows we still recommend people watch, the prevalence of Brit crime thrillers, the veracity (or not) of Squid Game's return, and how James managed to navigate 24 hours in the North of England (spoiler: not that well).
Nov 8, 2021 · 2 hr 12 min
#161 - Dexter: New Blood, Dopesick, The Shrink Next Door, and The Tower. With guest Gemma Whelan (along with almost everyone else from The Tower!)
If you're wondering why this week's runtime is so long, it's because we have a big old Q&A with Gemma Whelan, Jim Loach, Tahirah Sharif, Jimmy Akingbola, and Patrick Harbinson, all to talk about ITV's rather excellent new drama The Tower, which runs at the very end of this week's show (for reasons you'll soon discover). Elsewhere, we're getting reacquainted with our Dark Passengers for Dexter: New Blood on Sky Atlantic, seeking some rather problematic therapy from Paul Rudd in Apple's The Shrink Next Door, and exploring the opioid crisis in America with Michael Keaton in Dopesick on Star. Plus you'll get to find out which place in the galaxy Beth describes as "scallywag central", what everyone (James) thought of the new Witcher trailer, and what shows we all should have kept up with but, well, haven't.
Nov 1, 2021 · 1 hr 40 min
#160 - Showtrial, Dalgliesh, and The Premise
We're immersing ourselves in slick Sunday night drama this week with BBC1’s Showtrial, solving a PD James murder mystery with Bertie Carvel in Channel 5’s Dalgliesh, and taking a peek inside the mind of BJ Novak in topical anthology series The Premise on Star. But that’s not all because there’s an absolute landslide of new shows hitting the airwaves this week from What We Do In The Shadows to Narcos: Mexico, the final season of Dickinson and more! Plus james finally finishes Squid Game and would like to inform everyone that its actually rather good, the team bump up against gimmicky VR in the new Wheel of Time trailer and, thanks to a listener question, are everyone is forced to talk about their dreams. Of course, it’s a miracle they get through any of it given that Boyd watched approximately 800 shows this week and elects to tell us all about them.
Oct 25, 2021 · 1 hr 36 min
#159 - Invasion, The Long Call, and The Outlaws
This week's show sees us disappear down the rabbit hole of the BBC’s recently published list of the 100 greatest TV shows of the 21st century, poring over both their rundown (which all three of us contributed to) and each of our individual lists, which the Beeb was good enough to publicly name and shame us with. Not only that, though, but we’re banging on about Squid Game *yet again*, in this instance taking the show’s English dub to task and asking some key questions about its rather baffling age rating. All of that is just the amuse bouche for the main course, however, which sees us experience Apple TV+’s Invasion, ITV’s Devon-set murder mystery The Long Call, and Stephen Merchant’s new comedy The Outlaws on BBC1.
Oct 21, 2021 · 1 hr 46 min
Succession Special with guests Brian Cox, Matthew Macfadyen, Sarah Snook, Alan Ruck, and J. Smith-Cameron
After a two-year break, Succession is finally back on our screens this week and what better way to mark the occasion than with a dedicated Pilot TV Succession special? James, Boyd, Beth and Nick sit down to chew over the phenomenon that is Jesse Armstrong’s backstabbing masterpiece, discussing everything from the secrets of the show’s success, to the writing, the best episodes for newcomers and, naturally, which Roys each of them identify with the most. But that’s not all, because we are joined on the show by no less than five members of the cast — Brian Cox, Matthew Macfadyen, Sarah Snook, Alan Ruck, and J. Smith-Cameron — each of whom give their takes on the show and give us a little insight as to what we might expect from them in the future. *Contains discussion of some plot points from Seasons 1 and 2 but no spoilers for Season 3.*
Oct 18, 2021 · 1 hr 52 min
#158 - Succession, Locke & Key, and Impeachment: American Crime Story. With guest Ben Aldridge
Ben Aldridge, joins us on the show this week (41:52-1:00:00) to talk about having one of the most excellent IMDb credits as Fleabag's 'Arsehole Guy', as well as his new ITV series, The Long Call. We then struggle through the rest of the podcast recording with James in a rather fragile state, as we get down with the Roys in season 3 of Succession on Sky, re-litigate Bill Clinton's extra-marital rumblings along with Ryan Murphy in Impeachment: American Crime Story on BBC2, and try to work out what the hell is going on in the second series of Locke & Key on Netflix. Plus you get to find out what 'Pika-Blinders' is (sort of), hear our pitches for TV show spin-offs, get a blow-by-blow account of the random, Ryan Murphy-inspired hotel James was forced to crash in last night, and learn all about Beth's interpretative Succession dance (TikTok to follow, we very much hope).
Oct 11, 2021 · 1 hr 42 min
#157 - Scenes From A Marriage, You, and Cobra: Cyberwar
There was no getting around it, we needed to talk about Ted this week, prompting a 15 minute discussion of the recent Ted Lasso finale and whether the Season 2 as a whole was full of buttery goodness or just a salty bitch (if you've not yet seen it, avoid 3:45-19:19). Elsewhere, we seek some marital advice from Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac in Scenes From A Marriage on Sky Atlantic, do the absolute opposite with Penn Badgley in Netflix's You, and follow Robert Carlisle as he tries to steer the UK away from disaster in Sky Max's Cobra: Cyberwar. Plus James attempts to lecture Beth on House Of The Dragon (she has none of it), we muse over the prospect of dish-free Sky, and Beth recounts her experience of Squid Game.