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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Episodes426

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Oct 3, 2021 · 1 hr 43 min
#156 - Angela Black, The Larkins, and Among The Stars
It's an ITV double bill this week as we bask in the golden glow of Sunday evening feels with The Larkins, before shifting tonal gears entirely for Joanne Froggatt's domestic abuse thriller, Angela Black. Then we head up into the big black for Disney's astronaut documentary, Among The Stars, and James gets saddled with some extra homework as Boyd and Beth decide he needs to watch something out of his comfort zone as retribution for #StarTrekForBeth. Plus we talk about the wisdom of Steve Coogan playing Jimmy Savile, Larry David's bald head, and the prospect of Babylon 5 getting rebooted.
Sep 27, 2021 · 2 hr 40 min
#155 - Foundation, Hollington Drive, and Ridley Road. With guest Lee Pace and special guest host Sophie Petzal.
On this week's show we have a story that slowly unfolds over a thousand years... we also talk about Foundation. While the runtime for this week's episode is undeniably immense (sorry!), we did have good reason because the delightful Sophie Petzal joins us a guest co-host, ostensibly to talk about her new show Hollington Drive but more accurately to debate the merits of Star Trek: Voyager, call out our anti-animation bias, shed light on the secrets of great screenwriting, and speculate about sex with fairies. PLUS, we have Empire himself, Mr Lee Pace, on the show to talk about Apple's new sweeping sci-fi series Foundation and we take a look at sixties fascism in Ridley Road on BBC1. All that and we even recorded an emergency drop-in section so we could dissect all things 'Tadum' and talk about Netflix's big announcements, plus Boyd had FEELINGS about Russell T Davies returning to Doctor Who. It may take you half a day to get through this episode but trust us when we tell you that it's worth listening to every minute.
Sep 19, 2021 · 1 hr 57 min
#154 - Y: The Last Man, Midnight Mass, and The Morning Show. With Guests Eliza Clark and Ashley Romans
Y: The Last Man showrunner Eliza Clark and star Ashley Romans join us on this week's show as we enter a world without men in that apocalyptic drama on Star. Plus we get the bejesus scared out of us by horror maestro Mike Flanagan as he returns with Midnight Mass, and finally get to talk about the second season of The Morning Show. Elsewhere in the show, we talk (and occasionally scream and shout) about the winners and losers at last night's Emmys, and reel off our lists of shame by confessing to the various shows we've been meaning to watch since time immemorial but just haven't got around to yet. All that and you also get to find out which Star Treks we plan to inflict upon Beth in #StarTrekForBeth.
Sep 12, 2021 · 1 hr 41 min
#153 - Sex Education, Help, and Young Rock. With Guest Julianna Margulies
The wonderful Julianna Margulies joins the cast of The Morning Show for season 2, and Pilot TV for episode 159, dropping by this week's show to chat all things TMS and how it feels to be reunited with Jennifer Aniston, with whom she exploded onto network television at exactly the same time and on the very same lot. Plus James, Beth and Boyd take to task people who still think films are better than television, try to navigate streaming subscription priorities, and still find the time to review Netflix's Sex Education, Channel 4's Help and Sky's Young Rock. All that and Beth foolishly opens the door to a galaxy of possibilities by teeing herself up for an inaugural Star Trek experience, which YOU can help organise #startrekforbeth.
Sep 6, 2021 · 1 hr 57 min
#152 - The North Water, Wolfe, and American Horror Stories. With guest host Amanda Abbington
The entirely fabulous Amanda Abbington joins the team for this week's show as a special guest host, discussing everything from Sherlock and her new show Wolfe to parenting tarantulas and the horrors of forgetting lines on stage. Plus we run through the annals of great televisual wordsmiths to assemble our picks for the greatest living screenwriters, pull on the latex for Ryan Murphy's American Horror Stories, and go whaling with Stephen Graham in The North Water on BBC2.
Aug 29, 2021 · 1 hr 39 min
#151 - Terri's Farewell Episode! Plus Stephen, Back To Life, and Only Murders In The Building
After 151 episodes, it was the end of an era for the Pilot TV podcast this week, as the third leg in our triumvirate of bellends, the legend that is Terri White, bid the show a fond farewell and signed off for the very last time. To mark the occasion we did make the somewhat dubious decision to stream the episode live online (you can find it on the Empire Magazine YouTube channel) and, miraculously, nothing went wrong! In addition to giving Terri the send off she so richly deserved, we let you, the listeners, bombard her with questions, a few of Boyd's celebrity friends sent in their own parting thoughts, and James gave her one final serenade on the guitar. All that and we still found time to review Stephen on ITV, Series 2 of Back To Life on the BBC and Only Murders In The Building On Star.
Aug 23, 2021 · 1 hr 15 min
The Walking Dead: A Preview Of The Final Season (ft. Angela Kang), In Association With STAR On Disney+
As a wise doctor once said, "we're in the endgame now." Particularly when it comes to The Walking Dead. The eleventh and final season of the iconic, groundbreaking show is set to premiere from Monday 23rd August as a STAR exclusive on Disney+, and that is an occasion so momentous that, once again, the Pilot TV and Empire Podcast teams have joined forces with STAR on Disney+ to talk about it. So, in this very special crossover episode, Chris Hewitt, James Dyer, and Beth Webb pop into the virtual podbooth for an in-depth discussion about their hopes, fears, and dreams for the final season. Who will survive, and what will be left of them? And what about the characters on the show? But that's not all. In an exclusive interview, James sits down across Zoom with Angela Kang, the show's producer and co-writer of Acheron Part I and Acheron Part II, the first two episodes of this 24-episode run, and they have a conversation about sticking the landing. So sit back, relax, and enjoy.
Aug 23, 2021 · 1 hr 43 min
#150 - Vigil, Kevin Can F*** Himself, The Walking Dead, and See
It's not only our one hundred and fiftieth episode this week but it's also Terri's *penultimate* show. Fitting, then, that she chose to mark the occasion by being more 'Terri' than ever before, laying into James' penchant for "fantasy shite", due to being forced to watch season 2 of the magnificent See with absolutely no context. As well as the return of of Steven Knight's post-apocalyptic magnum opus, we find out what Line Of Duty on a submarine would look like in Vigil on BBC1, explore the darker side of sitcoms in Kevin Can F*** Himself, and listen to a Jamesplanation of the final season of The Walking Dead. All that and a Terri makes a concerted effort to not offend animation lovers... and fails spectacularly.
Aug 15, 2021 · 1 hr 23 min
#149 - The White Lotus, Nine Perfect Strangers, and Annika
It's quite the week for getaways as The White Lotus opens its opulent Hawaiian resort on Sky Atlantic and Nicole Kidman's wellness retreat receives visitors in Nine Perfect Strangers on Amazon. Of course, Nicola Walker pulling bodies out of a river in Annika doesn't *quite* fit the theme, but her boss has an office that puts most five star hotels to shame so we'll let it slide.
Aug 10, 2021 · 1 hr 28 min
#148 - What If?, Deceit, and Heels
We're all about the hypotheticals this week as we explore alternate superhero realities in Disney's What If?. Plus, we enter the squared circle with StarzPlay's drama about the ups and downs of small town wrestling in Heels, and go undercover to try and catch a killer in Channel 4's Deceit. All that and Terri takes a deep dive into the latest episode of The Handmaid's Tale (19:47-26:43 if you want to avoid spoilers) and we find out why she and Pacey Witter would never have lasted.
Aug 1, 2021 · 1 hr 17 min
#147 - Cruel Summer, Mr. Corman, and I Am
It's a cruel (it's a cruel) Cruel Summer this week, leaving us here on our own. But don't worry if those Bananarama lyrics meant nothing to you - that just means you're young. Cruel Summer is not, however, a show about the 80s popsters, but rather a teen psychological thriller on Amazon that we get into this week, along with Joseph Gordon Levitt's Mr Corman on Apple, and the second series of Dominic Savage's I Am on Channel 4. Plus Terri and Boyd roundly ignore the listener question and instead bang on about who should be the new Doctor.
Jul 25, 2021 · 1 hr 13 min
#146 - Jerk, King Gary, and Law & Order: Organized Crime
Terri's over the moon on this week's show, which can mean only one thing: a new Law & Order. Taking her love of Benson and Stabler to all new heights, Terri leads the charge on Law & Order: Organized Crime, hanging in there for series 2 of Jerk on BBC3, and the return of King Gary on BBC1. Plus we talk through some of the TV actors who should be far bigger stars than they are, and laughably attempt to report the TV news despite having recorded the episode last Thursday.
Jul 19, 2021 · 1 hr 31 min
#145 - Ted Lasso, In Treatment, and Uprising
Assemble the Diamond Dogs because Ted Lasso is back on our screens this week, which gives James and Boyd a second chance to try and make Terri succumb to the moustachioed one’s folksy charms. Plus, we hang out on Uzo Aduba's couch for the new revival of In Treatment on Sky, and take a look at Steve McQueen's new documentary, Uprising, on BBC1. All that and the team get to thrash out the hits and misses of the recent Emmy nominations and ruminate on what manner of egregious TV tastes it would take to constitute a first date dealbreaker.
Jul 11, 2021 · 1 hr 12 min
The Walking Dead: A Season By Season Deep Dive, In Association With STAR on Disney+
With the eleventh and final season of The Walking Dead just around the corner, we’re getting all kinds of excited to see how the groundbreaking, landmark AMC show brings the whole bloody affair to a close. But first, we figured it would be time to look back at the previous ten seasons, which are now available to stream on STAR on Disney+. And so the Empire Podcast and Pilot TV Podcast teams have decided to join forces with STAR on Disney+ to bring you this very special episode in which Chris Hewitt, James Dyer and Beth Webb go through the show season-by-season, talking about their favourite characters, moments and, yes, deaths. Lots of deaths. So many deaths. Well, it is The Walking Dead, after all. So, whether you’re a Rick Grimes megafan, or you’re heavily invested in Carol’s progression from meek survivor to Queen Of The Zombie Apocalypse; whether you think Negan deserves a second chance, or you can’t get enough of Michonne; and whether or not you’ll riot if Daryl dies, this is the podcast for you. So sit back, relax, and enjoy The Walking Dead, an Empire + Pilot TV podcast special with STAR on Disney+.
Jul 11, 2021 · 1 hr 50 min
#144 - This Way Up, War Of The Worlds, and Schmigadoon! With guest host Aisling Bea
Aisling Bea joins us on this week's episode as a very special fourth host as we talk about the second series of her Channel 4 show, This Way Up, and chat everything from eating crisps on the couch to how it's possible to be simultaneously obsessed with both Line Of Duty and The Real Housewives Of New York. We also run through the shows we're most looking forward to during the second half of 2021 and even manage to review some shows, including Schmigadoon! On Apple TV+, and season 2 of War Of The Worlds on Disney+.
Jul 4, 2021 · 1 hr 19 min
#143 - Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, Monsters At Work, and High: Confessions Of An Ibiza Drug Mule
Due to the convergence of both football and tennis, new shows are a little thin on the ground this week but that can't stop us from bringing you another glorious instalment of the podcast. Indeed, this week's is an episode in which Boyd and Terri try to explain the concept of sport to James and then audition a series of (fictional) TV characters to fill Terri's soon to be vacant seat. On the telly front, it's an animation double bill as we look at the Resident Evil anime show on Netflix, and rejoin Mike and Sully for Pixar series Monsters At Work, plus we somehow end up watching a show about the Peru Two in High: Confessions Of An Ibiza Drug Mule on BBC3. Needless to say, James was delighted.
Jun 27, 2021 · 1 hr 20 min
#142 - Mayans M.C., Sophie: A Murder In West Cork, Limetown, and The Watch
True crime, fake crime and organised crime are the themes this week as we take a look at Netflix documentary Sophie: A Murder In West Cork; Alibi's Facebook acquisition, Limetown; the latest Season of Sons Of Anarchy spin-off Mayans M.C.; and ill-conceived Terry Pratchett adaptation, The Watch. Plus, to celebrate the fact that we've reached the year's midpoint, the team wrangle over their personal lists for the best shows of 2021 so far.
Jun 20, 2021 · 1 hr 17 min
#141 - Bosch, Party Of Five, and Pride
We're all about the Bosch this week as Amazon's Michael Connelly adaptation arrives with its seventh (and final!) season and James gets a little... well, James about it. We also review the modern (if ill-fated) remake of Party Of Five and celebrate Pride Month with LGBT history documentary, Pride. Plus, the team takes a nostalgic trip back to TV shows past, digging through their memories for some of the childhood show that shaped them into the loveable bellends they are today.
Jun 13, 2021 · 1 hr 25 min
# 140 - Loki, Physical, and Together
We take an adventure with Marvel's god of mischief on this week's show, finally passing the embargo for Loki on Disney+. Then we find out whether Rose Byrne can find salvation through aerobics in Apple's Physical and how James McAvoy and Sharon Horgan survived lockdown in Together — a one-off-feature-length-not-a-film written by Dennis Kelly. Plus James, Terri, and Boyd look at some of the most memorable TV character departures, pick through the carcass of last week's TV Baftas, and get *incredibly* excited (well, mainly James) at the real-time arrival of the See Season 2 trailer.
Jun 6, 2021 · 1 hr 9 min
#139 - Blindspotting, The Gloaming, and Intelligence
James is away but somehow still manages to dominate the conversation before Terri, Boyd and guest co-host Beth Webb turn their attention to the Mare Of Easttown finale (spoilers – skip between 6:31 and 12:00 if you still haven’t caught up with one of the shows of the year). Then it’s back to James-spiration for a discussion of the biggest bell-ends in TV history, and what exactly makes a bell-end, before we review The Schwim in Sky One’s Intelligence season 2, Blindspotting on Starzplay and crime drama The Gloaming on Disney+.