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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Apr 12, 2020 · 1 hr 43 min
#81 - Devs, Killing Eve, Quiz, Run and Bosch. Featuring Matthew Macfadyen & Sian Clifford
Matthew Macfadyen & Sian Clifford stop by the pod this week to discuss ITV's Quiz. Plus it's wall-to-wall reviews as we make up for last week's leaner slate with out takes on Season 3 of Killing Eve (finally!), Alex Garland's twisted mystery Devs, HBO comedy/thriller Run, the aforementioned Quiz and the latest season of Bosch. Plus we take a dive into the world of book series we'd like to see adapted to the small screen and reel off about fifteen bits of different Tiger King news.
Apr 6, 2020 · 1 hr 16 min
#80 - Red Dwarf: The Promised Land, Alma's Not Normal, and (not) Killing Eve
It's only smegging Red Dwarf on the podcast this week — a show that Terri had never seen before this *feature-length* episode, much to James and Boyd's collective enjoyment. Plus we review Alma's Not Normal (a sitcom Terri enjoyed far more, but mainly as it appears to have been based upon her life) but sadly *not* Killing Eve Season 3 as, while we've seen it, apparently the embargo doesn't lift until Tuesday. Sorry. On the plus side, there's a trio of Banshees for your enjoyment and a misty-eyed discussion of the best TV theme tunes — including The Raccoons, for some reason. Cyril Sneer would not approve.
Mar 29, 2020 · 1 hr 12 min
#79 - Save Me Too, Tales From The Loop, and Home Before Dark
The magnificent Lennie James returns to our screens (in a bright yellow puffer jacket, naturally) having written a follow-up to 2018's brilliant Save Me. And that's not all, because this week we're also wrangling with the very fabric of existence with Amazon's Tales From The Loop, and keeping print journalism alive with a tween reporter in Apple's Home Before Dark. Plus the team take the current lockdown to heart, prompting an in-depth discussion of TV's best bottle episodes.
Mar 23, 2020 · 1 hr 25 min
#78 - The Mandalorian, Veronica Mars, Hitmen, and Ozark
It's here! The first socially distanced Pilot TV podcast is live, and not only is it business as usual for Pilot TV during the current pandemic but we also see the triumphant return of Terri White as it turns out that isolation and maternity leave are actually quite compatible. On this week's show we *finally* get to review The Mandalorian as Disney + launches here in the UK, and we *at last* get to see the return of Veronica Mars as it makes a belated appearance here as well. Plus we go murderising with Mel and Sue in Sky's Hitmen and catch up with Jason Bateman in Ozark Season 3. All that and enough banter, random police sirens and general nonsense to keep your minds off all things virus-related for an hour and a half. Enjoy!
Mar 16, 2020 · 1 hr 28 min
#77 - Belgravia, The English Game, and Feel Good
It's a Julian Fellowes double-bill this week as we sit down to high tea with some posh socialites in Belgravia and then set about scoring goals against posh footballers in The English Game. And that's all prior to being thoroughly charmed by Mae Martin and Charlotte Ritchie in Feel Good. Don't worry, though, there's plenty of conflict to balance it all out as Boyd goes all Season 8 Daenerys on James over what they've been watching this week and we talk about the best in apocalyptic TV.
Mar 9, 2020 · 1 hr 45 min
#76 - Westworld, Breeders, and Mrs. Fletcher
Martin Freeman and Daisy Haggard are our guests this week, stopping by to talk about their parenting comedy Breeders, which features Freeman hurling obscenities at a toddler and calling an alarm clock a c***. We also tackle Sky’s Mrs Fletcher, in which empty nest syndrome collides with hardcore pornography — an incident that unexpectedly spiced up James' commute. And last but by no means least we return to HBO’s Westworld to see whether Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan’s show survives its transition to the real world. If all that wasn’t enough, this week’s listener question leads to a frankly shocking confession from Pilot’s very own Beth Webb.
Mar 2, 2020 · 1 hr 24 min
#75 - Noughts + Crosses, War Of The Worlds, Liar, and The Trip To Greece
This week's show sees us suiting up for yet another War Of The Worlds, this time in a more contemporary London with Gabriel Byrne on the run from Martian marauders. Plus we explore racial tensions in an alternate reality England with BBC1's Noughts + Crosses, seek nuggets of truth in return of ITV's Liar, and accompany Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan on their latest holiday abroad in The Trip To Greece. Plus we get to hear about Beth's new sideline as a documentarian as she unearths the darker side of streaming services, and Boyd catches us up on what he's been watching, which is apparently everything.
Feb 24, 2020 · 1 hr 30 min
#74 - I'm Not Okay With This, Altered Carbon, and Flesh And Blood. Featuring guest host Rufus Jones
The star and creator of Channel 4's Home, Rufus Jones joins us on the podcast this week, stepping in for James while he's on holiday. And speaking of body swaps, this week sees us review Season 2 of Netflix's now Joel Kinnaman-less sci-fi Altered Carbon, along with John Hughes-inspired high school superhero series I'm Not Okay With This and ITV thriller Flesh & Blood.
Feb 17, 2020 · 1 hr 18 min
#73 - Hunters, Intelligence, and This Country
We’re on the lookout for Nazis with Al Pacino this week with Amazon’s Hunters, plus studying the art of incompetent spycraft with David Schwimmer in Intelligence, and taking a break from the bustle of London for a tongue-in-cheek look at Cotswolds life in BBC mockumentary This Country. All that and you can discover the assortment of shows Boyd's recently been on set of, learn why Beth loves Pontypandy, and find out why James' mum once complained to the BBC about a certain children's show.
Feb 10, 2020 · 1 hr 10 min
#72 - Homeland, Castle Rock, and The End
Join us for a very special podcast this week — Terri's last before heading off on maternity leave. To celebrate the occasion Boyd and James provide some recommendations for post partum viewing, plus we dive head first into the eighth season of Homeland, the second season of Castle Rock and the beginning of Australian euthanasia drama, The End.
Feb 3, 2020 · 1 hr 30 min
#71 - Locke & Key, Home, Baghdad Central, The Pale Horse, and Inside No. 9. Featuring guest host Sarah Phelps
Sarah Phelps joins us as a special celebrity co-host on this week's show to talk everything from her latest Agatha Christie adaptation, The Pale Horse to the joys of Mrs Brown's Boys, by way of Baby Yoda sex toys and the logistics of stormtrooper wanking. Meanwhile, we get stuck into *four* other new shows this week, including Netflix's latest spooky old house series, and the delightful second series of Rufus Jones' immigrant comedy, Home.
Jan 27, 2020 · 1 hr 40 min
#70 - Star Trek: Picard, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Miracle Workers. Featuring Armando Iannucci
Armando Iannucci is our guest on the podcast this week, telling us about his love of Star Trek, the fundamental flaw in Virgin Atlantic, and why he chose to break with terrestrial affairs and write a show set in a flying dildo (35:44-49:17). Also this week, Boyd explains the secret behind Larry David’s comedy genius as we review Season 10 of Curb Your Enthusiasm and we take a trip to heaven with Daniel Radcliffe and Steve Buscemi in Miracle Workers. Finally, after about 18 months of build-up, James *finally* gets to talk about Star Trek: Picard. Apologies in advance: that bit goes on for a while! 🖖
Jan 20, 2020 · 1 hr 7 min
#69 - Avenue 5, Shrill, and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Beth Webb stands in for Terri this week as we are prevented from talking about Star Trek: Picard thanks to an inconvenient embargo that we in no way attempt to circumvent by nefarious means. Instead, we hop aboard Armando Iannucci’s new sci-fi show, Avenue 5, embrace the comedy charms of Shrill Season 2 and find out what’s been happening on Netflix’s Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina. Plus you can hear all about how Boyd turned up on Skins and Beth’s attempts to justify her aversion to science fiction.
Jan 13, 2020 · 1 hr 16 min
#68 - The Outsider, Sex Education, and Cobra
Happy new year! Pilot TV’s first show of 2020 marks the triumphant return of Netflix’s Sex Education, the declaration of a national emergency in Sky’s Cobra, and a supernatural twist on the modern crime drama with the HBO adaptation of Stephen King’s The Outsider. Plus James, Terri and Boyd thrash out the various shows they managed to cram into the Christmas Break, not least of all the Derry Girls edition of Bake Off.
Dec 30, 2019 · 1 hr 59 min
Review Of The Year 2019, featuring Brian Cox
Another year, another raft of exceptional TV shows. If you were wondering what shows you should be watching over the holiday break, curious as to what you missed over the past 12 months or just looking for the single, definitive checklist of everything that should be on your playlist then look no further. James, Terri and Boyd mull over all the best shows of the past 12 months, running down the official Pilot TV Top 20 shows of the year. Plus, make some extra recommendations and take a look at some of the shows that fell through the cracks over the course of the year. Not only that but Brian Cox stops by to talk Logan Roy and all things Succession Season 2. If you only listen to one TV podcast episode this year, make it this one!
Dec 23, 2019 · 1 hr 12 min
#67 - Dracula, You, and The Witcher
In our final regular show of the year we get bloody with Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat’s Sherlockian take on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, get caught up with Season 2 of Netflix’s stalker series You, and are finally allowed to talk about The Witcher. Plus we fill you in on the Gavin & Stacey and Doctor Who Christmas specials.
Dec 16, 2019 · 1 hr
#66 - A Christmas Carol, Sticks And Stones, and In The Long Run Christmas Special
This week we’re tapping into that Big Dickens Energy with Steven Knight's take on A Christmas Carol, and continuing in the festive spirit with the Christmas special of Idris Elba’s In The Long Run. Plus, we debate the difference between a comedy and a psychological thriller in our review of ITV's Sticks And Stones. Terri's off on holiday this week but Beth Webb bravely attempts to fill her sweary shoes and keep both James and Boyd in line.
Dec 9, 2019 · 1 hr 32 min
#65 - The Expanse, Traces, and Law & Order: SVU
Rupert Grint makes his Pilot TV Podcast debut this week, stopping by to talk all things Servant. Plus we *finally* get the chance to review The Expanse and you won't want to miss Terri's assessment of that one. As counter programming to that, we get into a protracted and somewhat heated argument, debating the merits of the new season of Law & Order: SVU. Plus Alibi's Traces gets a look in as well.
Dec 2, 2019 · 1 hr 8 min
#64 - Truth Be Told, Vikings, and Elizabeth Is Missing
On the podcast this week we're heavy on the Norse as Terri and Boyd try (and fail) to make sense of Vikings Season 5, Apple's latest drops in the form of Octavia Spencer's podcast-themed Truth Be Told, and we enjoy a 90-minute one-off TV drama (not a film) in BBC1's Elizabeth Is Missing. Plus James prepares everyone for next week's return of The Expanse in *excruciating* detail (01:00:14 - 01:04:42).
Nov 25, 2019 · 1 hr 6 min
#63 - Servant, 8 Days, and Upright
It's all creepy nannies with M. Night Shyamalan's Servant this week, then a Teutonic apocalypse in Sky's 8 Days and finally a road trip across Australia with Tim Minchin and a suerprisingly sweary 16 year-old in Upright. Plus Boyd shows off his newfound swearing powers, Terri teaches us some Northern slang and James finally gets to Banshee Utopia. (Note: The Servant review takes place between 36:02 and 45:54 and is clearly signposted, just in case you want to watch that without knowing what it's about).