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Pilot TV
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Description
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, 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 — www.empireonline.com/pilottv
347 Episodes
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Dodgy influencers are the order of the day on this week’s show as we take a look at Netflix’s wellness drama Apple Cider Vinegar (39:12). Plus, we join three hapless boys (and one plastic swan) in BBC comedy Funboys (51:04), and head up to the mean streets of Bradford for the Beeb’s adaptation of the DCI Virdee novels (59:48). Plus, the team chew over television’s most fiendish cliffhangers and James attempts to explain the significance of the impending Buffy reboot to Kay.(Episode 323)Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 12 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+ at empire.supportingcast.fm.
We have a trio of brilliant British shows for you this week as Chris Lang’s Unforgotten reunites Sunny with his famous backpack for its sixth series on ITV (52:22), Jack Rooke’s Big Boys gets a last hurrah as its third and final series hits Channel 4 (59:40), and Lucy Punch starring Motherland spinoff Amandaland makes its debut on BBC1 (1:07:26). Plus we take a deep dive look at this week’s Next On Netflix presentation and Ben Travis gets called at home to answer for his ridiculous question. (Episode 322)Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 12 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+ at empire.supportingcast.fm.
This week, we’re on the hunt for the president’s killer with Sterling K. Brown in Paradise on Disney+ (1:04:01), heading back to the ‘80s to re-live one of the final interviews with Margaret Thatcher in Brian And Maggie on Channel 4 (44:49), and catching up with Rob McElhenney’s gamemasters in season 4 of Mythic Quest on Apple TV+ (1:18:55). All that, and James does his level best to make Kay break her 2025 no swearing rule, with mixed success.(Episode 321)Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 12 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+ at empire.supportingcast.fm.
We’re chatting Prime Target with Leo Woodall and Quintessa Swindell this week (34:16), before hand-picking a single pair of shows to review this week — which has a lot more to do an array of embargoes than an indicator of special quality. Still, we’re back in procedural land for High Potential (54:53) and back in the ‘80s for a bit of geopolitical wrangling with submarines in Swedish miniseries Whiskey On The Rocks (1:03:21) — both on Disney+. Plus we get a small assortment of listener questions from Kay and Boyd reveals his unnatural love of the big light. (Episode 320)Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 12 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+ at empire.supportingcast.fm.
We’re back! it’s 2025 and to kick things off, James Norton and Niamh Algar join us to chat all things Playing Nice on ITV (26:05). But that’s not all, because ITV also brings us this week’s Wales-set drama Out There (1:00:48) with Martin Clunes. We hop back both to the birth of the Wild West and to last week, when American Primeval debuted on Netflix (51:32), but none of that can possibly match the excitement surrounding the return of Severance (1:11:19), which finally returns to Apple TV+ for a second season three years in the making. Can it live up to the show’s critically acclaimed debut? Listen and find out. (Episode 319)Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 12 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+ at empire.supportingcast.fm.
Merry Christmas! and welcome to Pilot TV’s festive round-up of the year that was. Over the course of two glorious hours, we break down the last 12 months in television, sifting through the good, the bad, and the ugly of 2024. From our official best shows list, to honourable mentions, listener questions, some of our favourite moments and an extended (and excruciating) blooper reel from our editor, Darren, we send the year out in style and pave the way for an even better 2025. So kick back, listen up and enjoy!
In our final regular podcast of the year, we speak to the legendary Nicola Walker (26:53) about The Split: Barcelona, as well as Harlan Coben and Nicola Shindler (1:28:19) for Netflix’s Missing You. Plus, we go all festive and sift through some of the great telly coming your way over the Christmas period, including A Ghost Story For Christmas (1:44:29), The Christmas episode of Doctor Who (1:49:06), and the latest season of Steven Knight’s SAS: Rogue Heroes (1:55:26). We also find time to open Santa’s sack and answer your questions in a bumper Christmas postbag, before signing off for a little chocolate-assisted R&R. Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 12 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+ at empire.supportingcast.fm.
In an unexpected turn of events, Pilot TV’s set visit to the new third (and fourth) season of Apple TV+’s Silo resulted in a sit down interview with both Rebecca Ferguson and the big Apple himself, Tim Cook (27:24). Never one to miss a chance to wax lyrical about Foundation, James cornered the Apple CEO to discuss the streamer’s penchant for brilliant nerdy sci-fi. Elsewhere, we review BBC1’s latest Strike instalment, The Ink Black Heart (1:19:03), and speak to star Holliday Grainger while we’re at it (1:00:45), plus we catch up with Kaley Cuoco’s serial killer podcast in the second season of Based On A True Story on Sky (1:31:19). Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 12 hours early, with a second weekly show, and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+ at empire.supportingcast.fm.
1We were delighted to be joined in the studio this week by friend of the pod and Black Doves creator Joe Barton, who heroically braved Euston traffic and his post-premiere hangover to make a triumphant return to the podcast, sitting in with us this week as we chatted everything from animation to comedy and the creative powers of the ‘Merrineum’. Elsewhere, we dabble in Tim Miller’s new video game inspired Prime animation Secret Level, and Netflix’s adaptation of Gabriel García Márquez’s 100 Years Of Solitude.
We’re back in side the Agency this week as the stars of that show, Michale Fassbender and Jeffrey Wright, stop by to chat covert action (26:07). Plus, we continue the espionage theme with Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw in Netflix’s Black Doves (57:24), steal a monstrous amount of maple syrup with Margo Martindale in The Sticky on Prime (1:10:40), and end up watching Dalgliesh on Channel 5 (1:18:41) because everything else was embargoed. Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 12 hours early, with a second weekly show, and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+ at empire.supportingcast.fm.
We have a quartet of brilliant guests for you this week as Billy Bob Thornton and Ali Larter join us to talk Taylor Sheridan’s new show, Landman, on Paramount+ (18:01), and Bene Gesserit sisters Olivia Williams and Emily Watson also drop by to chat Dune Prophecy (45:43). Elsewhere, we head deep undercover with Michael Fassbender for star-studded espionage thriller The Agency on Paramount+ (59:47), head up North for Middlesborough set sitcom Smoggie Queens on BBC3 (1:13:56), and experience the cuckoobong extravaganza that is Mrs Davis on ITVX (1:23:51), which almost defies description. All that as we attempt to dodge Kay’s lurgy as she spreads germs liberally around the studio.Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 12 hours early, with a second weekly show, and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+ at empire.supportingcast.fm.
It’s absolute anarchy this week as we manage to begin the podcast first with a debate about proper podcast nomenclature and then with Kay and Boyd fighting over what does and does not constitute and illegal review. But bear with us and we promise the podcast proper does start eventually. And a good thing too, because Aldis Hodge and Ben Watkins join us to talk Cross (22:16) — though not to get cross — and Rebecca Hall drops by to talk The Listeners (49:12). Elsewhere, we give BBC1’s The Listeners the full review treatment (1:06:36), plus spice things up with Dune: Prophecy on Sky Atlantic (1:15:48) and discover whether Michael Schur and Ted Danson’s new comedy, A Man On the Inside (1:31:22), can hold a candle to The Good Place. Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 12 hours early, with a second weekly show, and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+ at empire.supportingcast.fm.
The Dude himself, Mr Jeff Bridges is one of our guests on this week’s show (27:27), talking about the return of The Old Man on Disney+. He’s joined by Steve Zahn, who drops by to talk about Silo (1:39:49) as its second season drops on Apple TV+. And speaking of which, we dig beneath the surface of that show (1:20:49) to find out whether its encore performance can live up to its sparkling debut, plus we take a trip back to the Troubles for IRA drama Say Nothing on Disney+ (1:31:23). But that’s not all, because in a rare convergence of the spheres, we actually review…. an animation (1:06:19). But not just any animation, because Netflix’s Arcane is back, back, back and even James is excited about this one.Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 12 hours early, with a second weekly show, and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+ at empire.supportingcast.fm.
Comedy legend Billy Crystal is our guest this week, not to talk about comedy, though, but rather psychological thriller Before on Apple TV+. Plus, we have an espionage triple bill for you this week as we delve into the world of assassination with Eddie Redmaybe and Lashana Lynch — both of whom are also guests on this week’s show — in Sky’s The Day Of The Jackal, heading to Afghanistan with Jeff Bridges — a guest on next week’s show — for season 2 of The Old Man on Disney+, and getting another dose of Prime’s Citadelverse in Indian regional spinoff Citadel: Honey Bunny.
Richard E. Grant joins us on the show this week (1:00:00) to talk about The Franchise, which we reviewed last week, plus Ben Wheatley joins drops by to talk about his satirical back comedy Generation Z (00:24:58), which made its debut on Channel 4 on the weekend and which we also review (1:17:01). We head off to France to battle terrorists in Paris Has Fallen on Prime (1:25:51), and we take a harrowing look at life with a serial killer alongside Anna Maxwell Martin in Until I Kill You on ITV (1:35:29). Plus there’s talk of hanging out at Robbie Williams’ house, getting the bejesus scared out of us by Sean Harris, broken penises, interviews derailed by football and an awful lot of zomzies (sic).Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 12 hours early, along with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+ at empire.supportingcast.fm.
Captain Nemo himself, Shazad Latif, joining us this week to chat Nautilus on Prime Video, and Felicity Ward is also a guest on this week’s show, chatting about her role at the forefront of Australia’s take on The Office. Elsewhere, we head behind the scenes of a blockbuster superhero movie in Sky Comedy’s The Franchise, and recline on Jason Segel’s couch in season 2 of Shrinking on Apple TV+. But don’t ask Kay about any of that as there’s a significant chance she’s not listening.
Eighties bonkbuster Rivals arrives on Disney+ this week and our very own Kay Ribeiro gets under the covers with star Aidan Turner to talk all about it. Plus, Lennie James takes on a decades-spanning role in Mr Loverman on BBC1, as a septuagenarian finally coming out of the closet, and Boydy got to chat with Lennie all about that. We also take a look at series 2 of The Devil’s Hour on Prime, which proves a delightful surprise to James and manages to utterly destroy Kay. Listen and find out why.
We invite Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal onto this week’s show to talk about Spanish-language boxing drama a Máquina on Disney+. But that’s not all, as we pillory Kay for daring to take some time off, James is lambasted for his egregious (if entirely oblivious) queue-jumping, and there’s some seasonal spooky chat about the best TV-based horrors. As well as reviewing La Máquina, though, we also take a look at starry Apple drama Disclaimer with Cate Blanchett, and Sweetpea on Sky Atlantic, in which Ella Purnell gets in touch with her inner sociopath.
It’s a crime special this week as not only do we delve into Ryan Murphy’s latest bowl of depravity in crime drama Grotesquerie on Disney+ but we also have Crime Monthly editor Steph Seelan standing in for Kay, who’s still on her meditation retreat (if you worked with James and Boyd, you’d need one too). And while we have Steph among us, we take the opportunity to delve into the best British crime shows and get her professional take. Elsewhere, we return to Pierpoint with Industry series 3, which finally makes its way to BBC1, and catch up with the second series of Showtrial, which does likewise.
There’s an ever-so-slight mix-up this week over whether a prestige BBC drama about tennis coaches should be masquerading as a Spanish language show about pirate ambulances, but that particular wrinkle thankfully gets ironed out in time for us to tackle Apples Never Fall on BBC1, in which Sam Neill may or may not have murdered Annette Bening. Plus David Mitchell and David Mitchell star as a pair of twins in Ludwig, also on the Beeb, and Sophie Turner takes a turn as godmother of crime Joan Hannington in Joan on ITV1. Also, now that the embargo has lifted, Boyd and Kay are able to review A Very Royal Scandal and James once again gets into the reasons why he wasn’t bewitched by Agatha All Along.
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"and illegal review" I see the proof reading is strong with this one. Or, as James might say it "The. Proof. Reading. Is. Strong. With. This. One." Or as Boyd might say "it's the most incredible cultural phenomenon of all time/in recent TV history."
Incredible. With. James. Talking. In. One. Word. Sentences. As. Usual.
Why. Does. James. Talk. As. If. Every. Word. Has. A. Full. Stop. After. It. So. Annoying.
Would give this podcast 5 stars. Great info on latest TV shows, excellent banter and spirited debate. Listened from the start and did a relisten recently. Features TVs Boyd Hilton, Nerd Emperor James Dyer and Baking champion Kay rubeiro. Loving the additional plus pods.
Why. Does. James. Speak. With. Full stops. Between. Every. Word?
Looking forward to a couple of reverse ferrets on The Sandman.
azx,,sz
Incredible ! Phenomenal! The best podcast in the history of podcasts!
Thing you agree? Incredible! Phenomenal!
Someone request Beth to not sit too close to her mic it's unsettling when her tone raises suddenly. Some of us go to sleep to podcast 😁
Plus a random and very probably egregious mention of I May Destroy You.
How long before I Will Destroy You gets its obligatory shout out by Boyd, I wonder?
Friends, West Wing, boring AGAIN !! The rest excellent tho !
incredible/phenomenon/dude/one of the best moments in recent TV history....oh Boyd...
Fun game. Count how many times Boyd says "incredible" or "incredibly" every episode. 26 last week, five so far in the first 20 minutes of the latest ep!
Boyd, every week... "one of the best TV shows of all time." Yet a recent discussion about the greatest TV shows took none of them back further than 1990. 🙄
Whingeing about not being sent more than one episode of Falcon and the Winter Soldier to review. Boo hoo. Review it after you've seen a couple. Pilot TV does tend to summarily dismiss shows on the basis of just one episode and they have missed out on some real treats because of their snap judgments and obsessions with reality TV and constantly rewatching decades old shows. Time for a refresh of the hosts maybe?
dedicated West Wing episode?.....er nah!!😖 Still a good podcast, but W.W. , Buffy, friends, ffs! getting a bit boring now!! Will still listen tho, as I simply fast forward the, 'like I give a fuck' bits. Take care and stay safe peeps!❤
Another Boyd favourite: "One of the greatest scenes in TV history/recent TV history." 🙄
"male gaze"... Lol 🙄