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Pilot TV

Empire Magazinepscrb.fm

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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Episodes

#112 - The Good Lord Bird, Lovers Rock, and We Are Who We Are

Pilot TV's bellend-in-chief has taken a rare holiday this week leaving Terri in the hot seat and welcoming Amon Warmann onto the team as they watch Ethan Hawke gives it his all in abolitionist drama The Good Lord Bird on Sky Atlantic; Steve McQueen's second instalment in Small Axe, Lovers Rock, which comes to BBC1; and a pair of teenagers come of age on a US military base in Luca Guadagnino's We Are Who We Are on BBC Three. All that and Pilot TV is graced with its first musical review, Boyd utte...

Nov 16, 20201 hr 30 minSeason 1Ep. 114

#111 - The Crown, Industry, and Small Axe

It's time to get down with The Crown on this week's show as we take in the uncanny glory that is Gillian Anderson's superlative Margaret Thatcher. Plus we get a look inside the cut-throat world of financial services in BBC2's Industry (it does *not* pass the bellend test), and catch a selection of films in Steve McQueen's Small Axe on BBC1, which may or may not constitute a TV series in the strictest sense but is so good that it really doesn't matter.

Nov 09, 20201 hr 25 minSeason 1Ep. 113

#110 - The Mandalorian, The Vow, and His Dark Materials

Baby Yoda returns this week as we're finally able to review The Mandalorian Season 2 on Disney+. We also catch up with Lyra and Pantalaimon in the second series of the BBC's His Dark Materials adaptation AND delve into the sordid inner workings of sex cult NXIVM in Sky Documentaries' The Vow. All that and you get to hear Terri's latest adventures in The West Wing to properly prepare you for tomorrow's US election.

Nov 02, 20201 hr 30 minSeason 1Ep. 112

#109 - The Undoing, Truth Seekers, and The Sister. Featuring Russell Tovey.

Russell Tovey makes his triumphant return to the podcast this week, taking about Neil Cross' new show, The Sister on ITV. Plus we find out if Nick Frost is afraid of ghosts in Amazon's Truth Seekers and get an eyeful of Sky's The Undoing, which features Hugh Grant, Nicole Kidman and a surprising amount of full frontal nudity. Plus Terri updates us on her West Wing progress and the team has an alternate universe conversation about TV castings that could have been.

Oct 26, 20201 hr 58 minSeason 1Ep. 111

#108 - Star Trek: Discovery, Out Of Her Mind, and Twenties. Featuring Nick Frost.

It's a momentous episode this week as, after 107 episodes of James banging on about it, Terri finally watched The West Wing. What's more, she reviews the show for us at the top of this week's show (well, the episodes she's seen, anyway). That alone should be more than enough to warrant a download, but there's more! Nick Frost drops by the pod to talk about his new show, Truth Seekers, plus we review Season 3 of Star Trek: Discovery, get a glimpse inside Sara Pascoe's brain in the bonkers Out Of ...

Oct 18, 20201 hr 57 minSeason 1Ep. 110

#107 - The Right Stuff, Roadkill, and Warrior

James discovers the joy of Cobra Kai this week, having finally accepted Netflix's glorious Karate Kid spinoff series into his heart, meanwhile Terri anoints herself 'the reality sponge' and Boyd maintains that he still hasn't watched the Little Mix reality show. In more serious business, though, we finally get to talk about The Right Stuff on Disney+, not to mention Hugh Laurie's political shenanigans in the BBC's Roadkill, and the glorious return of Warrior on Sky. Plus there's a minor free-for...

Oct 11, 20201 hr 32 minSeason 1Ep. 109

#106 - The Haunting Of Bly Manor, The Walking Dead: World Beyond, and Adult Material

Zombies! Ghosts! Porn stars! We've got a little something for everyone on this week's show as we tackle The Walking Dead: World Beyond, Netflix's The Haunting Of Bly Manor, and Channel 4's Adult Material. Plus a little more musing on Netflix's cancellation formula (less boring than it sounds!) and some disagreement as to how many syllables are in the name Conan.

Oct 04, 20201 hr 29 minSeason 1Ep. 108

#105 - Brave New World, Life, and The Comey Rule

It's a Brave New World this week as we immerse ourselves in the new adaptation of Aldous Huxley's dystopian sci-fi novel, plus we get a Life with the BBC's new Doctor Foster Spinoff, and strap in for three hours of Trump getting elected in the HBO adaptation of former FBI director James Comey's memoir, The Comey Rule.

Sep 27, 20201 hr 34 minSeason 1Ep. 107

#104 - Utopia, Ghosts, and Evil

Gillian Flynn's long-awaited remake of Dennis Kelly's Utopia lands with us this week, along with the second series of the Horrible History crew's spirited comedy, Ghosts. Plus Terri gets to geek out about Mike Coulter-starring supernatural procedural Evil, and Boyd and Terri's ongoing mission to make James like Doctor Who steps up a notch as finally watches Blink from series 3.

Sep 20, 20201 hr 20 minSeason 1Ep. 106

#103 - The Third Day, Ratched, Criminal, and Des

Dennis Kelly joins us on the show this week to talk about his audacious new multi-part drama (with a live event, no less) The Third Day, plus we get back into the interrogation room for Season 2 of Netflix's Criminal, strap in for the most Ryan Murphy show of all time with Ratched, and witness David Tennant at his most terrifying in ITV's Des. And that's not all, because we also take a look back at TV's most heart-warming (and teeth-gnashingly frustrating) slow-burn romances and get borderline h...

Sep 13, 20202 hr 6 minSeason 1Ep. 105

#102 - High Fidelity, The Duchess, Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens, and The Singapore Grip. Featuring David Morrissey

David Morrissey is our guest on this week's show, talking about his new series, The Singapore Grip, which we also review. What's more, after an eternity's wait, Hulu's High Fidelity finally arrives on British screens, much to our delight, while Netflix's The Duchess pits Katherine Ryan against modern life and Awkwafina gets her own slacker comedy in the rather confusingly titled Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens. Plus Terri finally gets a chance to share her top 5 shows - no prizes for guessing numb...

Sep 07, 20201 hr 58 minSeason 1Ep. 104

#101 - Young Wallander, Away, and Two Weeks To Live

Beth is back and mercifully audible this week as we dive into Netflix's Young Wallander, take a trip to Mars with Hillary Swank in Away, and see Maisie Williams turn into (another) pint-sized assassin in Sky's hitgirl comedy, Two Weeks To Live. Plus we unearth some classic British shows that might appeal to our American listeners and there's a perhaps a brief mention of Battlestar Galactica coming to iPlayer.

Aug 31, 20201 hr 26 minSeason 1Ep. 103

#100 - The Boys, Strike, and I Hate Suzie. With guest host Tom Ellis

Lucifer himself, Mr Tom Ellis, joins us as guest host for our 100th episode! We chat about everything from playing the lord of hell to his love for Battlestar Galactica, as well as running down each of our top five TV shows of all time. Plus we review the latest series of Strike, watch Billie Piper's life implode in I Hate Suzie and get a head start on the long-awaited second season of Amazon's The Boys. All that and Tom even breaks out his guitar. What's not to love?

Aug 24, 20201 hr 41 minSeason 1Ep. 102

#99 - Lovecraft Country, Teenage Bounty Hunters, and Famalam

James is off this week so in comes Beth Webb who delights us with her axe wielding (she plays guitar), as we review the monstrously exciting Lovecraft Country, the edgy Teen Bounty Hunters on Netflix and BBC3’s comedy sketch show Famalam. We also take the opportunity to reboot some classic sitcoms as TV dramas.

Aug 16, 20201 hr 23 minSeason 1Ep. 101

#98 - Ted Lasso, Dirty John, and Mandy

We're returning to Dirty John this week with a second series of that anthology show, which no longer features anyone named John, and returning to The First Team (kind of) in Apple's similarly-themed football comedy, Ted Lasso. Plus we take in some bite-sized comedy in Diane Morgan's Mandy and it all kicks off over this year's TV BAFTAs, in which Fleabag and Derry Girls were defeated by Stath Lets Flats.

Aug 10, 20201 hr 25 minSeason 1Ep. 100

#97 - The Deceived, Harlots, and Little Birds. Featuring Lisa McGee

Get those headphones on and send the kids to bed for this special illicit sex-themed episode of the Pilot TV podcast where we not only visit Samantha Morton's house of ill-repute in Harlots and delve into the adaptation of Anaïs Nin's Little Birds, but see an affair take a distinctly supernatural turn in Lisa McGee's The Deceived as well. And speaking of The Deceived, Lisa herself is a guest on this week's show, dropping by to talk us through her Donegal-set psychological thriller and what we ca...

Aug 03, 20201 hr 37 minSeason 1Ep. 99

#96 - The Umbrella Academy, Prodigal Son, Anthony, and Muppets Now

It's umbrellas at the ready this week as we dive headfirst into Season 2 of Netflix's batty superhero series, The Umbrella Academy. And speaking of demented television concepts, serial killer procedural Prodigal son (which stars The Walking Dead's Tom 'Jesus' Payne and Michael Shane as a father-and-son sociopathic crime-solving duo) certainly fits the bill. Elsewhere, we tackle Jimmy McGovern's harrowing one-off drama, Anthony, and the rather less serious return of Kermit and the gang in Muppets...

Jul 26, 20201 hr 30 minSeason 1Ep. 98

#95 - Cursed, A Suitable Boy, and Fort Salem

We're all about the witches this week as we unearth our belated review of Netflix's Arthurian epic, Cursed, and then sign up for Wiccan boot camp and the arrival of BBC3's army witch series, Fort Salem. Plus we're heading off to post-partition India for the adaptation of Vikram Seth's mammoth tome, A Suitable Boy. All the and a lot more discussion of fingering than you'll generally find on an average episode of the Pilot podcast, but you can all blame Terri for that.

Jul 20, 20201 hr 15 minSeason 1Ep. 97

#94 - The Plot Against America and Condor

We are cursed by embargoes this week as Netflix's latest show, Cursed, demands our lips stay sealed for another week, however we are able to talk about David Simon and Ed Burns' new show, The Plot Against America, and discover Condor, a show we didn't know existed until season 2 dropped in our laps. All that plus lots of discussion around restaurant scenes and Boyd's recollections of having to talk to famouses at after parties.

Jul 13, 20201 hr 13 minSeason 1Ep. 96

#93 - P-Valley, Mrs America, Little Voice, and... Warrior Nun!

It's the episode you've all been waiting for - the show in which we *finally* review Warrior Nun, AKA the greatest TV show ever made. We also delve into the world of Mississippi strip clubs in P-Valley, join Cate Blanchett in some seventies political turmoil in Mrs America, and try to hit the big time with Apple's Little Voice. All that and we run through the 20 best TV shows of the year so far and find out what James has learned on the guitar this week.

Jul 05, 20201 hr 46 minSeason 1Ep. 95

#92 - Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, Hanna, and The Kemps: All True

Malevolent demons, pint-sized assassins and Spandau Ballet are the topics on this week's show as we review Penny Dreadful: City Of Angels, Season 2 of Amazon's Hanna, and The Kemps: All True (yes really). Plus the team speculate on which supporting characters should get their own spinoffs, Terri and Boyd continue with I May Destroy You, and James subjects everyone to some of the worst guitar playing since Dave Lister performed 'She's Out Of My Life' in series three of Red Dwarf.

Jun 28, 20201 hr 15 minSeason 1Ep. 95

#91 - Perry Mason, Insecure, and Talking Heads. Featuring Natalie Dormer

Natalie Dormer is our guest on this week's show, chatting about her new series, Penny Dreadful: City Of Angels, and reminiscing about Game Of Thrones. Meanwhile, we resurrect a courtroom legend in HBO's Perry Mason, jump into the fourth season of Issa Rae's Insecure and dabble in a little lockdown monologuing with Alan Bennett's Talking Heads. Plus we celebrate Terri's birthday while casting aspersions over the veracity of her Northernness, she drinks an endless amount of Bucks Fizz, and there's...

Jun 21, 20201 hr 43 minSeason 1Ep. 94

#90 - The Sinner, The Great, and The Luminaries

This week's show is brought to you in association with the definite article as we catch up with Bill Pullman in season 3 of The Sinner, head off to 18th century Russia with Elle Fanning in The Great, and to 19th century New Zealand with Eva Green and Eve Hewson in The Luminaries. All that plus a squabble over whether or not you should skip TV show credits, the indignity of unrealistic threesomes and the question of whether the 'astrolabe' is a hitherto undiscovered part of female anatomy.

Jun 14, 20201 hr 14 minSeason 1Ep. 93

#89 - I May Destroy You, Betty, Hillary, and The Salisbury Poisonings

On this week's show we’re breaking out the skateboards and pulling off some righteous grinds with HBO’s Betty, heading to Wiltshire and being incredibly careful what we touch for BBC1’s The Salisbury Poisonings, exploring sexual consent with Michaela Cole in I May Destroy You, and we get into a big old political scuffle while reviewing Sky Documentaries’ Hillary. Plus a complete deconstruction of last week's TV BAFTA nominations (Years And Years was robbed), plus Boyd and Terri do their best to ...

Jun 07, 20201 hr 39 minSeason 1Ep. 92

#88 - Alex Rider, The First Team, Cardinal, and The Other One. Featuring Vicky McClure

Vicky McClure joins us this week to talk about Amazon's Alex Rider, which we also review. Plus you get a (slightly belated) review of The First Team, our introduction to Canadian noir thriller Cardinal, and BBC2's mix-matched family comedy The Other One. All that and an interminable Banshee of Babylon 5, plus we philosophise for nearly ten minutes on the origins and usage of profanity, just for the listeners who complain we swear too much. Because of course we do.

May 31, 20202 hr 2 minSeason 1Ep. 91

#87 - Snowpiercer, Space Force, and We Hunt Together. Featuring Will Arnett

Will Arnett joins us on the podcast this week as we lace up and hit the pitch for The First Team: his new comedy from the creators of The Inbetweeners. We also get our tickets punched for the long delayed TV adaptation of Bong Joon-Ho's Snowpiercer, which arrives on Netflix this week, and head into the stratosphere with Steve Carell in Space Force. And if that wasn't enough, we go searching for a pair of killers in We Hunt Together, James takes the Gogglebox challenge, Terri endures an episode o...

May 25, 20201 hr 49 minSeason 1Ep. 90

#86 - Little Fires Everywhere, Homecoming, and Pandora

We didn't start the fire... but we're pretty sure we know who did in Amazon's Little Fires Everywhere. Plus we try desperately to figure out what in creation is going on in Season 2 of Homecoming (it helps if you've seen Season 1, trust us), and we strap Terri down and force her to sit through SyFy's new budget outing, Pandora. It goes about as well as you'd imagine. All that and we manage to not only sum up the best series you can watch in a single day but James (reluctantly) agrees to take on ...

May 17, 20201 hr 15 minSeason 1Ep. 89

#85 - I Know This Much Is True, Hightown, and Dave

It's a double dose of Mark Ruffalo this week as he takes on twin duties in HBO’s preternaturally depressing adaptation of Wally Lamb's I Know This Much Is True. Plus we head out to Cape Cod with Monica Raymund in cop drama Hightown and rap along with Dave Burd (who seems unhealthily obsessed with his own genitals) in FX comedy Dave. Plus there's some fun with names in this week's listener question, we engage in some spoiler-free discussion of the Homeland (Woo!) and Westworld (Boo!) finales, and...

May 10, 20201 hr 24 minSeason 1Ep. 88

#84 - Hollywood, The Eddy, and Brassic

All three of us take the opportunity this week to gush liberally over our experiences watching the rest of Normal People (Marianne! Connell! All the feels!). After that, we finally manage to bring your our review of Ryan Murphy's Tinseltown fairytale, Hollywood; take a look at Jack Thorne and Damien Chazelle's Parisian jazz series, The Eddy; and witness the triumphant return of Joe Gilgun's Brassic. Plus we entirely fail to come up with an agreed set of rules for naming our favourite shows on ea...

May 03, 20201 hr 19 minSeason 1Ep. 87

#83 - Trying, Upload, Stumptown, Code 404, and Blood

On this week's show, Empire's Chris Hewitt parachutes in to join Boyd in giving Better Call Saul some long overdue love. Plus we look at parenting with Rafe Spall and Esther Smith in Apple's Trying, sample a technological afterlife in Amazon’s Upload, see Danny Mays brought back to life in Sky’s Code 404, investigate a kidnapping with Cobie Smulders in Stumptown, and find out what's going on behind the curtains in series 2 of Channel 5's Blood. All that and James bangs on about season 4 of The L...

Apr 26, 20201 hr 38 minSeason 1Ep. 86
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