Pilot Program

There's something about The Mary Tyler Moore Show -- a '70s classic of a girl just trying to "make it on her own" in a new city. Chase and Pierce dig into this cornerstone of sitcom television, including its iconic opening, feminist themes and lasting legacy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With a new He-Man movie hitting theaters, we thought there was no better time to get to know the world of this '80s toy-turned-tv show than right now. Uh...we didn't like it. But we still ended up having a lot of fun talking through the political atmosphere that allowed He-Man to thrive, the production quirks of making a cartoon on a shoestring budget and the cadre of losers that comprise most of...

Cooking shows have historically been a pretty consistent breed: A chef running you through a recipe step by step while maybe throwing in a pithy story or anecdote every once in a while. But Alton Brown's Good Eats had a different mission. Rather than teach you a recipe, Brown's goal was to teach you the mechanics of food, giving you a baseline understanding of the science of cooking, and putting y...

Medical shows are a dime a dozen these days, but HBO Max's The Pitt has been dominating both award shows and social feeds with its brand of intense medical drama, compelling characters and technical prowess. Chase and Pierce watch the first hour of this "24" structured show, and see if we can identify what makes it tick. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Muppets are an institution, with films, music albums, cartoons and merch galore. But it wasn't always this way. Despite the success of Sesame Street, Jim Henson didn't want to be pigeonholed into just a children's entertainer. And thus, The Muppet Show was born, a variety musical sketch show pairing a celebrity guest star with the zany cadre of puppet characters -- something for everyone! But...

Well, we finally made it: It's time for Chase's favorite show, Mission Hill. Expensive to make and stuck on a network that couldn't find a place for it, Mission Hill never achieved mainstream success. But the show has achieved cult status, with a small, but dedicated fanbase. Obviously, Chase is part of the cult, but how will Pierce react when he sees it for the first time? Hosted on Acast. See ac...

The Golden Girls is not just one of the most popular shows of the '80s -- It's a television icon. What started as a parody became a show whose popularity has endured for over 40 years. But how much did they have figured out in their first episode? Chase and Pierce take on this TV classic on this edition of Pilot Program. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chase and Pierce boldly go where many, many, many people have gone before. That's right, we've set our sights on 1966's Star Trek. Created by Gene Roddenberry and starring William Shatner, Star Trek delves into complex topics with thoughtful analysis. Or, in the case of this episode, showcases a rather poorly-written monster mystery. Eh, they can't all be winners. Still, the magic and promise of S...

2006's Friday Night Lights was a massive critical (yet not always commercial) success. Inspire by a book written by his cousin, director Peter Berg adapted the work into a 2004 film. Feeling there was more to dig into though, Berg would rework the concept into a TV show, with a (mostly) all-new cast and story. Does NBC's cult classic still have what it takes to make the varsity squad in 2025? And...

As is tradition on Pilot Program, we cover an anime every tenth episode, and for our 40th show, we're talking about one of Chase's favorites: 2014's Ping Pong The Animation. Based on the manga from Taiyō Matsumoto and directed by Masaaki Yuasa, Ping Pong centers around two high school table tennis players -- one brash and filled with natural talent, and the other who doesn't even seem to really wa...

As its twin hits of Mad Men and Breaking Bad were coming to a close, AMC was looking for another premier drama to add to its catalog. While it would never achieve the same commercial success of those earlier titans, 2014's Halt & Catch Fire would find a small, but passionate fanbase that has achieved cult classic status in the 10+years after its debut. Chase and Pierce analyze the characters,...

In 2007, after a failed attempt to create their own original programming, ESPN tried again, adapting Jonathan Mahler book, The Bronx is Burning, into an 8-episode miniseries. Following the 1977 New York Yankees run to the World Series and the wider cultural turmoil of New York City at the time, The Bronx is Burning features big name talent and innovative production solutions to make for a unique s...

Let's get fancy and travel back to the late 1800s for HBO's The Gilded Age, the new show from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. It's old money vs. the nouveau riche in a battle of New York City's socialite supremacy. We talk about how reality TV has shaped premium dramas (or maybe the other way around?), how to get from Pennsylvania to NYC and why all the outdoor scenes in this show...look li...

Hey, welcome to our podcast. Come on in. No, there's nothing in our fridge, but we do have a cornerstone of 2000s-era MTV programming: MTV Cribs. The debut of Cribs is basically lost media at this point, and the copy Chase has is a severely degraded chopped up version someone threw on archive.org a long time ago (and even that upload is gone now). But it's enough that we're able to reminisce about...

We go back to the 1993 well for a Nickelodeon cartoon from both Chase and Pierce's childhood. It's Rocko's Modern Life, the subversive, transgressive and sometimes even gross early Nicktoon. We talk about the actual pilot, the first episode that aired on Nickelodeon and the remade version of the pilot that was placed later in the first season. It's like three shows in one! Lucky you. Hosted on Aca...

Chase and Pierce go back to the '90s to talk about the mechanics of the late night talk show, specifically 1993's Late Night with Conan O'Brien. After a departing David Letterman left NBC down a host, the network made the unconventional decision to go with a young and untested comedy writer with some funky hair that would end up becoming one of the most interesting comedians of his time. We talk a...

For our first Showtime program for the podcast, Pierce and Chase dive into the world of 2004's The L Word, a groundbreaking show focused on the lives and relationships of a group of lesbians living in Los Angeles (and one straight woman who may just want to join the team). We watched the first part of a two-episode pilot because honestly, we had plenty to talk about from just that. Show Notes Chas...

Columbo is next up on the Pilot Program schedule! We had a couple different pilot options for this one, including some TV movies, but ultimately opted for the first episode of the series proper (it helped that Steven Spielberg directed it.) Listen in as Chase and Pierce talk about this "inverse mystery show," reflect on area codes and make some really bad Peter Falk impressions (OK, only Chase doe...

Chase and Pierce are joined by Justin Dioneda as we dig into the hard-to-categorize, but extremely entertaining HBO show Barry. From the mind of SNL-alum, Bill Hader, Barry is a show about a hitman trying to build a new life as an actor, and the tensions that occur when those professions intersect. Show Notes: Pierce mentions Bill Hader appeared on the YouTube channel for the record store Amoeba....

Gunbuster is a classic anime from Gainax, the studio best known for foundational shows like Gurren Lagann and Neon Genesis Evangelion. But before those breakouts, Gainax was in trouble -- their first movie flopped hard at the box office, and their second big project was shelved midway through development. They needed a hit, and Gunbuster really came through. But will it comes through for our two p...

Anthony Bourdain changed the way we watched food television, as well as the way we experienced the world. A Cook's Tour is Bourdain's first TV show, and established many of the hallmarks of his later, more well-known works like No Reservations and Parts Unknown. Chase and Pierce dive into the show's first episode -- a trip to Tokyo -- commenting on Anthony's more raw approach, the mechanics of fit...

The 37th longest-running television show on American television, ABC's Monday Night Football is an institution. And while the debut episode in 1970 may not have all your fancy bells and whistles like super slo-mo replays, dedicated sideline reporters or even a graphic showing the score and amount of time on the clock, it did have charm. With the recent merger of the NFL and AFL, the New York Jets...

Chase introduces Pierce to one of his favorite shows of all-time, a mid-2010s FX (then FXX) romantic comedy that attempts to undercut the genre with sharp-tongued characters and an acerbic attitude. How will Pierce react? Show Notes: Here's the link to Stephen Faulk's Tumblr post discussed on the episode. And here's the The Business podcast Faulk was interviewed on about the show Hosted on Acast....

We hop back in time (and across the pond) for this episode as we analyze the classic British sitcom, Fawlty Towers. From the eccentric hotel manager who inspired the show to the play-like nature of the production to a potential sequel reboot that's supposedly coming, Chase and Pierce dive into this wonderfully fun John Cleese-led program. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information...

We made it to 25 episodes! To celebrate, Chase and Pierce are revisiting one of our favorite shows of all time: AMC's Mad Men. While we mostly stay focused on the pilot, this is still a spoiler-heavy episode, so be warned. Show Notes: We mention that Ken Cosgrove's wife is from a rich family, but misidentify her as part of the Heinz family. Her father actually works at Corning Inc. Heinz would bec...