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
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 30, 2026 • 2h 8min
Babies, The ‘Burbs, and Your Friends And Neighbours. With guests Elisabeth Moss, Lisa Kudrow and Michael Patrick King
Elisabeth Moss, award-winning actor known for The Handmaid's Tale, chats about adapting Imperfect Women and the show's tense themes. Lisa Kudrow, comedian famed from Friends, returns to The Comeback and discusses reviving Valerie Cherish. Conversations jump between thriller tones, AI and satire, TV development, and bold portrayals of parenthood and suburbia.
Mar 23, 2026 • 1h 43min
The Pitt, Bait, and Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole
It’s quite the week this week as we go full Scandi noir with Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole on Netflix (1:10:20), adapting the author’s insanely popular Norwegian crime novels. Meanwhile, Riz Ahmed is exploring the life of a struggling actor in Bait on Prime Video (57:50), and after a year of waiting patiently, we FINALLY get to see The Pitt land on our tellys (1:26:41) as HBO Max makes its UK debut. And if all that isn’t enough, there are extensive discussions on Louis Theroux’s journey Into The Manosphere, Boyd’s take on this year’s Oscars broadcast, and ambient TV soundtracks for public bathrooms.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 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot
Mar 16, 2026 • 1h 58min
Imperfect Women, A Woman Of Substance, and The Other Bennet Sister. With guests Ruth Jones and Ella Bruccoleri
It’s our (belated) International Women’s Day episode this week, with a trio of female fronted shows to tackle, from Imperfect Women on Apple (1:13:41), to A Woman Of Substance on Channel 4 (1:27:20), and The Other Bennet Sister on BBC1 (1:41:16) — for which we also speak to Ruth Jones and Ella Bruccoleri (39:58-58:06). Plus last week’s bum banter is swapped out for an array of dog discussion as we chew over the broadcast of this week’s Crufts, and Steph decides to put James and Boyd on the spot and make them name their all-time favourite female protagonists. Yes, James did forget to mention Captain Janeway and Catherine Cawood. No, he’s still not forgiven himself. 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 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!
Mar 9, 2026 • 1h 40min
Rooster, Gone, and The Capture. With guests Kurt and Wyatt Russell
We have a Russell double bill this week as both Kurt and Wyatt join us on the pod to chat Monarch season 2 on Apple TV (33:38-54:47). Elsewhere, we’re getting in trouble on campus both with Steve Carrell in Rooster on Sky Comedy (1:03:47) and with David Morrissey in Gone on ITV1 (1:28:19). All that and BBC1’s The Capture makes a triumphant return to our screens for series 3 (1:17:41), plus we assemble a Mount Rushmore of TV composers, and there’s an alarming amount of discussion about bums. What more could you possibly ask for? Oh and Boydy does talk a little about the latter eps of Industry and if you want to skip it then all that happens between 12:21 and 13:45.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 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!
Mar 2, 2026 • 1h 34min
Marshals, Young Sherlock, and DTF St Louis. with guests Kaley Cuoco and Sam Claflin
Kaley Cuoco and Sam Claflin are our guests this week (42:50-55:12), chatting all things Vanished on Prime video. Plus, Steph gives her crime show recommendations for all you sofa sleuths, and we tackle this week’s trio of new (unembargoed) shows. Specifically… the latest addition to the Yellowstoniverse, Marshals, on Paramount+ (1:05:24), teenage Holmes saga Young Sherlock on Prime (1:15:31), and suburban infidelity murder mystery DTF St Louis on Sky Atlantic (1:23:45). 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 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!
Feb 23, 2026 • 1h 23min
Paradise, Vanished, and Dirty Business. With guest Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Garner, actor known for film and TV roles, chats about Season 2 of The Last Thing He Told Me and her character’s five-year jump. She describes new castmates, on-set fights and shooting in Paris and Marseille. The conversation also covers Paradise’s season two opening, the grim real-world focus of Dirty Business, and the mystery of Vanished starring Kaley Cuoco and Sam Claflin.
Feb 16, 2026 • 1h 24min
The Walsh Sisters, Bridgerton, and The Night Agent. With guests Lisa McGee and Sinéad Keenan
Kay returns to the regular pod this week and (purely by coincidence) Nothing goes quite to plan as our intent to review The Last Thing He Told Me is thwarted by an inconvenient embargo. However, that’s okay because we manage to sub Bridgerton season 4 in as a last minute replacement. Elsewhere, we take a look at BBC1’s Marian Keyes adaptation The Walsh Sisters, and see what Gabriel Basso is up to in the latest instalment of The Night Agent. Plus James gets terribly excited about the studio’s new logo screen (which is finally working) and the team attempt to unpick those rare shows that have successfully reinvented themselves entirely. All that, and Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee joins star Sinéad Keenan to discuss Netflix’s How To Get To Heaven From Belfast.
Feb 9, 2026 • 1h 35min
Cross, Betrayal, and Small Prophets
Dad core reigns this week as we head over to Prime video for season 2 of Cross (55:24), then pivot to ITV for MI5 thriller Betrayal (1:06:55). Plus we peer into the psyche of Mackenzie Crook for his quirky new homunculus comedy Small Prophets (1:17:49). Meanwhile, Boyd beams in live from Santa Monica to give us a full rundown of Apple’s 2026 slate. And, if you’ve ever wondered where a good place to star bingeing Star Trek is then look no further because that question gets answered in forensic detail as the team wrestle over a suitable on-ramp and whether Steph’s love of Enterprise shoudl disqualify her from the discussion entirely. 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 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!
7 snips
Feb 2, 2026 • 1h 30min
Waiting For The Out, His And Hers, and Silent Witness
They fill gaps in their 2026 watch list and debate a humane, philosophical prison drama. They unpack a giddy, self-aware Netflix crime thriller and why its finale divides viewers. They explore Silent Witness’s enduring appeal after nearly three decades on air. They also discuss sensitive portrayals of intimacy on TV and which shows handle sex well.
9 snips
Jan 26, 2026 • 2h 16min
Wonder Man, The Beauty, and Under Salt Marsh. With Ashton Kutcher, Jeremy Pope, Anthony Ramos, Evan Peters, Rebecca Hall, Kelly Reilly & Rafe Spall
They chat about Ryan Murphy's audacious new TV, exploring vanity, body horror and casting choices. A slow-burn Welsh murder in a marsh gets compared to Broadchurch. The Marvel-adjacent Wonder Man is discussed as a quirky, industry-savvy tonal shift. Plus lively picks of underrated comedies and on-set stories about transformations, singing and shooting out of order.
