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
Oct 23, 2023 • 1h 30min
#259 Fellow Travelers, The Enfield Poltergeist, and Three Little Birds. With guest Jacob Anderson
Grey Worm himself aka Interview With The Vampire’s Louis de Pointe du Lac joins us on the show to chat all things undead now that the show has arrived in its entirety on BBC iPlayer. Elsewhere on the pod, there’s an unusual amount to toe-sucking discussion as we review Fellow Travelers on Paramount+. Kay gets the willies from spooktacular documentary The Enfield Poltergeist on Apple, and we take a trip down Lenny Henry’s memory lane in Three Little Birds on ITV. Elsewhere, Boyd works his way through the alphabet of shows (slowly), James bangs on about Bosch (you thought you’d dodged this last week - you were wrong), and all three muse on a conundrum that would see them forsake their favourite shows for good.
Oct 16, 2023 • 1h 24min
#258 Bodies, Dark Winds, and Breeders
James and Boyd prepare to sacrifice their friendship on the altar of Peak TV this week as the pair attempt to review the final series of Breeders on Sky without killing each other. Meanwhile, Kay gets sucked in by a stealth sci-fi via Bodies on Netflix, and we investigate murder on the reservation in Dark Winds on Alibi. Plus the team play a little postbag roulette to keep things interesting and a challenge is set to find a horror show that Kay might deign to sit through.
Oct 9, 2023 • 1h 56min
#257 The Fall Of The House Of Usher, Interview With The Vampire, and Lessons In Chemistry. With guest Philip Barantini
We reach Boiling Point this week with Philip Barantini, who joins us to talk about his chaos in the kitchen series of the same name. Plus, after a year of waiting, Interview With The Vampire finally makes its way to British screens on BBC1, letting us take our first steps into Anne Rice's Immortal Universe. Brie Larson takes a stand against institutional sexism in academia in Lessons In Chemistry on Apple TV+, and Mike Flanagan returns with his final Netflix show in Edgar Allen Poe love letter The Fall Of The House Of Usher. All that and we take The Hollywood Reporter's top 50 TV Shows Of The 21st Century list to task and Boyd finally gets the respect he deserves.
Oct 2, 2023 • 1h 57min
#256 Payback, Everything Now, and Mrs Sidhu Investigates. With guest Morven Christie
Crime is in the air this week, so who better to draft in than the queen of crime, Steph Seelan? Steph holds down the fort for Kay (on holiday, typical) as we find trouble at the gym with Mrs Sidhu Investigates on Drama, a villainous Peter Mullen after his money in Payback on ITV, and a teen drama about reintegrating into secondary school life with Everything Now on Netflix. Plus Morven Christie drops by to talk to Boydy, and we mull over the most magnetic actors on screen (who are then placed into a bucket, for reasons).
Sep 25, 2023 • 1h 26min
#255 Boiling Point, The Long Shadow, and Brassic
Murder is the name of the game this week, as the gang try to decide which fictional TV detectives they'd like to unpick their own sticky ends, plus there's a disproportionate amount of public transport discussion (sorry). Elsewhere we're in the kitchen for the TV sequel to 2021 movie Boiling Point on BBC1, exploring true crime murders in Yorkshire via The Long Shadow on ITV1, and returning to a life of crime with the latest series of Brassic on Sky.
Sep 18, 2023 • 1h 21min
#254 Sex Education, Juice, and Still Up
We bid a fond farewell to Laurie Nunn's Sex Education on Netflix this week as Otis, Maeve, Eric and the gang depart Moordale for good. But as some things go, others arrive and Nabhaan and Mawaan Rizwan's Juice launches on the BBC, and insomniac comedy Still Up makes its debut on Apple TV+.Elsewhere Boyd and James have a screener-off, Kay fails to choose an original song and battle lines are drawn for the next Cultural Exchange.
Sep 11, 2023 • 1h 37min
#253 Wilderness, Domina, and Welcome To Wrexham. With Guest Emma Appleton
Emma Appleton joins the show discussing Paramount+'s The Killing Kind. Talks about Wilderness, Welcome to Wrexham, and Domina. Highlights the process of adapting a book to a TV show. Explores gaslighting and unhealthy relationships in a TV show. Discusses the impact of Welcome to Wrexham on the club and community.
Sep 4, 2023 • 1h 56min
#252 The Changeling, The Lovers, and Love & Death. With Rosamund Pike and Johnny Flynn
Actress Rosamund Pike joins the podcast to talk about The Wheel Of Time Season 2, while Johnny Flynn discusses The Lover. The hosts also rank the best reality shows and discuss Apple's The Changeling. Other topics include masterclasses with top TV creators, reality shows in fictional TV worlds, and the challenges of filming during COVID.
Aug 28, 2023 • 1h 51min
#251 The Tower, Starstruck, and The Following Events Are Based On A Pack Of Lies. With guests Ruth Wilson and Jonathan Tropper
Ruth Wilson is our guest this week, chatting to Boyd about The Woman In The Wall. Plus James gets to geek out to spectacular effect when he talks to Warrior creator Jonathan Tropper, who not only created the show Banshee but does a little 'Banshee' for us as well. The team also takes a look at the BBC's new off-beat series The Following Events Are Based On A Pack Of Lies, as well as tackling a couple of returning series in the form of ITV's The Tower and BBC3's Starstruck. Plus we mull over the best single seasons of television and ruminate on the enduring appeal of Friends.
Aug 21, 2023 • 3h 6min
#250 (LIVE) The Woman In The Wall, Invasion, and Who Is Erin Carter? With guests Ricky Gervais, Tom Davis, and Mawaan & Nabhaan Rizwan.
For our 250th episode we had a big old party at Kings Place in London, joined by special guests Ricky Gervais, Big Tom Davis and Mawaan and Nabhaan Rizwan, not to mention about 400 of you, our brilliant listeners. The Great Pilot TV Bake-Off saw Boyd, Kay and James go head-to-head in a duel to the death with assorted baked goods, plus we found time to answer questions from the audience and review Invasion's return on Apple TV+, The Woman In The Wall on BBC1, and Who Is Erin Carter? On Netflix. Here's to 250 more!
