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, 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
Aug 18, 2025 • 1h 41min
Peacemaker, The Twisted Tale Of Amanda Knox, and Mudtown. With guest Alex Lawther
The excellent Alex Lawther is our guest this week. You’ll know him from The End Of The F****ing World among other fine shows, and now he is one of the shining lights in the ensemble cast of Alien: Earth. Lazy James is still away so Boyd and Kay are joined by Crime Queen Steph, and it just so happens there’s a lot of crime shows for us to discuss, including Disney+’s controversial Amanda Knox drama, Mudtown on U&Alibi, not to be confused with Mudbath, and Peacemaker which features an orgy of course.(Episode 350 — yes, the REAL Episode 350)
Aug 11, 2025 • 2h 25min
LIVE: Alien: Earth, In Flight, and Butterfly. With special guest co-host Russell T. Davies
Our Live 350th episode turned out to be a live 349th episode (because maths) but that didn’t stop it from being a storming night at Kings Place in London. Why? Because on this episode our trio became a quartet and we were joined by the magnificent Russell T Davies, who was anointed as an official Co-Pilot. Much hilarity ensued (just wait till you get to Boyd’s review of Butterfly) as we tackled everything from AI to Masterchef and everything in between. Audience questions were answered, cake was eaten and a good time was had by all. (Episode 349)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+!
Aug 4, 2025 • 1h 56min
Outlander: Blood Of My Blood, Platonic, and Ridley. With Guests Adrian Dunbar and Paul Wesley
We have a double whammy of guests this week as Adrian Dunbar joins us to chat Ridley on ITV. Plus Paul Wesley chats to us about returning to the bridge as Kirk in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Meanwhile, Scottish shagfest Outlander gets a spinoff series with highland origin story Blood Of My Blood on MGM+, and Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne return for another round of Platonic on Apple TV+. And, for reasons that aren’t entirely clear, we open the Pilot TV agony aunt column.
Jul 28, 2025 • 1h 15min
The Assassin, The Count Of Monte Cristo, The Gone, and The Mayfair Witches
There’s a returning series bonanza this week as we take our pick from The Gone and The Mayfair Witches, both returning to the Beeb. But that’s okay as we also have two big ticket originals making their TV debut this week, specifically Keeley Hawes and Freddie Highmore comedy thriller The Assassin on Prime Video and Sam Claflin-starring Alexandre Dumas adaptation The Count Of Monte Cristo on U&Drama. Plus there’s much discussion of the correct pronunciation (and actual location) of Guildford.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+!
Jul 21, 2025 • 1h 46min
Mix Tape, The Narrow Road To The Deep North, and Washington Black. With guest Mark Gatiss
Mark Gatiss, co-writer and star of You and Alibi's Bookish, brings his wit and expertise to the discussion. He dives into the creation of a post-war detective character, exploring themes of crime and identity. The trio reviews time-hopping dramas like Mix Tape and the WWII adaptation The Narrow Road To The Deep North, contrasting dramatic tones and storytelling techniques. They also tackle the evolution of streaming strategies and segment the nostalgic charm of mixtapes, weaving personal anecdotes with captivating insights.
Jul 14, 2025 • 1h 50min
Too Much, The Institute, Bookish, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. With guests Jeffrey Dean Morgan & Scott Gimple, Emer Kenny & Lauren Lyle
Too Much is very much the phrase of the week on this episode as not only do we have four guests — specifically Karen Pirie’s Lauren Lyle and Emer Kenny (50:50-1:04:40) and The Walking Dead: Dead City’s Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Scott Gimple (22:53-32:36)— but we also review four shows — specifically Too Much on Netflix (1:04:40), The Institute on MGM+ (1:30:28), Bookish on U&Alibi (1:22:06) and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds on Paramount+ (1:40:35). So if you had plans today, you might want to reschedule. Oh and we (somehow) find the time for a trip down memory lane discussing iconic TV ads as well. Strap in!(Episode 345)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+!
Jul 7, 2025 • 1h 39min
Foundation, Ballard, and Shifting Gears. With guest Jared Harris
It’s the episode you’ve all been waiting for… James talking about Foundation for a truly heroic amount of time as not only does the team review (1:00:25) the show’s third season (for which James provides Kay with a ‘helpful’ primer on the series) but he also gets to sit down with Jared Harris and chat psychohistory and four-dimensional objects to his heart’s content (31:46-46:22). Elsewhere, we get back into the Boschiverse with Ballard on Prime (1:19:16), and see if throwback ‘90s sitcoms still hold up with Shifting Gears on Disney+ (1:28:22).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+!
Jun 30, 2025 • 1h 39min
Squid Game, The Bear, Such Brave Girls, and Scrublands. With guest Kat Sadler
Kay is still on her terribly important work assignment to Rimini this week, so beams into the studio on the airwaves as she, James and Boyd discuss everything from Boyd’s new foray into the world of video influencers to Kay’s poolside celebrity encounters. We’re also joined on the show by Such Brave Girls creator/star Kat Sadler (31:25-50:35), as we tackle that show’s second season (1:20:18), plus in a bumper review episode, we dive back into Squid Game on Netflix (1:14:26), The Bear on Disney+ (1:00:44) and Aussie crime thriller Scrublands on BBC2 (1:28:56).(Episode 343)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+!
Jun 23, 2025 • 1h 34min
Smoke, Transaction, and Countdown. With guest Christina Hendricks
Christina Hendricks couldn’t stay away and is back on the podcast this week, talking this time about the return of The Buccaneers to Apple TV+ (28:59-50:14). And speaking of Apple, the new show from Dennis Lehane, Smoke, goes under the Pilot TV microscope this week as we follow Taron Egerton and Jurnee Smollett in tracking down a serial arsonist (1:19:07). Plus we join Jordan Gray and Nick Frost in ITV’s supermarket comedy Transaction (59:54), and go undercover with Jensen Ackles in Countdown on Prime (1:11:03). (Episode 342)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+!
Jun 16, 2025 • 1h 14min
We Were Liars, Pushers, and Outrageous
We bounce from balls to benefits this week as we hang out with a lot of very rich people in YA adaptation We Were Liars on Prime (1:00:45), and Mitford sisters miniseries Outrageous on U&Drama (48:19), then explore the life of a woman taking a creative approach to government welfare cutbacks in Rosie Jones’ comedy Pushers on Channel 4 (38:41). Plus Kay makes her triumphant return and uses the opportunity to quiz us on our (TV-themed) summer holiday plans. All that and James manages to coin an upsetting new phrase for overtly YA TV dramas. (Episode 341)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+!
