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
Apr 18, 2022 • 1h 51min
#182 Life After Life, Chivalry, Heartstopper, Russian Doll, and Gaslit. With guests Sienna Miller, Rupert Friend and Sarah Solemani
We're awash with both guests and shows this week, with Sienna Miller and Rupert Friend joining us to talk all things Anatomy Of A Scandal, and Sarah Solemani sitting down for a very frank and interesting conversation about #MeToo, that Oscars slap, and her new Channel 4 Show Chivalry (all from the comfort of her 'fascist shed').
Meanwhile, we line-up a veritable marathon of new shows for review, including the aforementioned Chivalry, timeloop BBC2 drama Life After Life, the second season of Netflix's Russian doll, Starzplay's Watergate drama Gaslit (with Julia Roberts), and teen romance Heartstopper on Netflix. Better than a chocolate egg, we thing you'll agree.
Apr 11, 2022 • 1h 46min
#181 Derry Girls, Roar, Hard Cell, and Why Didn't They Ask Evans? With guests Will Poulter and Saoirse-Monica Jackson
Not only do we have Will Poulter on this weeks show, talking Agatha Christie and Arsenal with Boyd, but Derry Girl Saoirse-Monica Jackson drops by as well to discuss that show's final season. As well as Channel 4's Derry Girls and Britbox mystery, Why Didn't They Ask Evans?, we also take a look at Catherine Tate's Hard Cell on Netflix and Apple's feminist anthology, Roar. Plus James is forced to watch Newark, Newark and the team celebrate the rather excellent casting of Terri's memoir adaptation.
Apr 5, 2022 • 2h 12min
#180 Moon Knight, Anatomy Of A Scandal, and Raised By Wolves. With guest Alison Brie
Alison Brie joins us on this week's show to talk about her upcoming show Roar, reminisce about Community with Beth and walk us through her favourite wrestling move. Plus we finally get to talk about Moon Knight (Steven Grant impressions abound — you have been warned), there's something rotten in Westminster in Netflix's Anatomy Of A Scandal, and Beth tries to work out what in the name of Sol is going on in Season 2 of Sky's bonkers sci-fi series Raised By Wolves.
All that and we still find time to talk about the finale of Peaky Blinders, which does contain spoilers so if you haven't seen it yet then skip everything between 21:46 and 39:18.
Mar 28, 2022 • 1h 40min
#179 Slow Horses, Winning Time, and Hacks. With guests Gary Oldman and Jack Lowden
We're joined on this week's show by Gary Oldman and Jack Lowden, who drop by to talk Apple's new espionage drama, Slow Horses, and debate the merits of kitchen vs shower acting. Plus we take a look at basketball through the lens of Adam McKay in Winning Time, and finally get to see what all the fuss is about with Hacks, which arrives on these shores a year after its US debut. Plus we indulge in a little Peaky Blinders state of the union, and Boyd kicks off a debate about resurrecting limited series.
Mar 21, 2022 • 1h 23min
#178 Peacemaker, Pachinko, and Bridgerton
James has lost his voice this week, which makes for a particularly absurd episode in which he goes full Baron Greenback and croaks his way through the entire show. And what a show it is, because not only does Netflix's raunchy Regency show, Bridgerton, return for series 2, but Apple's generation-spanning Pachinko makes its debut, and Peacemaker *finally* lands on Sky after a torturous three-month wait. All that and the team talk through shows they loved but refuse to revisit and the lost joy of internet forums.
Mar 14, 2022 • 1h 31min
#177 WeCrashed, Top Boy, and Holding
Beth is struck down by the Cove this week, leaving James and Boyd to run amok. However, they're not alone for long because the boys enlist the help of a *very* special friend to help keep them in check — and we won't spoil that surprise here. This week's show also sees the team tackle shows they've abandoned and come back to, litigating the trailer for Obi-Wan and taking a look at Apple's WeCrashed with Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway, Netflix's resurrection of Top Boy and Irish murder mystery Holding on ITV.
Mar 9, 2022 • 44min
A Deep Dive Into The Dropout: A Pilot TV + Empire Podcast Special, In Association With Disney+
The first three episodes of The Dropout, the new series charting the rise and fall of tech entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, the company she founded, have landed on Disney+, and in the latest team-up between the Empire Podcast and Pilot TV Podcast, Chris Hewitt, James Dyer, and Beth Webb have a good old natter about it. In this very special crossover episode, in association with Disney+, they talk about the real-life events behind the show (created by Elizabeth Meriwether), the reasons why Hollywood is drawn to stories like this, the incredible cast, led by Amanda Seyfried, and much, much more. So turn on, tune in and drop out for The Dropout...
Mar 7, 2022 • 1h 55min
#176 The Last Days Of Ptolemy Grey, The Witchfinder, and Our House. With guest Martin Compston
Martin Compston joins us on this week's show, fielding Boyd's questions about his new ITV thriller Our House, bemoaning the state of modern football, and giving an update as to what might be next in store for Line Of Duty. Plus we're on the hunt for Satan's concubines in BBC2 comedy The Witchfinder, and trying to solve a mystery with Samuel L. Jackson in The Last Days Of Ptolemy Grey on Apple. All that and the team talk through the things they most would (or wouldn't) want to see adapted, some of their other TV podcast picks and Boyd outlines the plot for the twelve-part miniseries of James' life.
Feb 28, 2022 • 1h 46min
#175 The Dropout, Killing Eve, and Shining Vale. With guest Joe Dempsie
This week's episode sees Joe Dempsie join us to talk all about his new show, Pieces Of Her on Netflix, as well as reflecting on sex scenes, intimacy and the pervading influence of Skins. Other than that, though, we have a particularly shambolic episode in which James, having come straight from an overnight flight with zero sleep and spectacularly failed to prepare, does his level best to derail the whole endeavour. But that doesn't stop us trying to reunite with Villanelle in the final series of Killing Eve on BBC1, watch Amanda Seyfried undermine the health system in The Dropout on Disney+, and chase demons with Courteney Cox in Shining Vale on Starzplay. All that and the team line-up their desert island streaming shows, Boyd and Beth have their weekly Euphoria rant, one of Boyd's famous friends calls mid-recording, and James falls asleep while Beth is talking.
Feb 22, 2022 • 1h 56min
#174 Peaky Blinders, Vikings: Valhalla, and Wolf Like Me. With guest Steven Knight
We're a day late this week, by order of the Peaky Blinders (or more specifically the BBC's review embargo), but it's all good because Peaky creator Steven Knight drops by the show to talk about the show's final season and allow James to bend his ear about the joys of See. Plus we're mixing love and lycanthropy with Wolf Like Me on Prime Video and getting our Norse back on in Netflix's Vikings: Valhalla (where Boyd unveils his extraordinary Norse accent). All that and we give a loving (and belated) eulogy for Neighbours and officially rank our favourite Netflix originals.
