2If the 2010s have taught us anything, it is that people will show up for a reboot. Granted the August 2017 Butcher Thoughts project does not have quite the same gravity as Star Wars, Superman, Full House, or even the Smurfs, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t implement a similar strategy. 

And so I’ve decided to kick the new decade off by taking the original project that started this whole blog and putting it on steroids. Introducing…. 100 Pilots in 100 Days!

The spirit is the same as the original project (there’s a handy dandy recap here). Watch a pilot every day and write about it. Posts will follow the same format as before. And once again, I am not allowed to watch any of these shows past the pilot until the 100 days are up.

I’ve went through and picked out a list using similar methodology to what I used before. I wanted shows from traditional network television, basic cable, premium cable, and streaming television. I’ve also made room for several imports, shows such as Fleabag or Derry Girls that have made a splash in the states despite not being their primary intended audience. I wanted representation for traditional genres such as cop shows and hospital dramas as well as more inventive concepts. I wanted a mix of super popular shows, as well as some potentially underrated diamonds in the rough. Unlike with the original 30 pilots project, I’ve allowed myself to pick pilots dating all the way back to 1970, instead of just 1999. Also unlike the original 30 pilots project, we’ll be doing a mix of both hour-long and half-hour pilots.

Shows could make the list for a host of different reasons. Maybe it’s because it already solidified its place as a touchstone of television history. Maybe it’s because it won awards and earned a high Rotten Tomatoes score despite never winning over the masses. Maybe it’s simply because I enjoy that show and I want to revisit the pilot to see how it holds up. Maybe it’s because I hear the folks on the Appointment Television Podcast speak favorably about it. Either way, every blog post will feature discussion of why that pilot was chosen how it fits into the larger project.

Animated television was deliberately left out. This is primarily because Bojack Horseman will be gracing us with its presence later in January, and I want to be able to watch the whole season with everyone else. Many of the best animated shows also tend to do 2 11-minute stories each episode, which also throws a bit of a wrench into things. Hopefully later this year we can dive even deeper into animation, but now is not that time. Also banned from the list are unscripted shows, shows deliberately intended for children, as well as limited series such as Chernobyl or The Act. However, anthology series such as AMC’s upcoming Dispatches From Elsewhere is fair game. (True Detective was featured as part of the original 30 Pilots in 30 Days).  

So here it is. The list. If you don’t see something you think should be on here, double check and make sure it wasn’t part of the original 30. Some shows on here eventually moved from one channel to another, but since this project is about pilots, their classifications are based on where the the show started, not where it ended.

1. The Mary Tyler Moore Show (CBS, 1970-1977)
2. All in the Family (CBS, 1971-1979)
3. M*A*S*H (CBS, 1972-1983)
4. Soap (ABC, 1977-1981)
5. Dallas (CBS, 1978-1991)
6. Hill Street Blues (NBC, 1981-1987)
7. Cheers (NBC, 1982-1993)
8. Seinfeld (NBC, 1989-1998)
9. Family Matters (ABC, 1989-1998)
10. Twin Peaks (ABC, 1990-1991)
11. Law & Order (NBC, 1990-2010)
12. Beverly Hills 90210 (Fox, 1990-2000)
13. X-Files (Fox, 1993-2004)
14. Frasier (1993-2004)
15. ER (1994-2009)
16. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (The WB, 1997-2003)
17. Dawson’s Creek (The WB, 1998-2003)
18. Sex and the City (HBO, 1998-2004)
19. Malcolm in the Middle (Fox, 2000-2006)
20. Six Feet Under (HBO, 2001-2005)
21. Scrubs (NBC, 2001-2010)
22. The Shield (FX, 2002-2008)
23. The OC (Fox, 2003-2007)
24. NCIS (CBS, 2003-present)
25. Arrested Development (Fox 2003-2006)
26. Deadwood (HBO, 2004-2006)
27. Desperate Housewives (2004-2012)
28. House (Fox, 2004-2012)
29. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (FX, 2005-present)
30. Weeds (Showtime, 2005-2012)
31. Supernatural (The WB, 2005-2020)
32. How I Met Your Mother (CBS, 2005-2014)
33. Heroes (NBC, 2006-2010)
34. 30 Rock (NBC, 2006-2013)
35. Sons of Anarchy (FX, 2008-2014)
36. The United States of Tara (Showtime, 2009-2011)
37. Parks and Recreation (NBC, 2009-2015)
38. Glee (Fox, 2009-2015)
39. Community (NBC, 2009-2015)
40. Modern Family (ABC, 2009-2020)
41. Pretty Little Liars (ABC Family, 2010-2017)
42. Downton Abbey, (BBC/PBS, 2010-2015)
43. Boardwalk Empire (HBO, 2010-2014)
44. Teen Wolf (MTV, 2011-2017)
45. Awkward. (MTV, 2011-2016)
46. Once Upon a Time (ABC, 2011-2018)
47. Veep (HBO, 2012-2019)
48. Orphan Black (Space/BBC America, 2013-2017)
49. Rectify (Sundance TV, 2013-2016)
50. The Fosters (Freeform, 2013-2018)
51. Orange is the New Black (Netflix, 2013-2019)
52. Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Fox, 2013-present)
53. The Goldbergs (ABC, 2013-present)
54. Broad City (Comedy Central, 2014-2019)
55. Transparent (Amazon, 2014-2019)
56. Silicon Valley (HBO 2014-present)
57. Halt and Catch Fire (AMC, 2014-2017)
58. The Leftovers (HBO, 2014-2017)
59. The Knick (Cinemax, 2014-2015)
60. Outlander (Starz, 2014-present)
61. Black-ish (ABC, 2014-present)
62. Empire (Fox, 2015-2020)
63. Castrophe (Channel 4/Amazon, 2015-2018)
64. Better Call Saul (AMC, 2015-present)
65. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix, 2015-2019)
66. iZombie (The CW, 2015-2019)
67. Unreal (Lifetime, 2015-2018)
68. Grace and Frankie (Netflix, 2015-2020)
69. Casual (Hulu, 2015-2018)
70. The Expanse (Syfy, 2015-present)
71. Superstore (NBC, 2015-present)
72. The Path (Hulu, 2016-2018)
73. Fleabag (BBC/Amazon, 2016-2019)
74. Atlanta (FX, 2016-present)
75. This Is Us (NBC, 2016-2019)
76. The Good Place (NBC, 2016-2020)
77. Search Party (TBS, 2016-present)
78. One Day at a Time (Netflix, 2017-present)
79. Riverdale (The CW, 2017-present)
80. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon, 2017-present)
81. Harlots (Hulu, 2017-present)
82. American Gods (Showtime, 2017-present)
83. Glow (Netflix, 2017-present)
84. Ozark (Netflix, 2017-present)
85. Derry Girls (Channel 4/Netflix, 2018-present)
86. Barry (HBO, 2018-present)
87. Killing Eve (BBC/BBC America, 2018-present)
88. Pose (FX, 2018-present)
89. Succession (HBO, 2018-present)
90. Bodyguard (BBC/Netflix, 2018-present)
91. You (Lifetime, 2018-present)
92. Shrill (Hulu, 2019-present)
93. What We Do in the Shadows (FX, 2019-present)
94. Ramy (Hulu, 2019-present)
95. Dickinson (Apple TV+, 2019-present)
96. The Morning Show (Apple TV+, 2019-present)
97. The Mandalorian (Disney+, 2019-present)
98. Everything’s Gonna Be Okay (Freeform, 2020-present)
99. Star Trek: Picard (CBS All Access, 2020-present)
100. Dispatches From Elsewhere (AMC, 2020-present)