Welp. It’s been a minute, WordPress. Sure we’ve had the sporadic post here and there but my first blogging love will always be reviewing TV pilots. The last time I did a daily TV Pilot review challenge was January of 2023. So much has changed! New TV has come out! I’m somewhat of an actual comedy writer now! But you likely don’t care much about that. Let’s get on with the project.

If you haven’t followed prior blogging projects before, I select a list of pilots in advance based on a number of fact of different factors then work my way through it day by day. I try to cover a broad swath of TV across broadcast, cable, and streaming. In the past I’ve made a point of distinguishing between premium cable (HBO, Showtime, Starz, etc. ) and basic cable (USA, FX, AMC, etc.) but that seems like a relatively pointless pursuit now. Many of the basic cable networks aren’t investing in scripted shows like they used to, and even “cable” shows anymore are made for their corporate overlord’s streaming platform as much as linear television. Since the very first time I did a 30 Pilots in 30 Days (August 2017) I’ve been plagued with questions what the hell is “FX on Hulu?” Is it FX or Hulu? Is that even a thing anymore? I’ve skimmed the wikipedia page and still have no idea. Oh, and I shan’t be distinguishing between “HBO Originals” and “HBO Max Originals” and you can’t make me.

All this is to say that yes, I like to survey the tv ecosphere, but those waters of streaming/cable/premium cable are even muddier than they were in 2023. I still have at least one show from each of the big 4 broadcast networks, most of the big streamers (not paying for Amazon Prime at the moment and Off Campus was not enough to change that), and HBO. There’s an even split of comedies and dramas, as well as some that are somewhere in the middle. I also made sure we had standards like cops, doctors, and lawyers; some romances, and some fantasy. I made sure we had some old-ish shows in addition to more recent ones; some popular shows, some critical darlings, some cult favorites, some potentially underrated hidden gems, and some just because I said so.

So, here’s the list of what I’m up to this time around. Hope you enjoy!

1. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (NBC, 1990-1996)
2. Homicide: Life on the Street (NBC, 1993-1999)
3. Everybody Loves Raymond (CBS, 1996-2005)
4. Ally McBeal (FOX, 1997-2002)
5. Oz (HBO, 1997-2003)
6. Charmed (The WB, 1998-2006)
7. Freaks & Geeks (NBC, 1999-2000)
8. Smallville (The WB/The CW, 2001-2011)
9. Criminal Minds (CBS, 2005-2020)
10. The Office (NBC, 2005-2013)
11. Justified (FX, 2010-2015)
12. Girls (HBO, 2012-2017)
13. Scandal (ABC, 2012-2018)
14. Jane the Virgin (The CW, 2014-2019)
15. Fresh Off the Boat (ABC, 2015-2020)
16. Insecure (HBO, 2016-2021)
17. High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (Disney+, 2019-2023)
18. The Great (Hulu, 2020-2023)
19. Hacks (HBO, 2021-2026)
20. Andor (Disney+, 2022-2025)
21. Somebody Somewhere (HBO, 2022-2024)
22. Wednesday (Netflix, 2022-present)
23. Shrinking (Apple TV, 2023-present)
24. The Diplomat (Netflix, 2023-present)
25. The Last of Us (HBO, 2023-present)
26. Nobody Wants This (Netflix, 2024-present)
27. Heated Rivalry (2025-present)
28. Paradise (Hulu, 2025-present)
29. The Pitt (HBO, 2025-present)
30. The Studio (Apple TV, 2025-present)