21 of the Best First Episodes of All Time
They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but nobody reads books anymore, so we’d like to propose an updated idiom: Don’t judge a series by its first episode. There’s just so many ways it can go wrong. The actors are still developing their characters and chemistry with each other, the writers are still feeling out the right tone and pace, the network is still figuring out which time slot will kill it, etc. These things take a while to come together sometimes.
That’s why it’s all the more satisfying when they knock it out of the park on the first try. There’s something to be said for a slow burn, but isn’t it nice not to have to tell your friends, “Stick with it, it gets good after episode four, I promise”? Maybe that’s something user snuskbusken has heard one too many times, because they asked r/AskReddit, “Which TV show has the strongest first episode?” and Reddit brought all kinds of greatness out of the gate.
Star Trek: The Next Generation
My Name Is Earl
Derry Girls
Westworld
House of Cards
True Blood
Heroes
Manifest
Supernatural
Jericho
The Boys
The Good Place
Patriot
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
The Sopranos
Person of Interest
Lost
The Newsroom
Suits
Hannibal
Dead Like Me
