A TV show’s pilot holds a key place. It not only establishes the tone, chemistry, and dynamic of the whole show but also indicates whether the show can really work. But sometimes, that first attempt doesn’t quite work.
Either the cast feels off, the tone feels wrong, or the story doesn’t stick. Because of this, showrunners had to make bold decisions to start over and reshoot their pilot. Surprisingly, some of the most iconic TV shows have had flawed original pilots that needed a second attempt. Here are the top 5 TV shows that had to reshoot their pilots.
5. Two and a Half Men
The original pilot of the show was titled “Most Chicks Won’t Eat Veal,” and had it aired, one character’s fate might have been totally different. Charlie and Alan’s mother, Evelyn Harper, was one unforgettable character. She was sharp-tongued and manipulative, but Holland Taylor made her endlessly entertaining.
In the original pilot, Evelyn was played by Blythe Danner. Though Danner was an award-winning and experienced sitcom actor, the showrunners felt like she wasn’t the right fit for the role. Her interpretation of the character was totally different from the Evelyn we saw. The mismatch was so significant that they had to recast her and reshoot the pilot.
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4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The pilot “Welcome to the Hellmouth” introduced the premise of Buffy the Vampire perfectly. But the original version was actually titled “Slayer,” and it completely missed the tone. Creator Joss Whedon and the network disliked the episode so much that it had to be scrapped and reshot.
Instead of Alyson Hannigan, there was Riff Regan playing the role of Willow, and it was nothing like the shy and gentle character we adore. Some scenes, like the argument between Buffy and Giles in the library, also felt too heated for the show’s intended mood. Those scenes had to be rewritten, and Alyson Hannigan had to be introduced so that we could have the cult classic we remember today.
3. Gilmore Girls
This certified comfort show definitely had one of the most iconic pilots of all time. It introduced us to the fictional town of Stars Hollow as well as its eccentric but lovable inhabitants. But did you know that there is an alternate version where most of our beloved characters were portrayed completely differently?
In the unaired pilot of the show, the story remained the same, but the cast was totally different. The most notable change was the addition of Sookie and Dean, played by Alex Borstein and Nathan Whetherington. Borstein couldn’t continue the role, and Wetherington’s portrayal of Dean just didn’t click. So, the creators had to reshoot the pilot and cast Melissa McCarthy as Sookie and Jared Padalecki as Dean.
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2. The Big Bang Theory
Do you also love screaming the lyrics to “The History of Everything” before every ‘The Big Bang Theory‘ episode? That almost didn’t exist because the original pilot had a very different plan. It used Thomas Dolby’s hit song “She Blinded Me With Science.” More shockingly, the original pilot didn’t include Penny, Raj, and Howard.
Instead, Sheldon and Leonard met two women named Katie and Gilda. Sheldon’s personality was also drastically different; far more crude and overtly sexual. Creator Chuck Lorre knew they were still figuring out the show’s possibilities. The reshoot completely reimagined the premise and introduced the brilliant misfits we know today.
1. Game of Thrones
Can you believe one of the most popular TV shows of all time had to scrap 90% of its pilot? HBO executives were very unhappy with the pilot episode of the show and demanded some major changes to the cast, tone, and storytelling.
In that first version, Daenerys Targaryen was played by Tamzin Merchant, and Catelyn Stark by Jennifer Ehle. Moreover, people have claimed that the episode was very different from the show that we saw in the end. The reshot pilot “Winter is Coming” fixed those issues and laid the foundation for the groundbreaking potential of the show.
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