Pilot TV

This weeks show not only sees the wonderful Elisabeth Moss come in to the Pilot studio to natter with James, Boyd and (especially) Steph about Imperfect Women (7:29-33:33), but we also speak to Lisa Kudrow and Michael Patrick King about the triumphant return of The Comeback (1:14:31-1:28:20). Meanwhile, this week’s show include BBC1’s Babies — strap in for this one — (1:37:46) Sky’s The ‘Burbs (in which Jack Whitehall revisits the ‘80s Tom Hanks comedy) (1:28:20), and the second season of Jonathan Tropper’s Your Friends And Neighbours on Apple TV (1:52:40). Do we also chat through UK/US exports, argue about cookie allocation and cancel Boyd for not being able to tell Steph and Kay apart? Yes we do.Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!

It’s quite the week this week as we go full Scandi noir with Jo Nesbø’s Detective Hole on Netflix (1:10:20), adapting the author’s insanely popular Norwegian crime novels. Meanwhile, Riz Ahmed is exploring the life of a struggling actor in Bait on Prime Video (57:50), and after a year of waiting patiently, we FINALLY get to see The Pitt land on our tellys (1:26:41) as HBO Max makes its UK debut. And if all that isn’t enough, there are extensive discussions on Louis Theroux’s journey Into The Manosphere, Boyd’s take on this year’s Oscars broadcast, and ambient TV soundtracks for public bathrooms.Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot

It’s our (belated) International Women’s Day episode this week, with a trio of female fronted shows to tackle, from Imperfect Women on Apple (1:13:41), to A Woman Of Substance on Channel 4 (1:27:20), and The Other Bennet Sister on BBC1 (1:41:16) — for which we also speak to Ruth Jones and Ella Bruccoleri (39:58-58:06). Plus last week’s bum banter is swapped out for an array of dog discussion as we chew over the broadcast of this week’s Crufts, and Steph decides to put James and Boyd on the spot and make them name their all-time favourite female protagonists. Yes, James did forget to mention Captain Janeway and Catherine Cawood. No, he’s still not forgiven himself. Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!

We have a Russell double bill this week as both Kurt and Wyatt join us on the pod to chat Monarch season 2 on Apple TV (33:38-54:47). Elsewhere, we’re getting in trouble on campus both with Steve Carrell in Rooster on Sky Comedy (1:03:47) and with David Morrissey in Gone on ITV1 (1:28:19). All that and BBC1’s The Capture makes a triumphant return to our screens for series 3 (1:17:41), plus we assemble a Mount Rushmore of TV composers, and there’s an alarming amount of discussion about bums. What more could you possibly ask for? Oh and Boydy does talk a little about the latter eps of Industry and if you want to skip it then all that happens between 12:21 and 13:45.Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!

Kaley Cuoco and Sam Claflin are our guests this week (42:50-55:12), chatting all things Vanished on Prime video. Plus, Steph gives her crime show recommendations for all you sofa sleuths, and we tackle this week’s trio of new (unembargoed) shows. Specifically… the latest addition to the Yellowstoniverse, Marshals, on Paramount+ (1:05:24), teenage Holmes saga Young Sherlock on Prime (1:15:31), and suburban infidelity murder mystery DTF St Louis on Sky Atlantic (1:23:45). Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!

We may not have been able to review The Last Thing He Told Me last week but to address that injustice, Jennifer Garner popped into the Pilot TV studio this week to talk all about that show’s second season with Boydy (30:07-40:17). Elsewhere, we catch up with the latest events in Paradise on Disney+ (51:22), find out why Sam Claflin has gone missing, along with Kaley Cuoco in Vanished on Prime Video (1:05:15), and take a look at the state of British waterways in Dirty Business on Channel 4 (1:15:19). Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!

Kay returns to the regular pod this week and (purely by coincidence) Nothing goes quite to plan as our intent to review The Last Thing He Told Me is thwarted by an inconvenient embargo. However, that’s okay because we manage to sub Bridgerton season 4 in as a last minute replacement. Elsewhere, we take a look at BBC1’s Marian Keyes adaptation The Walsh Sisters, and see what Gabriel Basso is up to in the latest instalment of The Night Agent. Plus James gets terribly excited about the studio’s new logo screen (which is finally working) and the team attempt to unpick those rare shows that have successfully reinvented themselves entirely. All that, and Derry Girls creator Lisa McGee joins star Sinéad Keenan to discuss Netflix’s How To Get To Heaven From Belfast.

Dad core reigns this week as we head over to Prime video for season 2 of Cross (55:24), then pivot to ITV for MI5 thriller Betrayal (1:06:55). Plus we peer into the psyche of Mackenzie Crook for his quirky new homunculus comedy Small Prophets (1:17:49). Meanwhile, Boyd beams in live from Santa Monica to give us a full rundown of Apple’s 2026 slate. And, if you’ve ever wondered where a good place to star bingeing Star Trek is then look no further because that question gets answered in forensic detail as the team wrestle over a suitable on-ramp and whether Steph’s love of Enterprise shoudl disqualify her from the discussion entirely. Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!

It’s a slow week on the box but don’t let that put you off as we take the opportunity to fill some important gaps in our 2026 watch list, finally reviewing Waiting For The Out on BBC1 (55:16), catching up with batty crime thriller His And Hers on Netflix (1:07:12) and exploring just why Silent Witness has become such a phenomenon as it launches into its 29th year (1:19:53). Plus, if you didn’t think this episode was sexy enough, we delve into some of the more sensitively wrought scenes of intimacy ever to grace the gogglebox.

We have ALL the guests on this week’s show, including [deep breath] Ashton Kutcher, Jeremy Pope, Anthony Ramos, Evan Peters, Rebecca Hall, Kelly Reilly and Rafe Spall (31:40-50:19 and 1:23:58-1:36:53). But not all at once. Elsewhere, we come to the rescue of new Pilot listener Mel and do a deep dive on lesser-known TV comedies (or not, the jury’s still out on a lot of them), plus we get fully superficial on looks in Ryan Murphy’s The Beauty on Disney+ (1:50:06), solve a murder in a Welsh swamp in Under Salt Marsh on Sky (2:03:28), and witness the least Marvel Marvel show yet in Wonder Man on Disney+ (1:36:53).Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!

Hijack star and showrunner Idris Elba and Jim Field Smith are our guests this week, but they’re only the second most exciting additions to our line-up as this marks Steph’s debut as an official co-Pilot (if you don’t count last week’s Pilot+!). We try to ease her in gently with the latest Game of Thrones spinoff, A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms on Sky Atlantic (1:10:55), the latest season of Apple’s wine-related drama Drops Of God (1:34:12) and the continuation of After The Flood on ITV (1:24:57), which really is after the flood this time as it’s more concerned with brushfires. Find out why Boydy still made it his show of the week by listening to that particular strain of madness now! Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!

We kick off the new year (for us, that is, you of course had a podcast last week) with a bevvy of guests on the show, corralling Industry showrunners Konrad Kay and Mickey Down (28:09-43:56) as well as Dawn French and Mark Heap (57:57-1:09:30), whose show Can You Keep A Secret is now showing on BBC1. Hijack gets its second outing on Apple TV this week (1:09:30), while Industry returns to the Beeb (1:24:19) and we take a trip to school among the stars with Star Trek: Starfleet Academy (1:33:37). Meanwhile, not only do the team catch up on their Christmas escapades but Kay has an announcement to make…Note: time stamps are approximate as the ads throw them out, so are only meant as a guide. If you want to avoid this and would like the podcast entirely ad-free (as well as 17 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+!

Merry New Year! Yes, it’s 2026 and — after years of hectoring from Boyd — we have a New Year episode of Pilot TV for your listening pleasure (one that may or may not have been recorded before we broke for Christmas). We tackle all the big New Year’s Day shows this episode, from Tom Hiddleston’s return (10 years later) to the role of Jonathan Pine in The Night Manager’s long awaited second series on BBC1, Harlan Coben’s latest mystery Run Away on Netflix, and the return of Red Eye on ITV. Plus Erin Doherty and Malachi Kirby drop by to talk A Thousand Blows Season 2. What more could you possibly ask?(Episode 369)

That’s all folks, 2025 is done and dusted. But you didn’t think we’d leave you all to see in the new year without a big old Pilot TV retrospective, did you? James, Boyd and Kay unveil the official Pilot TV Best Shows of 2025 list and go through it in forensic detail here, while also flagging any number of other shows you might have missed over the course of the past 12 months. We even open a special 2025 postbag so you can have your say on the year that was as well. And yes, Darren’s famous blooper reel of the year makes its triumphant return.