Pilot TV
Bauer Radio (UK)
From the creators of The Empire Film Podcast, Pilot TV is your essential guide to every TV show that matters, providing a weekly rundown of all the new must-see TV shows dropping across streaming, terrestrial, satellite, cable, and beyond. Join Empire's James Dyer, Heat's Boyd Hilton, and Kay Ribeiro as they bring you breaking TV news, reviews of the week's major shows, and interviews with some of the biggest names in TV.
Pilot TV is here to make sure every minute you spend in front of the box is a minute worth spending. Served with a heavy helping of insider knowledge, irreverence and humour, Pilot TV won't just keep you informed, amused and entertained, but is guaranteed to save countless hours of your life. Because you can’t watch *everything*.
Enjoying the podcast? Sign up to Pilot+ for a bonus episode every Thursday, in-depth spoiler specials, and early, ad-free access to the regular show! Find out more at www.empireonline.com/pilottv
Location:
United Kingdom
Networks:
Bauer Radio (UK)
Description:
From the creators of The Empire Film Podcast, Pilot TV is your essential guide to every TV show that matters, providing a weekly rundown of all the new must-see TV shows dropping across streaming, terrestrial, satellite, cable, and beyond. Join Empire's James Dyer, Heat's Boyd Hilton, and Kay Ribeiro as they bring you breaking TV news, reviews of the week's major shows, and interviews with some of the biggest names in TV. Pilot TV is here to make sure every minute you spend in front of the box is a minute worth spending. Served with a heavy helping of insider knowledge, irreverence and humour, Pilot TV won't just keep you informed, amused and entertained, but is guaranteed to save countless hours of your life. Because you can’t watch *everything*. Enjoying the podcast? Sign up to Pilot+ for a bonus episode every Thursday, in-depth spoiler specials, and early, ad-free access to the regular show! Find out more at www.empireonline.com/pilottv
Language:
English
Website:
https://planetradio.co.uk/
Episodes
Stranger Things, The War Between The Land And The Sea, and Spartacus: House of Ashur
12/1/2025
The wait is over! Well, sort of, because Stranger Things returns to Netflix this week for the first part of its final season to whet our collective appetites for the final assault on the Upside Down at the end of the year (44:50). Plus the Notorious RTD is back with his latest spin-off to the Whoiverse, setting Russell Tovey on a collision course with Gugu Mbatha-Raw in Sea Devil spectacular The War Between The Land And The Sea on BBC1 (1:02:31). And finally, we’re up to our ears in blood, balls and boobs as we return to ancient Rome for a sequel/reboot/retcon of Starz swords-and-sandals franchise in Spartacus: House Of Ashur on MGM+ (1:20:45).
(Episode 365)
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+!
Duration:01:35:20
Prisoner 951, Watson, and Changing End
11/24/2025
There are chocolates in the studio this week — albeit ones that were initially destined for our editor Darren, but let’s gloss over that, shall we? In addition to raising our blood sugar levels while doing this week’s show, we take a look at the harrowing true story of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s imprisonment in Iran with Prisoner 951 on BBC1 (43:45), see if Sherlock’s assistant can make it without the man himself in Watson on Sky Witness (54:35), and catch up with newly minted national treasure Alan Carr in the third series of Changing Ends on ITV (1:03:59).
(Episode 364)
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+!
Duration:01:20:39
Malice, Summerwater, and The Death Of Bunny Munro. With guests Vince Gilligan, Rhea Seehorn and Karolina Wydra
11/17/2025
Pluribus showrunner Vince Gilligan along with stars Rhea Seehorn and Karolina Wydra all piled into the Pilot TV studio this week to talk all about Apple’s excellent new sci-fi series (0:00-30:12). Then, James, Kay and Boyd embarked on a trio of shows about terrible parenting in Prime’s manny from hell thriller Malice (1:08:31), Channel 4’s vacation nightmare Summerwater (1:18:20), and Sky’s lothario-at-large series The Death Of Bunny Munro (1:30:30).
(Episode 363)
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+!
Duration:01:44:29
Pluribus, All Her Fault, and Wild Cherry. With guest Jack Whitehall
11/10/2025
We get nothing from Malice from guest Jack Whitehall this week, who chats with Boyd about his new show. Malice (20:57-35:20). But on the rest of the pod, we’re all sweetness and light, mainly as we not only have a new Vince Gilligan show to watch, in the form of Pluribus on Apple TV (1:07:57), but it’s a show that depicts humanity at its happiest… with a cost. Outside this jaunt into the world of sci-fi, we follow Sarah Snook and Dakota Fanning in the hunt for a missing boy in All Her Fault on Sky (47:42), and glimpse into the lives of the filthy rich in Wild Cherry on BBC1 (58:28).
(Episode 362)
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+!
Duration:01:23:48
Down Cemetery Road, I Love LA, and Robin Hood. With guest Ruth Wilson
11/3/2025
Ruth Wilson in uncovering a conspiracy this week, both in Down Cemetery Road on Apple TV (1:02:18), and on this very podcast, for she is this week’s guest (33:12-48:43). Plus we’re back among the branches of Sherwood for Robin Hood on MGM+ (1:14:37), and hanging out with some friends reunited in I Love LA on Sky Comedy (1:22:23). And yes, while Boyd and Kay do insist on some Traitors discussion (as well as something to do with knitting), James was absolutely attentive and listened to every word. Mostly. We think.
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+!
Duration:01:35:03
It: Welcome To Derry, Trigger Point, and Art Detectives. With guest Stephen Merchant
10/27/2025
Stephen Merchant joins us on the show this week, not only chatting to James about his recent zombie apocalypse debut in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, but ruminating on comedy, rhyming slang, the legacy of The Office and 24. Plus, we follow the exploits of some we’re hanging out with some very different Derry girls (and boys) in It: Welcome to Derry on Sky, take in a little fine art with Art Detectives on U&Drama, and find out if booms still shake the room in series 3 of Trigger Point on ITV.
(Episode 360)
Duration:01:35:01
Leonard And Hungry Paul, The Forsytes, and The Ridge. With guests Harlan Coben and Bill Nighy
10/20/2025
We have a Lazarus double bill this week as both showrunner Harlan Coben and Star Bill Nighy drop by for separate (but thematically connected) chats about the new Prime Video thriller (which is embargoed, so we’ll be reviewing it on Pilot+). Plus we go abseiling with Lauren Lyle in The Ridge on BBC2, head back to posh Victorian England with The Forsytes on Channel 5, and get a little ASMR from Julia Roberts in Leonard And Hungry Paul on BBC2. Elsewhere, Kay enquires as to just what it takes to make us all stop watching a show, and James issues a public apology.
(Episode 359)
Duration:01:29:05
Riot Women, The Iris Affair, and Monster: The Ed Gein Story. With guests Sally Wainwright, Adjani Salmon & Ali Hughes
10/13/2025
Kay rapidly wishes she’d never returned from holiday after coming back to this week’s show as she discovers that Boyd hasn’t saved her a copy of his book. But that’s at least partially made up for by the fact that she gets to talk to the legendary Sally Wainwright about her new BBC show Riot Women (1:09:56-1:24:35), which we also review. Plus Adjani Salmon and Ali Hughes are on to chat the latest series of BBC3’s excellent Dreaming Whilst Black (35:45-56:43). Elsewhere, we tackle Sky’s new thriller with Niamh Algar and Tom Hollander, The Iris Affair, plus Ryan Murphy’s latest series of Monster (albeit the first season without actual Ryan Murphy), which sees Charlie Hunnam as serial killer Ed Gein (1:24:35).
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+!
Duration:01:56:40
Film Club, Dreaming Whilst Black, and Murder Before Evensong. With Guests Aimee Lou Wood & Suranne Jones, and Jodie Whittaker
10/6/2025
We’re legitimately chatting all things movies on the (TV) podcast this week as Aimee Lou Wood and Suranne Jones join us to chat Film Club on BBC3 (37:11-53:10), Plus Jodie Whittaker (sans Suranne) pops by to talk all things Frauds on ITV (1:04:03-1:23:34). Meanwhile, we catch up with Adjani Salmon for the second series of Dreaming Whilst Black on BBC3 (1:38:38), and delve into ecclesiastical crime solving with Murder Before Evensong on Channel 5 (1:48:45). All that, and a labyrinthine discussion fo Boydy’s bedtime habits, as well as a new foray into the world of Steph’s true crime watchlist as we prepare for Kay’s return later this week.
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+!
Duration:01:59:02
Chad Powers, Frauds, and How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge). With Guests Jessica Chastain & Nnamdi Asomugha and Tom Blyth
9/29/2025
Jessica Chastain and Nnamdi Asomugha are our guests on this week’s show, chatting The Savant on Apple TV+ (47:34-57:53) — a show that unfortunately you can’t watch, the reasons for which we get into in some detail elsewhere on the podcast. Meanwhile, Tom Blyth stops by to talk Billy The Kid (1:14:38-1:28:46), which you CAN see on MGM+. Also, we try to discover why people want to hide GLen Powell’s face in Chad Powers on Disney+ (1:28:46), see what Jodie Whittaker and Suranne Jones are up to over on ITV with Frauds (1:37:32), and get mental health advice from an unlikely source on BBC1 with How Are You? It’s Alan (Partridge) (1:47:29.
In tonight’s production of Pilot TV, the role of Kay Ribeiro will be played by Stephanie Seelan.
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+!
Duration:02:04:29
Slow Horses, Wayward, and The Hack. With guests Ruth Bradley and Christopher Chung
9/22/2025
It’s a Slow Horses special (kind of) this week as not only do we review the show’s fifth series but both Christopher Chung (Roddy Ho) and Ruth Bradley (Emma Flyte) are guests, with Ruth dropping into the studio mid-record almost as if she’d just been sent over from The Park by Taverner. Meanwhile, we take a look at the phone hacking scandal along with David Tennant in The Hack on ITV, and let Toni Colette scare the willies out of us in Wayward on Netflix.
Duration:01:54:37
Black Rabbit, Gen V, and Juice. With guests Andrew Lincoln and David Ireland
9/15/2025
We’re in Coldwater this week as Andrew Lincoln and writer David Ireland discuss the new ITV thriller (23:55-44:34). Plus Kay asks the question as to whether we take TV (or film, or book) recommendations from other people. And then there’s this week’s crop of shows, which includes Netflix’s brotherly strife miniseries Black Rabbit (53:45), Prime’s second series of The Boys spinoff Gen V (1:03:08), and the second series of Mawaan Rizwan’s Juice on BBC3 (1:10:25).
(Episode 354)
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+!
Duration:01:20:27
Task, The Girlfriend, and Only Murders In The Building. With guests Robin Wright and Olivia Cooke
9/8/2025
We are nominally back to normal this week, meaning we’re all in the studio and the YouTube cameras are back on. And a good thing too as we take on HBO crime thriller Task (55:00), the fifth season of Only Murders In The Building on Disney+ (1:12:15) and Prime Video’s domestic thriller The Girlfriend (1:03:39), for which both Robin Wright and Olivia Cooke join us on the show (27:28-43:32).
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+!
Duration:01:23:36
The Guest, I Fought The Law, and The Runaronds. With Guest Domhnall Gleeson
9/1/2025
We’re back to a semblance of normality this week, except for James being in Florida and having to dial in remotely, but that doesn’t stop us taking on the police with Sheridan Smith in I Fought The Law on ITV1, exploring upstairs/downstairs relationships with Eve Myles in The Guest on BBC1, and rocking out with The Runarounds on Prime Video. Plus Domhnall Gleeson stops by to chat with us about The Office (US) spinoff The Paper on Sky.
(Episdoe 352)
Duration:01:11:43
Atomic, King & Conqueror, and Invasion. With guests Suranne Jones and Matt Charman, Alfie Allen and Shazad Latif
8/25/2025
It’s a bumper, star-studded week for guests with two glorious duos discussing their shows - Hostage and Atomic, while we’re still missing our leader James so it’s another “Dot and Ethel” two hander with Boyd, live from the Edinburgh TV festival, and Kay, live from her living room. They review the aforementioned Atomic on Sky, plus King & Conqueror and season 3 of invasion. Yes, season 3. But all the other brand new shows are embargoed.
Duration:01:39:45
Peacemaker, The Twisted Tale Of Amanda Knox, and Mudtown. With guest Alex Lawther
8/18/2025
The excellent Alex Lawther is our guest this week. You’ll know him from The End Of The F****ing World among other fine shows, and now he is one of the shining lights in the ensemble cast of Alien: Earth. Lazy James is still away so Boyd and Kay are joined by Crime Queen Steph, and it just so happens there’s a lot of crime shows for us to discuss, including Disney+’s controversial Amanda Knox drama, Mudtown on U&Alibi, not to be confused with Mudbath, and Peacemaker which features an orgy of course.
(Episode 350 — yes, the REAL Episode 350)
Duration:01:40:46
LIVE: Alien: Earth, In Flight, and Butterfly. With special guest co-host Russell T. Davies
8/11/2025
Our Live 350th episode turned out to be a live 349th episode (because maths) but that didn’t stop it from being a storming night at Kings Place in London. Why? Because on this episode our trio became a quartet and we were joined by the magnificent Russell T Davies, who was anointed as an official Co-Pilot. Much hilarity ensued (just wait till you get to Boyd’s review of Butterfly) as we tackled everything from AI to Masterchef and everything in between. Audience questions were answered, cake was eaten and a good time was had by all.
(Episode 349)
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+!
Duration:02:25:17
Outlander: Blood Of My Blood, Platonic, and Ridley. With Guests Adrian Dunbar and Paul Wesley
8/4/2025
We have a double whammy of guests this week as Adrian Dunbar joins us to chat Ridley on ITV. Plus Paul Wesley chats to us about returning to the bridge as Kirk in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Meanwhile, Scottish shagfest Outlander gets a spinoff series with highland origin story Blood Of My Blood on MGM+, and Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne return for another round of Platonic on Apple TV+. And, for reasons that aren’t entirely clear, we open the Pilot TV agony aunt column.
Duration:01:55:45
The Assassin, The Count Of Monte Cristo, The Gone, and The Mayfair Witches
7/28/2025
There’s a returning series bonanza this week as we take our pick from The Gone and The Mayfair Witches, both returning to the Beeb. But that’s okay as we also have two big ticket originals making their TV debut this week, specifically Keeley Hawes and Freddie Highmore comedy thriller The Assassin on Prime Video and Sam Claflin-starring Alexandre Dumas adaptation The Count Of Monte Cristo on U&Drama. Plus there’s much discussion of the correct pronunciation (and actual location) of Guildford.
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+!
Duration:01:15:10
Mix Tape, The Narrow Road To The Deep North, and Washington Black. With guest Mark Gatiss
7/21/2025
Bookish goes Poddish this week as Mark Gatiss joins us on the show to talk about post-war crime solving on U&Alibi (30:01-51:57). Plus we review a trio of time-hopping dramas this week from Aussie/Northern ‘80s drama Mix Tape on BBC2 (1:11:16), epic WWII literary adaptation The Narrow Road To The Deep North on BBC1 (1:26:44), and emancipation and invention adventure Washington Black on Disney+ (1:37:44). And, courtesy of a listener, we delve into the different types of streaming drops from weekly drip-feeds to all-you-can-eat binges.
(Episode 346)
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+!
Duration:01:46:16