A perfect pilot or a pathetic one? I watched the pilots of picks 100-96 of the New York Times ‘100 Best TV Shows of the 21st Century’ and here’s what I think. Recently The New York Times (NYT), compiled its list of the top 100 TV series that have been released since January 1st, 2000. The list was curated by over 500 actors, showrunners, and prominent television figures, featuring names such as Connie Britton (White Lotus and Spin City), Richard Gadd (Baby Reindeer), and Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls and The Handmaid’s Tale), to name a few.
As someone deeply invested in pop culture and intensely fascinated by how media reflects the anxieties and desires of its time, I wanted to review this list and compare how industry professionals rate series compared to how the public does.
I am only watching the pilot episodes because unfortunately I don’t have the time to sit and watch several seasons of 100 shows (and if it were possible, believe me I absolutely would), and secondly the importance of a pilot cannot be overstated. Network involvement aside, the pilot sets up storylines, introduces us to characters we have the potential to fall in love with, and brings the excitement that can start our love affair with a show. I have stood by many TV shows that end up completely derailing into nonsense by the final season (Pretty Little Liars,
here’s looking at you!), because the pilot, cast and atmosphere of the show was captivating, leaving me with no choice but stay until the final episode. So let’s walk through picks 100-96 on our list and I’ll tell you if I think they are the perfect beginning or if I believe you should take the first exit and not continue onto episode two.
Pick 100: Scandal (2012-2018)
Perfect or Pathetic: Perfect
Quinn Perkins, a young lawyer, is recruited to join Olivia Pope’s team. And who is Olivia
Pope? Olivia Pope is a crisis management lawyer, with a scandalous past with the President
of the United States.
Scandal is the exact type of show I adore, it’s gripping, dripping with gossip and includes characters you can’t decide if you adore or hate. From the beginning of this episode, Olivia Pope is put on an immense pedestal, and I was constantly fighting with myself to form a solid opinion. At first, I adored her self-assuredness, and self-respect, and then she threatens a young woman (Amanda Tanner) into not speaking out about her inappropriate relationship with the President.
Throughout the episode, I can never figure Olivia out, and it’s surprisingly refreshing. Often in the media, women are labelled as either ‘dumb blondes’ or ‘femme fatales’ or their character arcs aren’t fully developed. Olivia Pope is none of these things, she is messy and her ethics and morals falter depending on the situation she is given. She is a complex and nuanced character that cannot fit into an archetype.
Scandal was created by a powerhouse of television: Shonda Rhimes (creator of shows such as Grey’s Anatomy and Bridgerton). Through Scandal, Rhimes cast a black woman as the forefront of her show, which was monumental in the media landscape allowing people of colour to break through the glass ceiling, and to be cast in lead roles. Whilst this is the only Shonda Rhimes’ show on this list, I strongly recommend you watch this or another of her shows, as she has no plans of slowing down her impact on pop culture or the television industry.
Pick 99: Gilmore Girls (2003-2007)
Perfect or Pathetic: Perfect
Lorelai Gilmore, a hardworking single mother (with a concerning caffeine addiction), attempts to build bridges with her estranged parents in order to fund her daughter’s (Rory Gilmore) private school education. I must be the last 20 something year old woman to have watched this show, but unsurprisingly I loved it. The show is warm and cozy, and watching it at the start of a new academic year is probably the best time to start it. Gilmore Girls does an excellent job at establishing key relationship dynamics between women whether it be between mothers and daughters or the core female friendships of the show. I found myself smiling at certain moments and painfully relating to others. Gilmore Girls has had an immense impact on pop culture, during this pilot alone, I recognised that many of the lines have been turned into TikTok sounds, and Rory Gilmore herself seems to have become the face of ‘studytok’. Pop culture aside, I believe that Gilmore Girls stood the test of time because of its portrayal of relationships, and the ability to have the pilot (Dean romantic plotline aside) that is so richly centred on girlhood and how women’s experiences.
Pick 98: The OA (2016-2019)
Perfect or Pathetic: Pathetic
A young woman who refers to herself as ‘the OA’, but is known by her town as ‘Prairie Johnson’ returns 7 years after her disappearance, the question everyone’s asking: How is Prairie Johnson now able to see, when she was blind before her disappearance? The show is dark and gritty, and whilst initially presenting itself as a show concerned with one woman’s trauma upon returning home after years of being missing, it quickly morphs into an episode alluding to the OAs connection to Homer, a man who suffered a near death experience. The end of the episode explores how the OA lost her sight, her experience with dying and then returning back from death. Whilst watching the episode, I unfortunately didn’t connect with the characters and the main character dynamic of the episode (Steve and the OA) failed to latch onto me emotionally, which as a viewer fascinated with human connection disappointed me. The OA was released in what could be claimed as the beginning of a more politically volatile time in America, and so television began to reflect the increasing anxieties around everyday life and hence gave rise to a desire for escapism through reflecting on things bigger than ourselves, including our realities. Whilst I am not personally a fan of science fiction, which definitely affected my overall rating of this pilot, I can definitely understand the desire to believe that your current reality will not remain the same or isn’t simply surface deep.
Pick 97: Community (2009- 2015)
Perfect or Pathetic: Perfect
Jeff Winger was a lawyer, before his law firm found out his degree was fake. In order to obtain a legitimate degree, he begins attending a community college, where he forms a study group, initially created to become closer to Britta, a woman he is attracted to. However by the end of the pilot, they soon have turned into a close-knit group of friends. In all honesty, it’s been a while since I watched a sitcom, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one! The pilot is quick, cosy and establishes lots of character arcs simultaneously whilst providing light laughs. I enjoyed watching this episode in the evening, after a long stressful day at university, as the characters are immersive, outrageous and hilarious. Whilst this pilot is slightly less plot heavy than the other four episodes I watched, I still thoroughly enjoyed my watching experience. Even from the first episode the core theme of the show: redemption is significant and mixed with comedic elements it’s undeniably heartwarming. 2000s and 2010s sitcoms were intensely impactful on our culture, with classics such as Parks and Recreation, Friends and The Office dominating the screen. In this time period, Community stands out because of its formulaic episodes and meta humour to explore relevant themes.
Pick 96: Halt and Catch Fire (2014-17)
Perfect or Pathetic: Pathetic, but with potential
A software engineer (Gordan Clark) and a visionary (Joe MacMillan), who both work at a fictional company, form an unlikely team in order to reverse-engineer and copy an IBM computer, to start a revolution within the computer and technology industry. I had a mixed experience with this pilot which centres on the partnership between Joe, who is overconfident and a maverick, and Gordon who is desperate to create something meaningful. I spent the majority of the episode infuriated with Gordon, who places significant responsibility on his wife to keep the household together, whilst he drinks and spends money the family doesn’t have. I did however slightly resonate with his desire to create something meaningful. As humans our passion to use our own imagination for creation, especially in a world dominated by AI, continues to persist despite now being told there are ‘shortcuts’ to creating our art. Halt and Catch fire was a largely unnoticed during its runtime, but has become a classic, and is a show that followed conversations about the early development of our technologies and social platforms (e.g. The Social Network, 2010). However, the pilot showed that it isn’t specifically about the creation of computers and technology, but creation in general. It follows the hardships of failure, placing your dream above the people in your life, and the
surging motivation and hope upon completion of a project. Whilst I am not fascinated with the practicalities of technology, the history of technology will continue to inform its future, and the broader impact technology will continue to have on our society.
Research
Scandal
https://www.autostraddle.com/scandal-changed-the-entire-tv-landscape-especially-for-black-women418007/
https://thecrimsonwhite.com/98419/culture/shonda-rhimes-impact-on-television/The OA
https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/01/the-oa-stranger-things-westworld-metaphysical-moment-alternative-realities-tv/511808/ Community
https://www.gq.com/story/community-changed-sitcoms-10-years-ago Halt and Catch Fire
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2021/aug/30/halt-and-catch-fire-hugely-underrated-tech-drama-about-dreaming-big-and-failing-bigger
Original NYT article: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/arts/television/best-tv-shows-