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

Genres:

Film & TV News

Media & Entertainment Podcasts

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

I Jack Wright, Fake, and Doctor Who ‘Vox’ spoiler discussion. With guest David Oyelowo

4/21/2025

With James away this week, it’s down to Boyd and Kay to take the helm and bang on about the week’s big TV but in a shock move, they admit James rewatching shows he’s seen thousands of times before is actually, dare we say it, a GOOD thing. More importantly, David Oyelowo is our guest, chatting all things Government Cheese (that’s the title of his new Apple TV+ show, not a dietary preference), and we review Fake, an Aussie true-life drama which triggers Kay’s dating experience memories, the whodunnit I, Jack Wright from Chris Lang of Unforgotten fame, and in a final twist, Boyd does a mini-spoiler special review of Doctor Who series 2, ep 2 ‘Vox’ because it deserves special treatment! (Episode 333)

Duration:01:22:59

The Last Of Us, The Stolen Girl, and Government Cheese. With guests Charlie Brooker and Jessica Rhodes

4/14/2025

Yes, it’s time for James to bang on about The Last Of Us again (sorry) but that’s okay, because we have Charlie Brooker and Jessica Rhodes on the show to balance things out by talking Black Mirror Season 7 (37:05). Aside from forcing Kay to watch more ‘zomzies’ in The Last Of Us (on Sky Atlantic), we also head over to Disney+ to watch Denise Gough take part in the playdate from hell in The Stolen Girl (1:28:19) and take a slightly surreal look at the world of self-sharpening drill bits (stay with us) in Government Cheese on Apple TV+ (1:39:46). Also, we’d love to get your feedback on the podcast so do head over and fill out our little questionnaire here: https://tinyurl.com/ms9u3z22 (Episode 332) 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:01:49:45

Your Friends & Neighbours, Reunion, and Hacks. With guest Jon Hamm

4/7/2025

Our friend and neighbour Jon Hamm is this week’s guest (36:36)as we chat burglary and anti-heroes for Apple’s new comedy drama (1:06:10). Plus we take a look at the BBC’s Deaf-centric revenge drama Reunion (1:27:15), and have the novel experience of being able to watch a series of Hacks (1:17:12)when it actually comes out instead of months down the line. Hooray! (Episode 331) 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:01:41:03

Dying For Sex, Austin, and The Bondsman. With guests Tom Hardy and Kaitlin Olson

3/31/2025

Tom Hardy is with us this week (18:08), going full gangster for MobLand, and Kaitlin Olson also stops by to chat High Potential and Hacks (59:37). Elsewhere, we accompany Michelle Williams on a voyage of sexual discovery in Dying For Sex on Disney+ (1:26:37), head Down Under with Sally Philips and Ben Miller in Austin on BBC1 (1:10:30), and embark on a mission for Satan with Kevin Bacon in The Bondsman on Paramount+ (1:17:56). (Episode 330) 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:01:39:45

The Studio, Side Quest, and This City Is Ours. With guests Seth Rogen and Catherine O’Hara

3/24/2025

We are blessed by Canadian comedy royalty this week as Seth Rogen and Catherine O’Hara join us on the podcast to talk all about The Studio on Apple TV+ (30:06), which we also review on this week’s show (54:27). Plus, we discuss the finer points of tree surgery (don’t watch and chop, kids) as well as take a look at Mythic Quest anthology spin-off Side Quest (1:05:38), as well as Liverpudlian crime drama This City Is Ours with Sean Bean on BBC1 (1:12:50). (Episode 329) 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:01:31:08

Happy Face, Gangs Of London, and Protection. With guest Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù

3/17/2025

Gangs Of London star Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù is our guest on this week’s show (32:20) as we suit up for another instalment of bloody murder on the streets of the capital in Season 3 (1:20:55). Plus, we’re testing the boundaries of paternal relations in Happy Face on Paramount+ (1:12:59), in which Annaleigh Ashford stars as the daughter of Dennis Quaid’s serial killer, and going on the lam with Siobhan Finneran in protective custody thriller Protection on ITV (1:28:52). (Episode 328) 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:01:43:24

Dope Thief, Adolescence, and The Au Pair. With Guests Brian Tyree Henry and Faye Marsay

3/10/2025

We’re giving out gnomes this week, specifically to Brian Tyree Henry, who joins us to chat all things rip and run with crime thriller Dope Thief (19:58) on Apple TV+. And while she didn’t get a gnome, the excellent Faye Marsay stopped by as well (1:02:54), to talk mind-blowing one-shot drama Adolescence on Netflix. And if reviewing both of those shows (1:23:00, 1:33:34) wasn’t enough for you, we also roll out the red carpet for the main event that is The Au Pair on Channel 5 (1:46:10), a show that is…. well, we wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise. Listen and find out! (Episode 327) 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:02:01:33

Toxic Town, Fear, and Get Millie Black

3/3/2025

This week’s show sees us dealing with industrial pollution alongside Jodie Whittaker and Aimee Lou Wood in Toxic town on Netflix (46:06), being terrorised by Martin Compston and Anjli Mohindra’s neighbour from hell in Fear on Prime Video (1:06:24), and heading to Kingston with Tamara Lawrance in Get Millie Black on Channel 4 (58:37). Plus Boydy lays down the law with regard to The White Lotus, James reveals a bold new era for Pilot+ subscribing, and Kay asks which shows should have stopped after a single season and put us all our of our misery. (Episode 326) 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 12 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+ at empire.supportingcast.fm.

Duration:01:22:27

Small Town Big Story, Dope Girls, and 1923. With guests Christina Hendricks, Chris O’Dowd and Jason Isaacs

2/24/2025

Chris O’Dowd and Christina Hendricks join us this week (25:10) to talk Small Town, Big Country on Sky and NOW (which we also review - 1:17:30), Plus Jason Isaacs drops by to chat The White Lotus (1:02:38). Elsewhere, Boydy undertakes a scintillating digression about the vagaries of TV magazine publication dates and how they relate to embargoes (bear with us) and we not only take a look at the BBC’s Dope Girls (1:27:27, but head back to the Yellowstoniverse with Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren for 1923 (1:37:11). (Episode 325) 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 12 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+ at empire.supportingcast.fm.

Duration:01:51:39

Disney+ Original series A Thousand Blows: An Empire and Pilot TV Podcast Special

2/21/2025

Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight heads to the mean streets of Victorian London for A Thousand Blows on Disney+ and what better way to celebrate than with a special Pilot TV/Empire crossover podcast? Chris Hewitt, James Dyer and Kay Ribeiro get under the skin of Knight’s latest period piece, which combines bare-knuckle boxing with organised crime as all-female gang The Forty Elephants rampage through the East End. Plus, Kay speaks to Knight himself about the origins of the series and to stars Stephen Graham and Malachi Kirby about facing off in the ring.

Duration:00:54:30

The White Lotus and A Thousand Blows. With guests Jesse Plemons, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Millie Brady

2/17/2025

We have a gaggle of guests for you this week as Jesse Plemons joins us to talk Netflix’s Zero Day (51:21) and the three stars of Apple’s Surface — Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Millie Brady — also drop by (17:43). Elsewhere, we strip down and buff up for a bit of bare-knuckle boxing in Victorian London with A Thousand Blows on Disney+ (1:31:15), and take a trip to Thailand for the latest instalment of Mike White’s jamboree of misery, The White Lotus, on Sky and NOW (1:09:17). (Episode 324) 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 12 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+ at empire.supportingcast.fm.

Duration:01:43:43

Apple Cider Vinegar, Funboys, and Virdee

2/10/2025

Dodgy influencers are the order of the day on this week’s show as we take a look at Netflix’s wellness drama Apple Cider Vinegar (39:12). Plus, we join three hapless boys (and one plastic swan) in BBC comedy Funboys (51:04), and head up to the mean streets of Bradford for the Beeb’s adaptation of the DCI Virdee novels (59:48). Plus, the team chew over television’s most fiendish cliffhangers and James attempts to explain the significance of the impending Buffy reboot to Kay. (Episode 323) 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 12 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+ at empire.supportingcast.fm.

Duration:01:13:20

Unforgotten, Big Boys, and Amandaland

2/3/2025

We have a trio of brilliant British shows for you this week as Chris Lang’s Unforgotten reunites Sunny with his famous backpack for its sixth series on ITV (52:22), Jack Rooke’s Big Boys gets a last hurrah as its third and final series hits Channel 4 (59:40), and Lucy Punch starring Motherland spinoff Amandaland makes its debut on BBC1 (1:07:26). Plus we take a deep dive look at this week’s Next On Netflix presentation and Ben Travis gets called at home to answer for his ridiculous question. (Episode 322) 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 12 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+ at empire.supportingcast.fm.

Duration:01:21:57

Paradise, Brian And Maggie, and Mythic Quest

1/27/2025

This week, we’re on the hunt for the president’s killer with Sterling K. Brown in Paradise on Disney+ (1:04:01), heading back to the ‘80s to re-live one of the final interviews with Margaret Thatcher in Brian And Maggie on Channel 4 (44:49), and catching up with Rob McElhenney’s gamemasters in season 4 of Mythic Quest on Apple TV+ (1:18:55). All that, and James does his level best to make Kay break her 2025 no swearing rule, with mixed success. 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 12 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+ at empire.supportingcast.fm.

Duration:01:34:35

High Potential and Whiskey On The Rocks. With guests Leo Woodall and Quintessa Swindell

1/20/2025

We’re chatting Prime Target with Leo Woodall and Quintessa Swindell this week (34:16), before hand-picking a single pair of shows to review this week — which has a lot more to do an array of embargoes than an indicator of special quality. Still, we’re back in procedural land for High Potential (54:53) and back in the ‘80s for a bit of geopolitical wrangling with submarines in Swedish miniseries Whiskey On The Rocks (1:03:21) — both on Disney+. Plus we get a small assortment of listener questions from Kay and Boyd reveals his unnatural love of the big light. (Episode 320) 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 12 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+ at empire.supportingcast.fm.

Duration:01:16:35

Severance, Out There, and American Primeval. With guests James Norton and Niamh Algar

1/13/2025

We’re back! it’s 2025 and to kick things off, James Norton and Niamh Algar join us to chat all things Playing Nice on ITV (27:24). But that’s not all, because ITV also brings us this week’s Wales-set drama Out There (1:02:07) with Martin Clunes. We hop back both to the birth of the Wild West and to last week, when American Primeval debuted on Netflix (52:51), but none of that can possibly match the excitement surrounding the return of Severance (1:12:38), which finally returns to Apple TV+ for a second season three years in the making. Can it live up to the show’s critically acclaimed debut? Listen and find out. (Episode 319) 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 12 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+ at empire.supportingcast.fm.

Duration:01:30:53

Review Of The Year 2024

12/30/2024

Merry Christmas! and welcome to Pilot TV’s festive round-up of the year that was. Over the course of two glorious hours, we break down the last 12 months in television, sifting through the good, the bad, and the ugly of 2024. From our official best shows list, to honourable mentions, listener questions, some of our favourite moments and an extended (and excruciating) blooper reel from our editor, Darren, we send the year out in style and pave the way for an even better 2025. So kick back, listen up and enjoy!

Duration:01:56:12

#318 A Ghost Story For Christmas, Doctor Who, and SAS: Rogue Heroes. With guests Nicola Walker, Harlan Coben & Nicola Shindler

12/23/2024

In our final regular podcast of the year, we speak to the legendary Nicola Walker (26:53) about The Split: Barcelona, as well as Harlan Coben and Nicola Shindler (1:28:19) for Netflix’s Missing You. Plus, we go all festive and sift through some of the great telly coming your way over the Christmas period, including A Ghost Story For Christmas (1:44:29), The Christmas episode of Doctor Who (1:49:06), and the latest season of Steven Knight’s SAS: Rogue Heroes (1:55:26). We also find time to open Santa’s sack and answer your questions in a bumper Christmas postbag, before signing off for a little chocolate-assisted R&R. 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 12 hours early, with a second weekly show and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+ at empire.supportingcast.fm.

Duration:02:13:19

#317 Strike and Based On A True Story. With guests Tim Cook, Rebecca Ferguson, and Holliday Grainger

12/16/2024

In an unexpected turn of events, Pilot TV’s set visit to the new third (and fourth) season of Apple TV+’s Silo resulted in a sit down interview with both Rebecca Ferguson and the big Apple himself, Tim Cook (27:24). Never one to miss a chance to wax lyrical about Foundation, James cornered the Apple CEO to discuss the streamer’s penchant for brilliant nerdy sci-fi. Elsewhere, we review BBC1’s latest Strike instalment, The Ink Black Heart (1:19:03), and speak to star Holliday Grainger while we’re at it (1:00:45), plus we catch up with Kaley Cuoco’s serial killer podcast in the second season of Based On A True Story on Sky (1:31:19). 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 12 hours early, with a second weekly show, and spoiler specials) then sign up to Pilot+ at empire.supportingcast.fm.

Duration:01:42:58

#316 Secret Level and 100 Years Of Solitude. With special guest host Joe Barton

12/9/2024

We were delighted to be joined in the studio this week by friend of the pod and Black Doves creator Joe Barton, who heroically braved Euston traffic and his post-premiere hangover to make a triumphant return to the podcast, sitting in with us this week as we chatted everything from animation to comedy and the creative powers of the ‘Merrineum’. Elsewhere, we dabble in Tim Miller’s new video game inspired Prime animation Secret Level, and Netflix’s adaptation of Gabriel García Márquez’s 100 Years Of Solitude.

Duration:01:34:43