The Greatest TV Pilots Of All Time

Cheers

In the pilot episode of Cheers, there’s little explanation as the characters are introduced one by one. Bar owner Sam, intellectual Diane, bartender Coach, and witty waitress Carla are introduced as the interact with regulars Norma and Cliff. Their chemistry is immediate, and the show’s rapid-fire banter made instant fans out of viewers of this classic sitcom pilot.

The series producers were concerned about how the show would carry itself and decided that they should make stars within the show, rather than hiring stars to make the show what it is. Cheers creators Glen and Les Charles told The Telegraph-Herald in 1982, “We first thought a hotel would be the right setting and then a hotel bar. Then we zeroed in on a Boston neighborhood bar. Why Boston? Because Boston is cosmopolitan, a great sports town and it hasn’t been exploited on television… We read some stars for the lead role. We rejected the idea because a show becomes identified in the public mind as ‘so -and-so’s show.’ We decided to make stars instead.”