The Greatest TV Pilots Of All Time

Boardwalk Empire

The American period crime drama Boardwalk Empire, created by Terence Winter, premiered on HBO in 2010 with a pilot episode that had everyone talking. The episode was directed by Martin Scorsese, and cost a total of $18 million. The pilot introduces the world of Nucky Thompson, a corrupt political figure who controls Atlantic City during the Prohibition period.

Like a lot of writers with an ambitious pilot script, Terence Winter doubted himself. He told Variety, “I kept thinking ‘This is pointless. How can we possibly afford a boardwalk, or an empire? …We can’t call it ‘Boardwalk Empire’ and not see a boardwalk.” Production issues aside, any show backed by Martin Scorsese had big name actors lining up. Winter went on to recall, “Scorsese is an actor magnet. Everybody wants to work with him. I had all these pictures on my wall and I thought, ‘I’d really better write some good stuff for these people.'”