Every year, a number of television pilots are filmed -- "test episodes" for potential new shows. Some of them get ordered to series, and those pilot episodes often become episode #1 of the new show. Others, however, are unable to hurdle that barrier and remain unsold -- not picked up as a full television series.

Note that "unsold" does not necessarily equate to "unaired" -- many of the pilots listed here have aired on tv, either as a backdoor pilot (shown as a tv movie, or as an episode of an already-running tv show from which it was intended to spin off) or "burned off" (aired as a tv movie or a one-off episode among the summer reruns, or incorporated into one of several anthology tv series that consisted entirely of rejected pilots). Others have seen the light of day as extra features on DVDs, or straight-to-video releases, or in a few cases were even bumped up to theatrical releases.

I've started moving ones I've seen and/or have (i.e., I know they're at least marginally available) to the top of the list -- so far that's #s 1-976.

Sources: Unsold Television Pilots, Lee Goldberg. Movies Made for Television, 1964-2004 and 2005-2009, Alvin H. Marill. Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925-2007 and Encyclopedia of Television Pilots, 1937-2019 and Encyclopedia of Unaired Television Pilots, 1945-2018, Vincent Terrace. Various selective-subject (science fiction, animation, etc.) TV books. Various internet resources - IMDb, TCMDb, TheFutonCritic, etc. etc. etc.

(A work in progress.)

Bea Benaderet, Edgar Buchanan, Smiley Burnette, Frank Cady, Rufe Davis, Linda Henning, Gunilla Hutton, Meredith MacRae, Mike Minor, Jeannine Riley, Lori Saunders, and Pat Woodell in Petticoat Junction (1963)

Charles Manson in Will You Kill for Me? Charles Manson and His Followers (2008)

For Movie Guides Referenced: See #1 (First Entry)

Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Lists Related to Our Planet Tonight

More to explore

Recently viewed