The S1E1 Podcast
Join us every week where we’ll be picking a different sitcom and judging it solely on its very first televised episode. In doing so we’ll be challenging ourselves to erase any knowledge of future episodes so we can deliver an unbiased opinion. At the end of each show we’ll tell you if this is a show we would green light or cancel. Tune in to find out which mega shows wouldn’t make the cut, what forgettable mistakes we give a pass, and who started exactly where they should be.
Listen on:
Episodes
Thursday May 19, 2022
Thursday May 19, 2022
"WKRP in Cincinnati" was the product of show creator Hugh Wilson wanting to make a sitcom about his experiences working at an Atlanta radio station. This show, which originally aired on CBS features a strong ensemble cast with the likes of Howard Hesseman, Loni Anderson, & Tim Reid just to name a few. Will WKRP's top 40 Rock n' Roll free the S1E1 guy's souls? Find out as they review the 1978 episode, "Pilot: Part 1".
Thursday May 12, 2022
Thursday May 12, 2022
In the late 80's the world was first introduced to the likes of characters such as Zack Morris, Screech Powers, Lisa Turtle, & Mr. Belding on a little show called... Good Morning Miss Bliss? Well that show only lasted one season before being canceled and retooled becoming what we would later come to know as, Saved By The Bell. In this new incarnation of the classroom based show the focus was taken off of the teaching staff and rather placed on the students. This idea clearly worked as Saved By The Bell became a phenomenon for young kids through the early 90's. So join the S1E1 guys as they answer the question, "Can you go home again?" when they review the pilot episode "Dancing to the Max".
www.S1E1POD.com
Thursday May 05, 2022
Thursday May 05, 2022
Kim's Convenience is a Canadian sitcom that first aired in 2016. The show, which was based on a 2011 play of the same name depicts the lives of a Korean Canadian family who run a small convenience store. By the show's 3rd season the show had gained distribution outside of just its home country and was now available internationally through Netflix where its full 5 season run is still available for streaming. This week the S1E1 guys check this show out as they review its pilot episode, "Gay Discount".
www.S1E1POD.com
Thursday Apr 28, 2022
Thursday Apr 28, 2022
Debuting in 1991, Step By Step was very much a modern twist on the Brady Bunch. Once again we find 2 people falling in love and getting married each with 3 kids of their own. Patrick Duffy and Suzanne Somers were strategically cast as the parents on this show, taking two of the most attractive stars of 70's television and pairing them together. Filling out the cast were also a who's who of various child actors. This all-star cast was assembled with the expectations of a primetime hit. The creators of the show were clearly on to something with Step By Step pulling strong ratings through 7 seasons. Will this casting strategy also win over the S1E1 guys? Listen in as they review their pilot episode.
www.S1E1POD.com
Thursday Apr 21, 2022
Thursday Apr 21, 2022
Trailer Park Boys is the byproduct of a couple independent films written and directed by Mike Clattenburg. In said films we are first introduced to the acting duo of Robb Wells and John Paul Tremblay, who will eventually come to be known as Ricky and Julian. The two portray two ex-convicts living their day to day lives in a trailer park which happens to be filmed documentary style. Also joining the show was Mike Smith's "Cart Boy" character which was also a product of a past Clattenburg project, now going by the name Bubbles. The show, which was was being filmed at actual Trailer Parks spent the majority of its years on the Canadian network Showcase. In 2013 the 3 main actors purchased the rights to the show from the original producers and created their own internet streaming network, "Swearnet". Soon after new episodes were in development and were distributed on Netflix. After a few years there the 3 now self produce content that they release exclusively to Swearnet. Listen in this week as the S1E1 guys review their pilot episode from 2001, titled "Take Your Little Gun and Get Out of My Trailer Park".
www.S1E1POD.com
Thursday Apr 14, 2022
Thursday Apr 14, 2022
The Chicago Tribune listed "Cavemen" as one of the 25 worst TV shows ever, The New York Post declared the show "extinct on arrival", & TV Guide listed it at #22 on their list of 25 Biggest TV Blunders. But in 2004 an advertising campaign for the auto insurance company GEICO featuring Cavemen living among us in modern day took the world by storm. After 3 years of continued success ABC gave a pilot order to turn the characters into a full fledged sitcom... And about a month after the show first premiered it was cancelled. 15 years later the show has basically been forgotten in time. But the show had one fan... And that person happens to host a show about sitcoms. So tune in this week as he forces 4 of his best friends to watch what was once described as, "a step back in the evolution of sitcoms". This week we watch episode 1 of Cavemen, "Her Embarrassed of Caveman".
www.S1E1POD.com
Thursday Apr 07, 2022
Thursday Apr 07, 2022
In real life Eddie Huang is a chef, a difrector, and an attorney just to name a few things. So as you'd imagine shortly after releasing his autobiography "Fresh Off the Boat: A Memoir", studios were jumping at the opportunity to create a show based on his life. The rights eventually landed in the hands of ABC and 20th Century Fox Television. The show depicts a Young Eddie moving from DC to Orlando with his family in the mid 90s. Constance Wu and Randall Park were the first two signed on followed by Hudson Yang taking on the role of a young Eddie Huang. Does this show have what it takes to get green-lit by the S1E1 guys or will they kill it before it can get to an episode 2. Tune in to our review of their pilot and found out!
www.S1E1POD.com
Thursday Mar 31, 2022
Thursday Mar 31, 2022
At this point you'd have to be living under a rock (pun intended) to not know who Dwayne Johnson is. But in this NBC Sitcom we get a little insight as to who Dewey was before he became WWE Superstar and Box Office juggernaut, The Rock. From being a young kid watching his dad wrestle, to an overgrown teenager, to a standout collegiate football player at the University of Miami, Young Rock shows you what growing up was like for the most electrifying man in sports entertainment. Listen in as we review the their pilot episode, "Working the Gimmick".
www.S1E1POD.com
Thursday Mar 24, 2022
Thursday Mar 24, 2022
The idea behind the show "Roseanne" was to have a family sitcom that actually focused itself around a working mother. That idea took shape once show creator Tom Werner saw comedian Roseanne Barr performing on "The Tonight Show". The thought was her unique "in your face" voice was perfect for the lead role. Set in the fictional town of Lanford, IL Roseanne was married with three kids. On top of her duties at home she also spent her days as a line worker for a plastics company. Will the pilot episode of this classic catch the interest of the S1E1 guys? Listen as they review the pilot episode, "Life and Stuff".
www.S1E1POD.com
Thursday Mar 17, 2022
Thursday Mar 17, 2022
American Auto is a show that was originally in the works as early as 2013 when its creator Justin Spitzer, who had spent years as a writer and producer on "The Office" decided he wanted to create a workplace comedy of his own. This time however, he wanted to focus on upper level management. The show was sold to NBC but didn't end up getting the go ahead to create a pilot. After then Spitzer pivoted and created the hit show "Superstore". Then in 2019 went back to redevelop a pilot for American Auto. The show, focusing on the corporate side of the fictional company Payne Motors was eventually moved forward staring Ana Gasteyer (Saturday Night Live, Mean Girls). Do the S1E1 guys give this show the green-light or should NBC have stuck with their initial assessment? Listen and find out!
www.S1E1POD.com