FromBreaking BadtoThe Wire, some TV crime dramas are so amazing that I knew they were going to be masterpieces within the first 10 minutes of the first episode. A pilot episode’s job is to hook viewers and make them want to come back, and opening scenes likeThe Sopranos’ duck-festdid just that.
10Dexter
Dexterwas only a masterpiece up until its baffling ending, but for eight seasons, it was one of the best crime dramas on television. With a deliciously dark sense of humor, it told the story of a blood spatter expert who harnessed his irrepressible urge to kill into a vigilante crusade to kill every other serial killer in Miami.
This curious premise of a serial killer who only kills other serial killers was set up perfectlyin the first 10 minutes of the pilot episode. We see Dexter track down a local pastor who’s been murdering young boys, then take sick pleasure in taking that killer’s life. It was the ideal introduction to this blood-soaked, pitch-black comedy thriller.
9Sherlock
The first scene inSherlock’s pilot episode sets up the key character dynamic at the heart of Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic mysteries. Dr. John Watson — in this version, an army medic who was injured in the war in Afghanistan — arrives at 221B Baker Street to inquire about lodging with the brilliant but eccentric sleuth Sherlock Holmes.
From this opening meet-and-greet, it was clear that Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman had the palpable on-screen chemistry to bringHolmes and Watson’s iconic partnershipfrom the page to the screen.This scene also masterfully established the refreshingly modern take on these charactersthat set this series apart from the dozens of previous adaptations.
8Mr. Robot
Theopening scene ofMr. Robottold us everything we needed to know about the tone of the show, the world it took place in, and the character of Elliot Alderson. It sees Elliot walking into a coffee shop, sitting across from the owner, and calmly telling him that he knows he’s been sharing child pornography online.
The owner panics and pleads with Elliot to name his price for keeping quiet, but Elliot doesn’t want money. He’s already called the cops; he just wanted to see the owner’s face when he told him. This sequence simultaneouslyset Elliot up as a righteous vigilante hackerand introduced us to the awkwardness of Rami Malek’s portrayal of the character.
7Mindhunter
The opening sequence ofMindhunterimmediately sets the grim tone for the series, but it goes even deeper than that. It sees FBI special agent Holden Ford attempting to negotiate a hostage situation with the culprit, Cody Miller. While Ford saves the hostage, he fails to prevent Miller from taking his own life, leaving him chilled to the bone.
This was a suitably dark, grisly, and intense scene to begin the series with. But it alsointroduced the underlying thematic substance that would make the show so compelling.Mindhunterwould explore the devastating psychological toll of dealing with people like Miller on a daily basis, coming face-to-face with them and studying their behavior, and the opening scene encapsulated that.
6Better Call Saul
It might’ve takenBetter Call Saula couple of seasons to match the greatness of its predecessor,Breaking Bad, but it got off on the right foot in its opening sequence. The bulk of the series would be a prequel toBreaking Bad, filling in the backstory of how Jimmy McGill became Saul Goodman, but the opening sequence is a sequel.
We see that, true to his word, Saul has gone into hiding as a Cinnabon manager in Nebraska. He leads a boring, mundane, black-and-white existence on a regular nine-to-five grind, and the only respite he gets is reliving his glory days by watching his old commercials on VHS every night. The seriesimmediately set itself up as an intimate character study.
5Adolescence
Netflix’sAdolescencedoesn’t waste a second getting into the thrills. In the first 10 minutes, a swarm of gun-toting police officers kick down the front door of a typical suburban home, wave their weapons in the terrified family’s faces, and arrest a seemingly harmless 13-year-old boy on suspicion of murdering his classmate, which he vehemently denies.
This is already an intense and frightening scenario on its own, so that alone would be enough to hook viewers into the show. Butthe single-take shooting style makes it so immersive and real that it feels like it’s actually happening, and you’re there to watch it unfold.
4True Detective
Thefirst season ofTrue Detectiveis a true television masterpiece. It plays like a deeply complex, richly intricate crime novel brought to life with movie-quality cinematography and career-best performances by Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey. It was clear that this show was something special from the first few minutes, and it only got better from there.
In the opening shot,we’re immediately introduced to the series’ cinematic visualsas we see the silhouetted killer set a field ablaze, seemingly to ensure that Dora Lange’s body would be found. Then, we flash forward 17 years to the detectives who still haven’t solved the case. This sequence establishedTrue Detective’s unique dual-timeline narrative and Southern Gothic style.
3The Sopranos
The most obvious and clichéd way to open a TV show about a mob boss would be to have him murder someone or pay off a cop or shake down a local business owner. But David Chase’s pilot script forThe Sopranosgoes in a completely different direction and opens with the boss going in for his first session with a psychiatrist.
As Tony Soprano recounts the story of his first panic attack for Dr. Melfi, he tells her about the family of ducks that moved into his swimming pool. This opening sequence made it clear that this series would have great writing and great performances, but also thatit would be a very different kind of gangster show.
2The Wire
The pilot episode ofThe Wireopens with Jimmy McNulty questioning a witness at a murder scene. He waxes lyrical about the origins of the victim’s nickname and the meaninglessness of such heinous crimes before persuading the witness to testify in court.This simple dialogue scene was a surprisingly poignant thesis statementfor David Simon’s classic series.
It showed us that this would be a much more realistic police procedural than we were used to, but thatThe Wirewould be carried by lovable charactersand funny, stylish dialogue. The story of Snot robbing a back-alley craps game and getting himself needlessly killed subtly set up the show’s bleak depiction of the criminal world.
1Breaking Bad
One of the easiest ways to grab an audience’s attention is to open in media res. Rather than starting at the beginning, start at the most exciting part, then go back to the beginning with the promise that the excitement is on its way.Breaking Bad’s pilot episodeis arguably the best example of this technique.
The series opens with Walter White crashing a corpse-filled RV in the desert and facing down oncoming sirens with a loaded gun. When we go back to see that Walt is a mild-mannered family man, it has us hooked, becausewe can’t wait to see how this guy will end up in the life-or-death situation from the cold open.
