🚨 This week we're exposing secret government assassins, attending a prison wedding, and watching David Rosen discover his backbone approximately five minutes before disaster strikes.

✈️ On this flight:

• Olivia Pope finally tries to clean up the biggest mess she's ever made... herself
• B613 comes crashing into the daylight after seven seasons of murder, coverups, and very intense monologues
• Quinn and Charlie somehow deliver the sweetest prison wedding in television history
• David Rosen puts on the white hat one last time and absolutely refuses to be anybody's bitch
• Cyrus Beene reminds us why he's one of TV's all-time great monsters
• Jake Ballard discovers being the fall guy is less fun than being the assassin
• The finale somehow squeezes in prison, politics, murder, redemption, and a museum exhibit

Plus:
🏛️ We discuss whether the good guys actually won
💔 Olivia and Fitz do what Olivia and Fitz always do
📈 Mellie Grant completes one of the best character arcs in the entire series
🎭 We revisit the characters who didn't make it to the finish line

And most importantly:

🤔 Did Scandal stick the landing?
Was it a standing ovation? A bumpy touchdown? Or did this plane go straight over the cliff?

Pour a giant glass of red wine, put on your white hat, and join us as we say goodbye to seven seasons of gladiators, conspiracies, and the most stressful workplace in Washington. 🍷✈️

🚨 This week we're fixing problems, threatening U.S. Attorneys, and questioning every life choice that led us to fall for a married president.

✈️ On this flight:

• Shonda Rhimes hits the gas and never lets up
• Olivia Pope becomes the coolest person on television in under 3 minutes
• "Gladiators in Suits" enters the TV lexicon
• A murder mystery gets solved... kind of?
• Quinn gets the weirdest job interview in history
• The Oval Office twist somehow manages to be both shocking and completely insane
• We debate whether anyone on this show has ever spoken at a normal human speed

Plus:
🎭 Casting what-ifs featuring Taraji P. Henson and Gabrielle Union
📺 Where Scandal landed in the ratings
🏆 The awards, the legacy, and why Kerry Washington changed TV history
🍿 What America was watching, listening to, and seeing at the movies in April 2012

Grab your white hat, pour a giant glass of red wine, and join us as we ask the question: does Scandal's pilot still land, or should this flight have stayed grounded? 🍷✈️

#Scandal #OliviaPope #ShondaRhimes #TVPodcast #TVPilots #ThePilotsLounge #GladiatorsInSuits

This week in The Pilot’s Lounge: we’re graduating with Kim Possible in the series finale “Graduation Pt. 2” 🎓🌎

🚀 Ron unlocks MONKEY POWERS
🌸 Drakken accidentally saves the world with flowers
😳 Shego and Drakken become… weirdly adorable?
🎓 Bonnie gets sent to summer school in front of everyone
💀 Mr. Barkin loses his car AGAIN

We break down:

• How fans literally saved the show from ending early
• Why this finale somehow doubled the pilot’s ratings
• Ron finally becoming the hero
• Whether Drakken had the greatest accidental redemption arc ever
• The emotional Kim/Ron payoff
• And if this is one of Disney Channel’s best finales ever

Plus:
📺 What was dominating TV in Sept. 2007
🎬 The “Superbad vs Bourne Ultimatum” era of movies
🎵 Soulja Boy, Fergie, and Kanye running the charts
✈️ And our final landing grade: smooth touchdown… or fiery crash landing?

So after 4 seasons, monkey kung fu, naked mole rats, and world domination plots… did Kim Possible actually stick the landing?

This week in The Pilot’s Lounge: we revisit the very first mission of Kim Possible — “Crush” (June 7, 2002) 🛰️

💥 Kim saves the world
💀 Ron loses his pants immediately
🐀 Rufus becomes an icon
🎮 Dr. Drakken tries to steal… a video game factory?
❤️ Kim turns into a disaster around Josh Mankey

We break down:

• Why this pilot weirdly aired out of order
• The INSANE voice cast
• The elevator pitch that created the show
• Why Disney tried to end it early
• Whether Ron was secretly in love with Kim from episode one
• And why this might’ve been Disney Channel’s greatest original cartoon

Plus:
📺 What was topping TV in June 2002
🎬 The early-2000s box office
🎵 Ashanti absolutely dominating the charts
✈️ And our final verdict: Standby… or First Class?

So the question is: after 24 years… would we still fly with Kim Possible?

This week on The Pilot’s Lounge, we’re talking about The Landing — the controversial Dexter finale, “Remember the Monsters?” Did one of TV’s most iconic antiheroes stick the landing… or fly straight into a hurricane? We break down the ending that had fans screaming at their TVs in 2013 and ask the important question: was Lumberjack Dexter really the best idea they had?

In this episode, we discuss:

• Deb’s Fate: devastating, earned, or completely unnecessary?
• Dexter’s Worst Decision Ever: leaving Saxon alive for five minutes
• Batista’s Reaction: did Miami Metro basically shrug off everything??
• Behind the Scenes: Showtime reportedly wouldn’t allow Dexter to die
• 2013 Time Capsule: Wrecking Ball everywhere, Prisoners topping the box office, and football absolutely steamrolling network TV ratings

Plus our official landing ratings ranging from “crashed into the ocean” to “standing ovation .” Spoiler: turbulence was involved.

So grab your blood slides, your emergency hurricane supplies, and maybe a fake mustache for Argentina — because tonight’s still the night.

Welcome back to The Pilot’s Lounge—where we crack open TV pilots and ask: do they still land, or should they’ve stayed grounded? This week, we’re slicing into Dexter (Showtime, Oct 1, 2006), the show that somehow convinced America to root for a serial killer with a code. It’s dark, it’s weirdly funny, and it opens with a murder that feels… disturbingly reasonable? Yeah, we’ve got thoughts.

In this episode, we discuss:

• First Kill, First Impression: Does Dexter hook us immediately—or just make us nervous about ourselves?
• The Voice in His Head: Why the inner monologue works way better than it should
• Meet Miami Metro: Doakes already clocking Dexter as a creep (and he’s not wrong)
• Debra Unfiltered: The MVP of swearing per minute
• Casting What-Ifs: Jeremy Renner as Dexter… seriously??
• 2006 Time Capsule: Open Season at the box office, “SexyBack” on repeat, and network TV pulling 20M like it’s nothing

Plus, our signature segments: Best Scene, Most Likely to Break Out, and the all-important “Would You Fly Again?”

So grab your blood slides and your Cuban takeout—because tonight’s the night… and it’s going to happen again and again.

This week on The Pilot’s Lounge, we’re breaking down The Landing of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip — “What Kind of Day Has It Been” — aka the episode where Aaron Sorkin tries to land every plane at once.

There’s a baby, a hostage crisis, a near-death experience, a workplace romance reboot, and somehow… still time for speeches. We dig into whether this finale is a triumphant sendoff or a beautiful, overstuffed mess — and how the show’s real-life cancellation (high cost, falling ratings, and 30 Rock lurking in the shadows) shaped the way it all wraps up.

Did Studio 60 stick the landing… or just declare victory mid-crash? Let’s find out.

From amateur stand up to professional burnout! On today's episode we discuss the concentrated style of Aaron Sorkin and one of he's quickest hits, Studio 60 on the Sunsets Strip. So whether you're making it hail up in Canada or confirming that there's no one in the spotlight on Sunset, sit back, relax and get ready for take off!

Sunday Calls & The Carlton Dance: The Fresh Prince Landing

Lights out. In our Fresh Prince breakdown, we’re looking at "The Landing." From Carlton running through an empty house with his pants down to the tear-jerking "You’re my son" moment between Will and Uncle Phil, we cover it all.

In this episode, we discuss:

• The Full Circle: Will’s fear of being the same "kid from Philly" he was in the pilot.

• The Cameos: Gary Coleman and Sherman Hemsley stop by for one last legendary laugh.

• The Final Dance: One last "Not Unusual" moment with Will and Carlton.

• Behind the Scenes: Why the show was almost canceled in Season 4 and how the fans (and station managers) saved it.

We also look at the 1996 charts—where Twister was blowing up the box office and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony were ruling the airwaves—and answer the ultimate question: Did they stick the landing?

Grab your tissues and your Biggie CDs—it’s time to say goodbye to Bel-Air.

Did you know Will Smith used to lip-sync his co-stars' lines? Or that the "Earth, Wind, and Fire" joke was a nod to Quincy Jones? This week, we’re dissecting the Fresh Prince pilot. We cover everything from the legendary "Carlton Dance" origins to the heartbreaking story of the actress in the shower cap. It’s a breakdown of 1990 fashion, IRS debts, and the debut of one of TV’s greatest Dads.

Episode Stats & Trivia:

• Air Date: September 10, 1990

• Box Office Champ: Ghost

• #1 Single: "Release Me" by Wilson Phillips

• The "Benson" Connection: Why Will called Geoffrey "Benson" and the Robert Guillaume cameo later in the series.

• The Address: 805 St. Cloud Road—put it in your GPS.