10 TV Show Pilots You Had No Idea Were Completely Reshot Before Airing

Most people understand that TV show pilots are often not the best episodes in any series. The reason is simple: Everyone is still trying to find their feet and feel out the dynamic of the show, the cast chemistry, the writing, etc. Essentially, a pilot is a proof of concept for the network or streaming service, showcasing the potential of a program — not its final form. There have been times, though, when a pilot doesn't go the way anyone expects it to materialize. Rather than cancel the series order after the pilot, the creators and network acknowledge that something is off and reshoot it before the episode hits the airwaves.

Surprisingly, some of the biggest shows of all time, such as "The Big Bang Theory" and "Game of Thrones," featured much different original pilots than what fans saw on screen for the first time. The success of the respective series reaffirms that everyone did the right thing in redoing the pilot. Yet, as fans, there's a morbid curiosity to find out what could have been. Even though there's a strong possibility that everyone would have detested the original pilot, you still want to find out how different some of your favorite TV shows could have turned out.

Having said that, let's head back in time and check out 10 TV show pilots that were completely reshot before airing. In a few of these cases, if you're a good-enough sleuth, you might be able to find these episodes online.

Everyone recognizes Penny (Kaley Cuoco) as one of the most important and beloved characters in "The Big Bang Theory," but she wasn't even a part of the original pilot. In that version of the show, Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons) and Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) meet Katie, played by Amanda Walsh. Yet, Katie isn't as nice to the guys as Penny, so much so that the test audience reacted negatively toward the character and how she treated Sheldon and Leonard. "That's why we rewrote Katie to become Penny and made her much more charmed by the guys and kind to them, as opposed to a woman who would take advantage of them," the show's co-creator Chuck Lorre told Entertainment Weekly in 2022.

That wasn't all, though. Sheldon's personality deviates from what fans are familiar with, having him be more sexual, while he also has a former flame named Gilda (Iris Bahr) who crushes hard on Leonard. Oh, and fan favorites Raj Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar) and Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg)? They're nowhere to be found here.

Lorre admitted that CBS asked the co-creators to only recast Katie, but he understood there was a bigger issue he and Bill Prady rectified for the second pilot. "Our script didn't fully realize what our possibilities were," Lorre said. "I told Bill, 'Let's add more of these brilliant misbegotten characters, and let's lose the plot entirely. Let's just spend a half hour diving into the lives of these brilliant misfit characters.'"

It's fair to say that the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" pilot, "Welcome to the Hellmouth," is one of the better ones, as it explodes out of the blocks and sets the tone for what's to come. However, it wasn't what was originally shot when creator Joss Whedon pitched the show known only then as "Slayer" to The WB.

According to the biography "Joss Whedon: Geek King of the Universe" by Amy Pascale, Whedon produced a compact 25-minute pilot. While several storyline elements from what would eventually be broadcast stay intact here, a few of the important characters that appear in the aired pilot are missing, including David Boreanaz's Angel (one of the best characters in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") and Kristine Sutherland's Joyce Summers. In addition, there are different people playing Principal Flutie and Willow Rosenberg: Stephen Tobolowsky and Riff Regan, respectively.

The WB wasn't impressed with the pilot, nor was Whedon who vowed to never release the pilot publicly (it found its way onto the Internet, though, since that's a law unto itself). Initially, the network passed on commissioning the series, but some of the execs were intrigued by the premise and thought it showed promise. So, when "Savannah" was axed, The WB invited Whedon to have another stab at "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" to fill the slot. Whedon tweaked and expanded upon elements of the pilot, which included recasting Tobolowsky and Regan with Ken Lerner and Alyson Hannigan, and the rest is TV history.

Much like "The Simpsons," "Family Guy" is one of those rare animated shows that seems determined to outlast humanity and maybe the entire universe. Realistically, no one expects the series to look or be the same as it was when it aired in the late '90s, but even the original pilot isn't the same as the first episode, "Death Has a Shadow," which debuted in January 1999.

Animator Robert Paulson, who worked on the show, uploaded the 1998 pilot of "Family Guy" to his website. What's instantly noticeable here is the animation style, which looks far less polished than the final effort that appeared on TV. In addition, Lois Griffin has blonde hair instead of the usual red locks she boasts on the show. Another noticeable difference in the unaired pilot is how Chris Griffin is voiced by "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane, who does a lot of voices on the show, but is voiced by Seth Green in the actual series.

As it turns out, MacFarlane did a bulk of the work on this pilot. "[Fox] gave me about $50,000 for a production budget, and the idea was that I animate this thing by myself,” he told The New York Times in 2004. ”I spent about six months with no sleep and no life, just drawing like crazy in my kitchen and doing this pilot. About six months later I handed it in, about 40 pounds lighter, and they were laughing, and they liked it enough to order 13.”

"Three's Company" invited viewers to come and knock on the door. What awaited them wasn't kisses, but the madcap mishaps of Jack Tripper (John Ritter), Janet Wood (Joyce DeWitt), and Chrissy Snow (Suzanne Somers). The terrific trio is the secret sauce of the late '70s/early '80s sitcom, and it was never the same following Somers' departure after the fifth season. It culminated in one of those situations where a TV show replaces a departing star with a new character, and the results prove to be mixed. Here's the funny part, though: This beloved version of the series only originated on the third pilot!

The first-ever unaired pilot featured Ritter. However, his name is David Bell and he works in Hollywood in this iteration. The premise stays the same — albeit a bit raunchier than the classic "Three's Company" show that everyone knows and loves — as David lives with two women, who are named Jenny and Samantha here. However, the roles are played by Valerie Curtin and Susanne Zenor — not DeWitt and Somers. This pilot didn't land well with the network execs, so work commenced on another version of the show.

Another pilot of "Three's Company" aired on TV, containing the characters of Jack, Janet, and Chrissy. However, in this version, Chrissy is played by Susan Lanier. Ultimately, the execs weren't convinced by Lanier's performance as Chrissy, so the role was recast with Somers. From there, everything clicked, and the magic happened.

The undisputed stars of "Two and a Half Men" remain Charlie (Charlie Sheen), Alan (Jon Cryer), and Jake Harper (Angus T. Jones). Their comedic chemistry is something that money can't buy — though it does help when you're paid millions of dollars per episode — so this becomes the cornerstone of the sitcom. Make no mistake, another important character in the show is Evelyn Harper (Holland Taylor), Charlie and Alan's narcissistic and manipulative mother. She appears in many episodes of the series, including the pilot.

However, in the original pilot, titled "Most Chicks Won't Eat Veal" (a dirty joke from the episode), Blythe Danner plays Evelyn. Despite Danner being an award-winning performer and an experienced sitcom actor in her own right, the show parted ways with her after the pilot.

So, what was the issue here? According to what "Two and a Half Men" co-creator Chuck Lorre told Orlando Sentinel, Evelyn "wasn't a really good fit for her," hence the pilot being reshot with Taylor in the role. From the footage that's circulated of Danner as Evelyn, she plays the character much more differently than Taylor. While it isn't to say that her performance is better or worse than Taylor's, it does feel as if Taylor's Evelyn fits in better with Charlie, Alan, and Jake than Danner's ever did.

"Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" established itself as a unique series, using stock footage from the Japanese TV show "Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger" then interspersing this in between the new filmed footage. However, this doesn't mean the pilot, "Day of the Dumpster," was easily produced. Quite the contrary, it took three rounds of morphin' time before airing in the version that fans are familiar with now.

The pilot's co-writer Tony Oliver revealed the arduous process at the 2007 Power Morphicon. Oliver explained how there's a different Yellow Ranger actor in this pilot, with Audri Dubois playing Trini. In addition to this, the Rangers hang out at a bowling alley, not their regular hangout spot: The Gym and Juice Bar. (This episode eventually aired as the special "Power Rangers: The Lost Episode" in 1999.) Fox Kids liked what it saw but urged the violence to be toned down. A second pilot went into production — this time replacing Dubois with Thuy Trang — however, it was still seen as too violent for kids, so it underwent a third reshoot.

Years later, on the documentary series "Hollywood Demons" (via Entertainment Weekly), Dubois opened up about shooting the pilot, stating it wasn't a pleasant working experience. "When we're shooting the pilot, we're out in the desert — it's got to be 110 degrees — and someone has heat stroke," Dubois said. "It was one of the bad guys in a wet suit with a rubber mask over their head with pinholes for the eyes and mouth. He's flopping around like a fish."

If at first you don't succeed, save the footage because it may become iconic later on. That's exactly what happened with the "Star Trek" pilot episode, "The Cage." The show introduces the U.S.S. Enterprise under the command of Captain Christopher Pike (Jeffrey Hunter). Pike's crew includes Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and the first officer known only as Number One (Majel Barrett). In the episode, Pike is kidnapped by the Talosians, but he needs to figure out what the species wants from him and the Enterprise crew.

According to StarTrek.com, NBC didn't accept the pilot, but it allowed "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry to have another shot at it and take the network's notes into consideration. Some of the non-negotiables included that Roddenberry needed to pick between keeping Spock or Number One, so the creator chose to keep Spock for the next iteration of the pilot that saw the Enterprise led by Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) after Hunter declined to do the series.

Parts of the footage from "The Cage" was used in the episode "The Menagerie," while "The Cage" was eventually released on home video in 1986. In terms of the adventures of Captain Pike and his Enterprise crew, this became the basis of the series "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds." It goes to show that Roddenberry's instincts weren't wrong. Instead, much like the show, he was ahead of his time.

The bewitching supernatural drama "Charmed," well, charmed everyone. Even though there was a major cast shake-up with Shannen Doherty's departure after the third season, viewers fondly remember the original Charmed Ones: Prue (Doherty), Piper (Holly Marie Combs), and Phoebe Halliwell (Alyssa Milano). Before the show's debut episode, "Something Wicca This Way Comes," hit the airwaves in 1998, there was another pilot filmed with different actors in certain roles.

In the original pilot, Chris Boyd plays police inspector Andy Trudeau — yes, it's impossible to imagine anyone else but Ted King in this role, but it's true. Another major change is the absence of Milano as Phoebe. In this pilot, Lori Rom plays the part of the popular Halliwell sister.

Chatting on "The Women of Charmed," Doherty discussed what the switch from Rom to Milano brought to the series. "We shot the pilot with a different girl playing Phoebe, Lori Rom, who I would say is a great actress and whatever her personal reasons were for not wanting to continue, I understand," Doherty said. "And it's really interesting because Alyssa and Lori are so completely different and the show is completely different because of the dynamic that Alyssa brings into it."

"Gilmore Girls" is one of those shows that hits right in the feels. It's a comfort watch, as everything falls into place and complements other elements of the series. So, imagine the surprise in finding out the original pilot for the show could be from an alternate universe's version of the show, with different actors playing fan-favorite roles. Shocking, right?

It's impossible to imagine anyone else but Melissa McCarthy as Sookie St. James or Jared Padalecki as Dean Forester. Yet, both of these roles featured other actors in the seminal parts: Nathan Wetherington as Dean and Alex Borstein as Sookie. McCarthy secured the gig because Borstein couldn't continue the part, while Wetherington was recast by Padalecki after the lackluster pilot.

At the time, Borstein was a cast member on "MADtv" and was led to believe she would be able to do both roles. According to Borstein's comments to BuzzFeed in 2013, "Gilmore Girls" creator Amy Sherman-Palladino agreed to shoot around Borstein's schedule, and a "MADtv" producer told Borstein it was unlikely to be an issue. "What I didn't know was the emails behind my back were, like, 'Absolutely not,'" Borstein said. "I think it was a Fox-WB thing. So it kind of blew up. Very disappointing. But now I feel — I'm not mystical or anything."

When discussing the best HBO series of all time, no one can ignore "Game of Thrones." From the first episode, "Winter Is Coming," the show grabs a hold of the audience and refuses to let go. Yet, this monumental episode had to be reshot. According to Yahoo, approximately 90% of the original pilot was entirely scrapped. Some of the omissions included a George R. R. Martin cameo that's been relegated to the archives as punishment for him not finishing the novel series (just kidding).

This version of "Game of Thrones" also features different actors in popular roles. Khaleesi herself, Daenerys Targaryen, is played by Tamzin Merchant, whom viewers should recognize as Catherine Howard from "The Tudors." Also, Jennifer Ehle, who can be seen on "Lioness" and "1923," is the actor portraying Catelyn Stark. Reportedly, it's not a very good pilot at all, with the general consensus being the series wouldn't have been what it is had it aired.

"Game of Thrones" co-showrunner David Benioff called the failed pilot a major learning moment for him and D. B. Weiss. Speaking to Variety in 2015, Benioff pointed to a big question mark their trusted friends had after watching the episode. "At the very end of the pilot, Jaime Lannister pushes Bran out the window," Benioff said. "Jaime is lying with his sister, Cersei, and none of [our friends] realized that Jaime and Cersei were brother and sister, which is a major, major plot point that we had somehow failed to establish."