Pilot

## Plot

Wisconsin native Dave Nelson arrives in New York to start his new job as the News Director at WNYX. His first task: fire the old News Director.

## Summary

As the new News Director at New York's WNYX radio, Dave Nelson is ready for his first day on the job. But there's just one problem -- station owner Jimmy James has yet to fire Ed Harlow, the man Dave has been hired to replace. According to Jimmy, that's Dave's first job. To make matters worse, Jimmy has not told anyone on the staff that Dave is their new boss as he proceeds to introduce him as the station's new sports reporter. As he looks for a way to break the news to Ed, Dave meets the rest of the WNYX news team, and quickly realizes what's in store for him. First of all, the station's news anchors, Bill and Catherine, are locked in a power struggle that threatens to paralyze the newsroom. Then there's Lisa Miller, a reporter and the hardest working member of the staff, who thinks she is about to be named news director. Meanwhile, as Jimmy heads off to look into his latest business venture, Dave discovers that Ed is highly sensitive to any bad news. However, when Ed suddenly quits, Dave thinks he is off the hook. However, Dave's relief is just temporary. It seems that Ed quits several times each week, only to be back at work soon thereafter. After witnessing an argument between Ed and the station's new ace reporter, Matthew, Dave decides he has to tell someone the truth. But, even after swearing Matthew to secrecy, Dave soon finds that the entire WNYX staff is waiting for him to make his move. Before dealing with Ed, Dave saves Lisa some embarrassment by announcing to everyone that he was hired only after she turned own the job first. Unable to continue the ruse any longer, Dave finally breaks the news to Ed before making it very clear to everyone else that he is now in charge.

## Trivia

* Neither Joe Rogan nor Khandi Alexander appear in the pilot. Greg Lee's "Rick" character is similar to Rogan's "Joe" character, and Ella Joyce plays "Catherine". Catherine's last name is not revealed in this episode.
* Joyce is mostly offscreen, though she can be heard delivering several newscasts (and can be very briefly glimpsed in the broadcast booth in a few shots). She is seen clearly towards the end of the episode standing outside the broadcast booth, but has no lines during this scene.
* Ray Romano was originally slated to play the "Electrician" character, but both Romano and the show's producers felt that he was not a good fit for the show.
* Some changes from the pilot vs. the rest of the series: The recording booth becomes a lounge later in the series, and we never hear another mention of the staff ever having to record anything again. Though there is mention of having to work on tapes, it's never revealed where this is done. The business offices are stated to be in a different building entirely but later Jimmy seems to conduct all business from his office upstairs or in the studio itself. People in the studio (like Matthew) are expected to do things not directly related to broadcasting such as bill advertising companies. Handyman Rick is replaced by Joe, the actress playing Catherine is changed.
* In the DVD commentary, Brad Grey said they shot the pilot in "an hour and fifteen-twenty minutes."