Pilot (Teen Spirit)

**Pilot** is the first episode of the NBC teen drama *Teen Spirit*. The episode was written by Dan Fogelman and directed by Michael Waxman, premiering on September 20, 2016. The episode is the first episode of the series overall.

*Pilot* was viewed by 4.89 million viewers, the least watched post-*The Voice* premiere ever. However, the episode received a 2.0 in the 18-49 demographic, making it a successful premiere there, due to its young skew. The pilot also received very positive reviews, with critics highlighting the writing and performances of the cast, especially Katherine Langford and Milo Ventimiglia, both of whom would later go on to be nominated for Emmys for their roles, with Ventimiglia winning.

## Synopsis

Rosa Parks High School in Portland, Oregon welcomes a new batch of Freshman for the coming school year. Among them, Colton McCallister is a highly intelligent, yet very quiet student, Ellie Owens is best friends with the much more popular Marion Partridge. Best friends Sean Nielsen and Danny Jones become split apart by their love for sports, and junior high outcast Katherine Martin returns with a vengeance, going after those who wronged her, including Josie Hutch. Annelise Carson deals with going to school with her father, the football coach, along with her best friend Sara Hernandez, and Dylan Grant discovers something shocking on his first day.

## Cast

### **Starring**

* Ansel Elgort as Sean Nielsen
* Maya Hawke as Josie Hutch
* Charlie Heaton as Colton McCallister
* Katherine Langford as Katherine Martin
* Madison McLaughlin as Marion Partridge
* Katherine McNamara as Ellie Owens
* Daniela Melchior as Sara Hernandez
* Cameron Monaghan as Danny Jones
* Tyler Posey as Dylan Grant
* Zendaya as Annelise Carson
* Tricia Helfer as Sharon Owens
* Milo Ventimiglia as Ryan Carson

## Production

Jason Katims and Dan Fogelman began developing the project together after the completion of Katims' series *Parenthood* in early 2015. NBC ordered a pilot for the potential series in November 2015, and casting immediately began. Katims and Fogelman sought a mix of well known younger actors and brand new faces. Katherine Langford auditioned to play Marion, but Fogelman created a new character specifically for her. Milo Ventimiglia was brought along in January 2016, leading to NBC ordering the pilot to series several months early. This gave Fogelman and Katims more time to flesh out the characters and the plot of the season.

Filming on the pilot began on April 2, 2016 and completed after three-and-a-half weeks of filming on April 26. Tricia Helfer joined the cast halfway through filming, and her character was expanded for a recurring guest role to a series regular after Katims and Fogelman saw how well she blended in with the main cast.

The series was designed to feature an ensemble cast, and as such the young cast are listed alphabetically in the starring credits, followed by Helfer and Ventimiglia, who receive "with" and "and" billings, respectively.

NBC announced the series would air following *The Voice* on Tuesdays at 9:00 pm on May 15, 2016, and announced the premiere date as September 20 on June 15. NBC heavily advertised the series during the 2016 Summer Olympics, leading to success in the 18-49 demographic.