Pilot (Maddox)

## Episode guide

"**Pilot**", also known as "**Hakeem**", is the first episode of the first season of *Maddox* and the first episode of the series overall. It premiered in 2022.

## Synopsis

Hakeem hopes to make a good impression at Boogie's back-to-school party. Jet makes Dallas's life difficult.

## Plot

The weekend before the start of a new school year, Hakeem is invited to a back-to-school party by Boogie, a family friend who he has developed feelings for over the summer at basketball day camp. He invites his best friends, Ehsan and Mars, to join him. Mars is enthusiastic about the prospect of a Hakeem and Boogie romance, while Ehsan is more skeptical.

Boogie and Jet try to buy drinks at a liquor store for the party but are kicked out for being underage. Boogie urges Jet not to bully Dallas in the coming school year, but Jet dismisses his concerns. Boogie tries to convince Dallas to come to the party via text. Jet assumes he’s texting Jaz and teases him about his feelings for her.

That night, Jaz gets three bottles of vodka from the liquor store without an ID by flirting with the cashier. She is accompanied by Andrea, a friend from ballet class who is transferring to Marshall Maddox High from McCormick School in the new coming year.

Hakeem, Ehsan and Mars arrive at the party. Hakeem starts filming party footage with his camera and bumps into Boogie, with whom he strikes a friendly conversation. When Jaz and Andrea show up with the vodka, Boogie’s attention shifts entirely to Jaz, to Hakeem’s chagrin.

Arriving late to the party, Dallas is harassed by Jet, who accuses Dallas of being obsessed with Boogie. Dallas later helps Andrea as she helps a drunk Jaz make it to the bathroom to vomit and strikes up a conversation with her. Hakeem, reunited with Mars and Ehsan, is disheartened about the way the night has gone until Boogie approaches the group and, apologetic about abandoning Hakeem earlier, asks to hang out with them all.

At the end of the night, Jaz, worried that her strict parents will punish her for getting so drunk, asks to spend the night at Andrea’s, to which she agrees. She promises to see Dallas at school as he cycles home and they wait for an Uber. As Hakeem, Ehsan and Mars are about to leave, Boogie thanks Hakeem for coming and asks him to send the footage he took of the party. Hakeem rides back to his home, feeling elated.

## Credits

### Cast

#### Starring

* Wesley Carter as Hakeem Franklin
* Julia Chee as Andrea Salazar
* Samir Devani as Ehsan Patel
* Teanna Mathers as Jaz Miller
* Simon Olliges as Jet Webster
* Thomas J. Shapiro as Dallas Cowan
* Brandon Whitehead as Boogie Forman
* Tanner Paige Wise as Mars Maddox

#### Featured

* Yolanda Burke as Tamika Franklin
* Leon Jeanpierre as Ali Franklin

## Trivia

* This is the only episode of the season not to take its title from a song.
* This episode marks the first appearances of Wesley Carter as Hakeem Franklin, Julia Chee as Andrea Salazar, Samir Devani as Ehsan Patel, Teanna Mathers as Jaz Miller, Simon Olliges as Jet Webster, Thomas J. Shapiro as Dallas Cowan, Brandon Whitehead as Boogie Forman and Tanner Paige Wise as Mars Maddox.
* Emily Leung, who portrays Kelsey Ma, is the only actor with star billing not to appear in this episode.