The Most Chaotic First Episodes in TV History

There are TV shows that build slowly, introducing characters and plot points at their own pace, shows that take some time to really get stuck into - and then there’s the opposite.

These are the kind of shows that know first impressions matter, and so choose to shock, disgust, or grip you as hard as they possibly can from the very first episode. Be it the brutal and grotesque demise of one of the show's seemingly main characters, or the realisation that the good guys aren’t always…good, here are three TV shows that opened in the most chaotic ways imaginable.

The Walking Dead

11 Seasons (2010-2021) The Walking Dead follows former deputy sheriff Rick Grimes as he awakes from a coma to find the entire world as he knows it has ended. As if it didn’t get any more chaotic than that, Grimes is forced to escape a hospital full of the hungry undead, before reconciling the potential loss of his wife and young son.

This chaotic pilot serves as just a taste of what’s to come, though, with the show getting far more crazy after that, exploring not just the dangers of those that have died and resurrected, but of those still living - from tiger-owners and cannibals to skin-wearers and cultists, and much more.

The Boys

4 Seasons (2019-2026) - Season 5, April 2026 The Boys is the manifestation of the saying ‘never meet your heroes’, taking the concept of superheroes and addressing all the not-so-super things that come along with them. Like celebrities in the real world, superheroes are embroiled in scandals, allegations, and crimes, using their superhuman abilities often more for fame and fortune than for the betterment of humanity.

Nowhere is this more apparent than in episode one (Spoiler incoming), where the protagonist, Hughie, watches in horror as his girlfriend is obliterated by the super-speedster ‘A-Train’ who runs straight through her before fleeing the scene, leaving just blood and bone where the love of his life had just been.

The biggest shock with this show, though, is that somehow it gets even more chaotic with each season, and if you watch it, you’ll soon see exactly what I mean.

IT: Welcome to Derry

1 Season (2025) In this horrifying prequel series, IT: Welcome to Derry takes us back in time, exploring how Pennywise haunted the town of Derry before the events of the iconic 2017 and 2019 films featuring everyone’s least favorite clown.

The show truly starts as it means to go on, from a flying demonic baby complete with umbilical cord to a flat out massacre, the series takes all the horror of the films, but dials it up a notch as viewers follow a group of kids searching for their missing friend.

The end of this one is simply too chaotic for me to spoil here, you really have to watch it for yourself, especially as season 2 is now in the works.

Other notable mentions go to Breaking Bad, which sees a middle-aged Walter White stood in his tightie whities in the New Mexico desert, and Lost, which, of course, sees a group of survivors become lost on an uninhabited island after a plane crash.