10 Most Expensive TV Show Pilots Ever

While the rest of the entries on this list were released during this golden era of television, where spending more money is standard, Lost’s pilot was somewhat of an outlier upon its airing in 2004.

At $14 million, the pilot was easily the most expensive opening episode of a TV series at the time. If you’ve seen Lost, or at the very least know the premise, then you can probably guess why it was so expensive to the film.

The wreckage of Flight 815 was once an actual plane. Purchased by ABC, the whole thing had to be shipped to the island’s filming location in Hawaii and then broken apart and carefully assembled on the beach. Throw in a lot of blue screen special effects and you get one pricey pilot.

So, what was the result of all this expense? Simply put, one of the greatest hours of television ever.

While many have criticised the later series and J. J. Abrams' inability to stick the landing (and rightly so), one cannot forget just how outstanding Lost was at the beginning. The cast, the characters, the writing, the tension, the horror, the emotion. Pretty much a perfect episode.