The Playboy Club: Pilot

The pilot episode of the American historical fiction television series The Playboy Club premiered on September 19, 2011 in the United States on NBC. It was directed by Alan Taylor and written by Chad Hodge and Becky Mode. In this episode, Maureen, a newly hired Playboy bunny, gets involved in the murder of mob boss Bruno Bianchi. Nick Dalton, one of Chicago's top attorneys and Club key-holder, comes to her aid; his girlfriend Carol-Lynne makes an ambitious move and becomes the first Bunny Mother. Meanwhile, Bunnies Janie, Alice and Brenda each deal with their own personal issues and secrets while the club's general manager Billy Rosen tries his best to keep the club running without interference from the mob. Development for a pilot episode began in 2010, when 20th Century Fox Television and Imagine TV attempted to produce the concept in time for the 2010–11 television season; however, it never materialized. Its scripts were picked up by NBC in January 2011 and two months afterwards, principal photography for the episode commenced in Chicago, Illinois, where it occurred over a period of nine days. The pilot episode was heavily advertised in the weeks leading up to its premiere, as the show's producers collaborated with several companies such as Bloomingdale's to initiate cross-promotional advertising deals. Television critics were generally unimpressed with the episode, with many expressing that it was dull and mediocre. Upon airing, the series premiere was viewed by 5.02 million viewers and was viewed by four percent of the audience in the 18-49 demographic, according to Nielsen ratings.