Pilot (The Cleveland Show)

"Pilot" is the pilot episode and the first episode of the first season of the animated comedy series The Cleveland Show. Directed by Anthony Lioi and written by series creators Seth MacFarlane, Mike Henry and Richard Appel, the episode originally aired on Fox in the United States on September 27, 2009, along with the season 8 premiere of Family Guy. The episode follows Cleveland Brown, and his son, Cleveland, Jr., as they begin their journey across the country, with a final destination of California. The two give a final farewell to their friends in Quahog, Rhode Island, but along the way to their destination, they decide to stop in Cleveland's hometown of Stoolbend, Virginia. While there, Cleveland reconnects with an old crush he had in high school, named Donna Tubbs, and immediately finds love, and eventually a new family. Cleveland and Donna ultimately decide to get married, and the two families begin to accept each other into their new lives.

The series is a spin-off of the animated comedy series Family Guy, which was created by executive producer Seth MacFarlane in 1999. Cleveland Brown, voiced by Mike Henry, was a recurring character on Family Guy, and served as a neighbor to the Griffin family in Quahog. Prior to the pilot of The Cleveland Show, Cleveland last appeared in the seventh season Family Guy episode "Peter's Progress"; he made infrequent guest appearances during the run of the show.

Critical responses to the episode were mixed; critics were mixed on its storyline and numerous cultural references. According to Nielsen ratings, it was viewed in 9.42 million viewers in its original airing. The episode featured guest performances by Alex Borstein, Stacy Ferguson, Seth Green, Mila Kunis, Jennifer Tilly and Patrick Warburton, along with several recurring guest voice actors for the series. "Pilot" was released on DVD along with all twenty other episodes from the first season on September 28, 2010.