Betty Suarez, an unglamorous woman in her 20s, starts work for a fashion magazine called MODE, and in the process is introduced to the harsh treatment she will have to deal with from her more beautiful co-workers.
Meanwhile, Wilhelmina pays a visit to a person whose face is partially wrapped up and it is revealed that the two are already discussing behind-the-scenes sinister plans to take over Meade Publications.
[1] In February 2006, Christian Toto from The Washington Times reported that Eric Mabius had joined the cast as Daniel Meade, the son of the publisher who was made editor-in-chief of MODE.
[2] Actress Charlotte Ross was originally cast as Wilhelmina Slater, but she pulled out before filming to join the pilot for ABC comedy show Pink Collar.
[7] Christina was originally American, but the producers liked Jensen's Scottish accent so much they changed the character's nationality in order for her to keep it and remain British.
He compared his vision to the directorial style of Pedro Almodóvar, calling it "a bit of heightened reality, but a real sort of grounded, emotional factor".
[10][11] The Woolworth Building in Manhattan stood in for the headquarters of Meade Publications, while Betty's home in Queens was shot on-location in the borough.
[10] Field donated the glasses to the show, as the distinctive "cat-eyed shape" drew attention to Betty's bushy eyebrows and hair.
[15] To create Betty's bushy eyebrows, make-up artist Beverly Jo Pryor used a specially designed brush to apply a cream eye liner to Ferrera's face that gave an appearance of individual hairs.
"[15] In its original airing, "Pilot" attracted 16.32 million viewers and a 5.0 rating/14 share among adults 18-49, making it ABC's best demo result with a regular scripted series since the debut of My So-Called Life in 1995.
[16] In the United Kingdom, "Pilot" originally aired on Channel 4 on January 5, 2007, attracting 4.89 million viewers, giving it a 19% audience share between 9.30pm and 10.30pm.
Robert Bianco of USA Today gave the episode 3 and a half stars, and wrote "There is no new show more likable, but that affection may waver if Betty can't give Ferrera the scripts and support she deserves.
"[21] Rob Owen from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette deemed the episode "pretty good", but he wondered if the "premise may be too slight" to maintain a full series.
[22] The New York Times' Virginia Heffernan praised Mabius and Ferrera's "sparkling rapport" and said "the two have a valet-hero back-and-forth that, if the writers really explore it, might make them a prime-time Wooster and Jeeves.
[23] Michael Slezak from Entertainment Weekly observed that the episode was full of clichés, but thought Ferrera's performance was good enough to hide the fact they had all been seen before.
"[24] Michael Ausiello, writing for TV Guide, chose the episode as his "most satisfying pilot", adding "Allow me to be the first to say, 'God bless America Ferrera!
[26] The Liverpool Echo's Paddy Shennan praised the episode for having "substance as well as style" and for its "extremely likeable" main character.
At the 9th ALMA Awards, Horta won the Outstanding Writer for a Television Series, Mini-Series, or TV Movie accolade.