What Is a Cold Open? Definition, Structure & Examples

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Published: December 4, 2025 | Last Updated: December 9, 2025

How and Why Cold Opens Work

A cold open skips the usual intro and starts immediately with a scene. It might be funny, tense, strange, or confusing on purpose. Many cold opens use a structure called in medias res, which means starting “in the middle of things.” Instead of building slowly, the scene drops you straight into action or conflict to raise immediate questions.

Writers use this technique to grab attention, show tone through pacing or character moments, or tease a mystery that only makes sense later. Cold opens appear before any title card or credits, or in some shows, before a quick graphic title.

Here are the main reasons why shows use them:

• Hook the viewer immediately: A tense moment, loud noise, or sudden joke pulls you in before you can switch away. Even a confusing image can work if it makes you curious.
• Show tone, genre, or pacing: For example, a crime show might open with a body discovery. A sitcom might start with a prank. These quick scenes let you feel what kind of show you’re watching before the plot begins.
• Introduce key characters or setting fast: A cold open can show who’s involved or where it takes place without long setup. You meet the world through behavior and action, not just dialogue or narrated exposition.
• Tease a moment or mystery revealed later: A strong cold open creates a question (like “What just happened?” or “Who is that?”) that keeps you watching to find the answer.

You could say that cold opens essentially function like mini trailers. They encapsulate the “essence” of a show in under a minute. In psychological terms, they exploit the primacy effect, i.e., our tendency to remember what we experience first.

Origins and Evolution

Cold opens became common in U.S. television starting in the 1960s, especially in dramas and crime series. Earlier shows from the 1950s to 1970s often opened with full title sequences, complete with theme songs and cast introductions. These longer intros helped anchor viewers in a familiar routine before the story began.

Over time, more series began to drop the opening theme in favor of starting with a scene right away. This shift became more noticeable by the 1990s and 2000s, especially as shows aimed to grab attention quickly.

Today, cold opens are used across many genres, from sitcoms to prestige dramas, and are a standard tool for establishing tone, raising questions, or setting stakes before the episode’s title even appears.

Where You’ll See Cold Opens

Cold opens aren’t just for one type of series. They appear across genres and formats. This section breaks down where they show up most often.

• Comedies and sitcoms: These often start with a joke or gag. It sets the mood and builds character (like awkward pauses, fast cuts, or background reactions) even if the moment doesn’t tie into the episode plot.
• Drama, crime, and thriller series: Cold opens here might show a crime, a flash-forward, or a character in danger to build suspense by showing something alarming before the viewer understands the context.
• Pilot episodes: When a show is new, the cold open introduces the world fast. It might drop you into a dramatic scene or let you see who the characters are through how they move, talk, or respond to pressure.
• Films: While less common, some films start cold, especially spy, thriller, or horror films that want to drop you into the action before the opening credits.

Types of Cold Opens

Cold opens come in different styles depending on what the writer wants to show. These are the most common structural types.

• Stand-alone scene: A quick joke, moment, or slice of life that builds character or tone. For example, a workplace prank in a sitcom shows the dry, low-stakes humor of the world, even if it doesn’t connect to the main plot.
• Plot-teaser: A scene that hints at something to come. You won’t fully understand it until later in the episode or season, but it sparks curiosity right away.
• Flashback or flash-forward: A time-jump scene used to create mystery, tension, or context. In dramas, it might show consequences before the cause, keeping you alert for connections.
• Thematic framing: Better Call Saul (2015, AMC) often opens its seasons with a black-and-white flash-forward showing Saul as “Gene,” living in hiding after the events of Breaking Bad. These cold opens don’t advance the episode’s plot but show the long-term cost of his choices. They set a quiet, anxious tone and remind you what’s waiting at the end of the story (a type of forewarning).

Examples of Cold Opens in TV and Film

These examples show how different formats use cold opens to pull you in right away. Each one shows a unique use of the technique.

• The Office (2005, NBC): Many episodes open with a prank or awkward moment. For example, the cold open where Jim puts Dwight’s stapler in Jell-O, a quick gag that shows the dry, petty humor of the show without tying into the episode plot.
• Breaking Bad (2008, AMC): Several episodes start with cryptic or disconnected scenes, like a floating pink teddy bear. These moments build suspense by showing the outcome before you know what caused it.
• Lost (2004, ABC): The pilot episode begins with Jack waking up in the jungle before we know anything about the crash. The cold open gives us tension, urgency, and questions, like what happened, where he is, and why everything looks wrecked.
• James Bond films (various): Bond films often open with an action scene that wraps up a previous mission or sets new stakes. This lets you jump into excitement before the theme song plays.

When a Cold Open Is Not Ideal

Cold opens aren’t always the best fit. If your opening doesn’t link to the main story or confuses the viewer, it can slow things down instead of helping.

For example, if the scene introduces characters or locations that never come back, it may feel like filler. Or if the timeline is unclear and never explained, the viewer may lose interest fast.

A good cold open should create tension, humor, or curiosity that connects with the rest of the episode. It should give the viewer a reason to keep watching, whether that’s a strong emotion, a curious setup, or a clear hint of conflict.

Summing Up

A cold open starts an episode or film before the opening credits or title sequence, jumping you immediately into a scene of action, mood, or conflict. It helps grab attention with pacing, character, tone, or mystery. Cold opens may be funny, suspenseful, or strange on purpose. When done well, they give your story momentum before the real plot begins. It helps sell the story from the get-go.