What is your favorite TV introduction?

Earlier this week, HBO Max’s Peacemaker finally came to streaming service. And while we’d definitely like to hear what you think of John Cena’s DC spinoff (or the new one Scream, if you’ve seen it!), we need to focus on a specific part of the show: his ridiculously good opening titles.

In the last or two decades, the approach to introductory sequences has changed. Instead of being 5-15 seconds long or a simple title card, they have become more elaborate and grandiose, an event unto themselves. If they do their job properly, you’ll be in the mood and make you interested enough not to press the “skip introduction” button, you might even find a song you want to add to your Spotify playlist. At worst, they are a well-visualized distraction and something you may have in the background while taking food or using the bathroom.

There are introductory sequences that will forever remain cult thanks to their direction: Game of Thrones‘ The intro will be remembered for changing its location with each episode as well Crazy people with its striking artistic style. (from a prestigious TV group, Westworld may have some of the best introductory sequences to date.) Sometimes the size of the introduction is primarily due to the music more than the visual, as is the case with Heritage and Law and order: SVU. A proper introduction to those two shows would not be what they are without the piano work of Nicholas Britell and the killer clarinet of Mike Post.

Animated shows generally have better introductory sequences, if only because they’re allowed to get a little more free with what they can. They can be colorful and absurd, sweeping bits of mood, cyberpunk-lite jams you will remember years later. And that’s just in Western animation: if you’re watching anime, you’re just used to the openings provoking you hype with amazing visuals and a song you can’t wait to hear the full version.

Let us know which are some of your favorite introductions or the ones that stay in your mind in the comments below.

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