While they haven’t always been integral to a show’s overall story, these sitcoms were changed forever by these cold opens. Many TV shows have utilized cold opens, a scene before the title sequence that helps establish an episode’s upcoming story, but sitcoms in particular have always been fond of them. The greatest NBC sitcoms of all time, like The Office and Parks and Recreation, for example, were renowned for their iconic cold opens when they were airing (and still are).
Most cold opens didn’t necessarily impact the overall story. If anything, they were used as a brief introduction to the episode, or as an excuse to include some funny sitcom quotes that didn’t have a place in the rest of the script. However, there were a few that threw things into a spin. Whether it was an action-packed moment that turned chaotic instantly, or simply teasing an upcoming event that would change the lives of the characters, these sitcom cold opens undoubtedly changed their shows forever.
6
Rosa Leaves the Force
‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ – Season 8, Episode 1 ‘The Good Ones’
From the “I Want It That Way” sing-along to the “Diane Wiest” joke, Brooklyn Nine-Nine had some iconic cold opens, but one that changed the show forever was when Rosa announced she was quitting in the first episode of Season 8. Rosa decided to step away from the force and become a private investigator for several reasons, but one in particular was due to the death of George Floyd, and she wanted to be able to help those who had been failed by the police.
While this was a huge shock, it was also a brilliant way for the show to demonstrate how Rosa had developed since Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s pilot. Plus, not only did this cold open change Brooklyn Nine-Nine forever, but it also used the real-world event of George Floyd’s death to reiterate a very important message.
5
DeDe’s Death
‘Modern Family’ – Season 10, Episode 5 ‘Good Grief’
Modern Family wasn’t exactly rife with overly deep, profound moments, but the cold open in the Season 10 episode “Good Grief” changed all of that. DeDe was a fascinating Modern Family character who had a somewhat tumultuous relationship with her children, but she had a few moments of redemption, and that’s what made her death so shocking. While celebrating Halloween, Claire received an unexpected call and learned that her mother had passed in her sleep while on vacation.
This was the only occasion in which Claire’s odd quirk of unintentionally smiling while discussing death didn’t appear, at least, not at first. However, this moment was so abrupt that it took audiences just as long as her to really process what was happening. As cold opens go, this one was definitely a game-changer.
4
Preparing for the Beach
‘Friends’ – Season 3, Episode 25 ‘The One at the Beach’
While the cold open in the Friends episode “The One at the Beach” wasn’t exactly action-packed, it was the context of what was about to happen that changed the show forever. This cold open teased at the eventual romance between Monica and Chandler, Ross and Rachel’s relationship reigniting (which didn’t last very long, in the end), and it set up the events that led Phoebe to discover that her mother wasn’t actually her biological parent.
All three of these plot points would be integral to Friends‘ overall story going forward in major ways. The only member of the gang who wasn’t really impacted by this cold open, or the events of the episode, was Joey. Even still, this rather simple opening scene marked the beginning of a series of shocking moments that changed Friends forever, the good and the bad.
3
Ron & Diane’s Wedding
‘Parks and Recreation’ – Season 6, Episode 1 ‘London (Part 1)’
If there has been any character in sitcom history who would be happy to get married in less than four minutes, it’s Ron Swanson. Moments after Parks and Recreation Season 5’s finale, Ron proposed to Diane upon learning that she was pregnant. In this extremely hectic cold open, the pair headed up to the fourth floor of Pawnee City Hall to get married, bringing April and a rather over-excited Leslie with them. In typical Leslie style, she tried to make a profound speech, but it was quickly cut short.
This hilarious moment made so much sense for Ron. Diane had already stated she didn’t want a big wedding, and seeing as Ron had been married three times before (twice to Tammy Two), it was only logical that his final nuptials were as swift and efficient as possible. Ron’s marriage to Diane in Parks and Recreation resulted in some incredible character development for him, something that Donna and several other characters pointed out to him on multiple occasions throughout the rest of the show’s run.
2
Barbara Reynolds’ Death
‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ – Season 3, Episode 3 ‘Dennis and Dee’s Mom is Dead’
The cold opens in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia have always been renowned for their wordplay and comic timing, and the opening scene from “Dennis and Dee’s Mom is Dead” was one of the very best. One random morning, Frank entered Paddy’s and announced to the gang that his ex-wife, Barbara, had died. Initially, nobody believed him, and this was due to the fact that when Frank was first introduced in Season 2, he lied about Barbara being dead before explaining they were actually getting divorced.
Killing off one of It’s Always Sunny‘s recurring characters like that was a major move, and in the past, the writers have even voiced their regret over this decision. Barbara’s death wasn’t just a huge deal to Dee and Dennis, who had lost their mother, or Frank, who no longer had to pay alimony. This episode also introduced the Lawyer, who would eventually regret ever taking the job of overseeing Barbara’s will. It also kick-started an ongoing story involving Barbara’s mansion and Dee and Dennis’ biological father, two plot elements that cropped up several times in later seasons.
1
Dwight’s Pepper Spray
‘The Office’ – Season 3, Episode 19 ‘The Negotiation’
In the cold open of The Office episode “The Negotiation,” Dwight Schrute demonstrated how useful some of his seemingly irrelevant fighting knowledge actually was. Following the dramatic events of the previous episode, this cold open saw an angry and terrifying Roy burst into Dunder Mifflin Scranton with the intention of attacking Jim, after he’d learned that Jim and Pam had kissed during “Casino Night.” However, Dwight was quick to pull out his pepper spray and stop Roy before he could lay a hand on Jim.
This was a major moment for the slowly developing romance between Jim and Pam in The Office. Jim was dating Karen, who was completely stunned by the chaos, and Pam was understandably horrified, especially as everyone at her workplace suddenly knew about it all. Dwight didn’t really care about being celebrated for his actions, which made complete sense for his character, but he was also happy with the attention he received from Angela after she discovered what he’d done.
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