cold open

noun

variants or less commonly cold opening

plural cold opens also cold openings

: a scene of a film or television episode that precedes the title sequence or opening credits and that typically takes place in medias res

Cold opens are a bold move in any medium. When a movie or TV show drops the audience into its world without so much as a "here's the title," it speaks to a confidence that whatever's about to happen on screen is sufficient enough to immerse, intrigue, and otherwise hook them.—

Alexis Nedd

For fans of NBC's "The Office," the cold open from season five's "Casual Friday"—where Kevin spills his famous chili—is one of the show's most beloved scenes.—

Addy Bink

The film lost me right from the overacted cold opening …—

Alexa Chipman

Examples of cold open in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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First is a lengthy 12-minute cold open: a flash-forward that almost immediately answers the Kevin Costner question by revealing that Governor John Dutton has been shot and killed in the bathroom of his governor’s mansion in Helena. —

Ben Rosenstock, Vulture, 11 Nov. 2024 The current Vice President and presidential hopeful appeared during the Nov. 2 cold open, which began with a CNN parody, with Chloe Fineman portraying Kaitlan Collins. —

William Earl, Variety, 3 Nov. 2024 Laughter echoes from a Los Angeles, California, soundstage on a Friday afternoon in September, as the cast of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place works on nailing a midseason cold open. —

Katie Campione, Deadline, 29 Oct. 2024 Saturday’s cold open pitted Maya Rudolph‘s Harris and James Austin Johnson’s Trump against each other on the long-running game show, with Kenan Thompson playing genial host Steve Harvey. —

Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 12 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for cold open