Pilot (Grimm)

Synopsis

After presenting a quote by The Brothers Grimm, the cold open shows a girl in a red sweatshirt running through the woods. She is attacked by a wolf-like creature, after she stops to check out a small figurine lying on the ground.

The next morning, police officer Nick Burkhardt (portrayed by David Giuntoli), and his partner Hank Griffin (Russell Hornsby), are working at a station of the Portland Police Department. There is a man being processed by another detective, and when Nick looks at him, his face momentarily changes into that of a beast. Nick is the only one who sees this transformation. Soon after, Hank and Nick are called to investigate the girl's murder. Later that night, Nick comes to his home to find his girlfriend, to whom he is preparing to propose, Juliette Silverton (Bitsie Tulloch), conversing with his aunt, Marie Kessler (portrayed by guest star Kate Burton), who had just come to town with a trailer. Nick finds out that Marie is dying of breast cancer, and she informs him that he is one of the last in a long line of people called Grimms, who can see beasts reminiscent of those about which The Brothers Grimm wrote. She is later attacked by one of those beasts, and, badly injured, she gives Nick a key, which he is supposed to protect with his life.

At the hospital, Marie informs Nick more about his family and the Grimms, and she informs him that all he needs to know is in her trailer. He goes in the trailer that night and finds a various assortment of weapons and a book, which details encounters with various creatures and descriptions of what they are. When attempting to inform his aunt that he has previously seen some of the creatures about which he had read, he finds out she had slipped into a coma.

Nick then is informed of a case in which a young girl wearing a red sweatshirt is attacked by a beast in the woods. He connects this to the previous case. At the crime scene, he follows a trail that leads him to the house of a man, Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell), whom he arrests after seeing his face change. Monroe is found to be clean and then released, but Nick, being suspicious, returns to Monroe's house. After a scuffle, he has a conversation with Monroe, who turns out to be a reformed Blutbad, the same type of creature as the one that attacked the girls. Monroe agrees to help Nick solve the case. After following the scent of another Blutbad in the woods, Monroe leads Nick to the house of the Blutbad, whom Nick apprehends after finding the missing girl in the Blutbad's cellar room.

The episode's plot is reminiscent of Little Red Riding Hood.

Development

David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf, who had worked together before on projects such as Angel, conceived the show. Grimm was pitched to NBC as "The Brother’s Grimm in the Modern World." The pilot episode was greenlit by NBC in January 2011, and filming began in Portland, Oregon, in March of the same year. Intending to make the set version of the Portland Police Department look as real as possible, the Grimm crew received permission to utilize actual police uniforms (except for the badges).

Casting

David Giuntoli and Silas Weir Mitchell were the first to be cast, portraying Nick Burkhardt and Monroe, respectively. Russell Hornsby, who portrays Nick's partner, Hank, and Bitsie Tulloch, portraying Nick's girlfriend on the show, were next to be cast. Sasha Roiz was later cast as Captain Renard.

Ratings and reception

Initial response from the Portland film industry was favorable. Grimm was the third TV series to be produced in Portland, and potential success seemed like a way to bring "bigger things" to the area.

Before the episode premiered on television, promotional screenings were held, and the entire episode was released on social media websites. After a screening at Comic-Con, IGN did a preliminary review of the pilot, noting that "the monster effects were much better here than they were in [Angel or Buffy the Vampire Slayer]".

The series premiere of Grimm was viewed by 6.56 million people, earning a 2.1/6 18-49 rating on the Nielson ratings scale. This means that 2.1 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode, while 6 percent of all households watching television at that time watched it. Grimm had the highest non-sports rating on a Friday for any network since New Year's Eve of 2010.

Reviews of the episode ranged from mixed to positive. IGN gave the episode an 8 out of 10, stating that it "is grounded in reality, and no costumes or settings tiptoe into an unbelievable place." Newsday, stating that the pilot "is a well-made, entertaining TV confection," gave the episode a B rating. The Wall Street Journal said Grimm "may be onto something good. It can be genuinely scary (the pilot has a "Lovely Bones" vibe that's not for children). But it has wit too, and avoids camp." In a comparison with the Once Upon A Time, a show similar in genre to Grimm, The Hollywood Reporter gave Grimm the upper hand based on the pilot episode, calling Grimm "more grown-up in its approach than Once Upon a Time because it's more violent and less hokey." However, in a comparison between the two shows by The New York Times, Once Upon a Time was seen as better, being described as "having the richer premise and more interesting characters".