Cold Open Constructor: Hook Before the Title Card

The cold open is your one chance to make someone stay past the title card. From your show concept, genre, tone and protagonist, this designs a three-to-five-page cold open in prose-outline form: the first image and what it signals, the rising tension, and the moment that makes the title feel earned. For TV writers shaping a pilot and anyone building the front of an episode.

Design a cold open for my TV pilot. A cold open should establish tone, hint at theme, create immediate tension or intrigue, and end on a moment that makes the title card feel earned.

Show concept: {SHOW_CONCEPT}
Genre and tone: {GENRE_TONE}
Protagonist: {PROTAGONIST_DESCRIPTION}

Write a cold open of approximately 3 to 5 pages (in prose outline form, not full script). Include:
- The first image we see and what it tells us about the world
- The inciting disruption that ends the cold open
- How theme is seeded without being stated
- A final beat that creates a question the audience must stay for

Also suggest two alternative cold open approaches: one that opens on action, one that opens on character, and briefly explain the tonal trade-offs of each.