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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The Saturday Night Live cold open saw James Austin Johnson returning as Donald Trump, two days before the inauguration, this time talking about the TikTok ban. —

Ted Johnson, Deadline, 19 Jan. 2025 The actor appeared during the episode’s cold open to welcome host Martin Short into the Five Timers Club, and Che apparently could not resist the chance to have some fun at the couple’s expense. —

Adam B. Vary, Variety, 22 Dec. 2024 The joke rightly gets an applause break from the studio audience — and makes everything else about the overlong cold open worth it. —

Joe Berkowitz, Vulture, 8 Dec. 2024 In the show's latest cold open, Dana Carvey played the billionaire, who jumped around on stage to celebrate President-elect Donald Trump's election win. —

Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY, 21 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for cold open