Pilot (The Playboy Club)

Nick Dalton, an attorney and key-holder for the Playboy Club, introduces himself to newly hired Bunny Maureen and asks her for cigarettes. Maureen notifies to him that she is out of cigarettes, and goes to the storeroom to resupply. Bruno Bianchi, who previously tried to dance with her, is at the premises and attempts to seduce her. A terrified Maureen begins to resist his attempts; the two later get into a scuffle. Dalton—checking on his order—witnesses the attack and gets into an altercation with Bianchi. Maureen stabs Bruno Bianchi in the neck with the heel of her shoes, killing him. Nick Dalton later informs her that Bianchi is the head of a local chapter of the Chicago Outfit. They dispose of his body in the Chicago River, and Dalton provides refuge for Maureen at his condominium.

Dalton prompts Maureen to hide in a closet, after hearing her fellow Bunny Carol-Lynne entering his condo. The couple begins to flirt and kiss, only to abruptly end after Carol-Lynne discovers a bunny outfit of a coworker. Infuriated, she ends her relationship with Dalton and calls for her things; she finds Maureen hiding in her closet. Carol-Lynne immediately leaves Dalton's condo, and Maureen returns to the Playboy Mansion with her coworkers. The following day, the club's manager Billy Rosen, speaks with the Bunnies regarding the whereabouts of Bianchi. Rosen later finds Carol-Lynne in his office, much to his surprise. He fires her, after finding out that she has been stealing records of the workers. Meanwhile, Nick Dalton meets up with John Bianchi, the son of the deceased Bruno Bianchi.

Carol-Lynne is rehired as Bunny Mother of the Playboy Club by Hugh Hefner. She discusses issues with Maureen in her office, and overtly attempts to persuade her to leave Chicago. After being told of a new training program, Maureen proceeds into the changing room, only to be confronted by a member of the Chicago Outfit. She tells Nick Dalton of the situation, and Dalton insists that he will come to her aid. Once entering in the car, Dalton discusses with John Bianchi on finding the murderer of his father. Meanwhile, all of the Bunnies aside from Alice—who appears as a meeting for the homophile group Mattachine Society—go to an event at the Playboy Mansion.

20th Century Fox Television and Imagine TV were the production companies for the show that eventually became The Playboy Club. They had previously attempted to produce the concept during the 2010–11 television season but the project never came to fruition.^[1][2] After that initial attempt, the companies approached screenwriter Chad Hodge, who became the show's creator and an executive producer.^[1] Imagine co-founder Brian Grazer and president Francie Calfo also served as executive producers,^[2] as did Richard Rosenzweig, a longtime executive and consultant with Playboy Enterprises.^[3] Alta Loma Entertainment, Playboy's entertainment production arm, received copies of all the story outlines and scripts for review but, according to Hodge, took a very hands-off approach and did not get heavily involved in the creative process.^[4] Likewise, Playboy Enterprises founder Hugh Hefner reviewed each of the scripts personally, but did not provide much direct input or request major changes.^[5] The original title of the series was Bunny Tales, then Playboy, before the final title The Playboy Club was chosen.^[1] The show's pilot script was the first new drama series ordered by NBC for the 2011–12 television season.^[2][6]

The main cast includes Eddie Cibrian, who was cast as Nick Dalton, the central character in the series. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Cibrian stated that Dalton was a "chameleon" and very charismatic. He continued: "On the facade, he seems to have it all. He's very successful. He's dating the head Playboy bunny. He's one of the first keyholders at the Playboy Club, but he has a very mysterious past."^[7] Jeff Hephner was originally approached for the role after performing well in test auditions, but Hephner had no prior experience playing a television lead before, and the producers decided to let him go after the full cast table. Cibrian was cast just a few days before filming began.^[8] Amber Heard was approached by producers of the show to portray Bunny Maureen. Although the series premiere started with Nick helping Maureen out of a difficult situation, Heard said of the character, "Don't underestimate that character and her intelligence, and the journey that she's going to take to really rise above that. [...] I think Maureen allows herself to be helped when she needs it, and by no means relies on any character, male or female, in this story, and never has."^[9]

Producers of the show cast Naturi Naughton as Bunny Brenda.^[10] Naughton auditioned four times for the role before getting cast, singing the Nat King Cole song "When I Fall in Love" during one of the auditions. In researching the role, Naughton consulted the black former Playboy Bunny Pat Lacey, watched the documentary film The Bunny Years (1999) and read the book 50 Years of the Playboy Bunny.^[11] Brenda was loosely based on the model Jennifer Jackson, the actual first Black "Playmate of the Month", although neither Naughton nor the Playboy Club producers contacted Jackson in preparing the role.^[12][13][14] Providing the role of the manager of the Playboy Club, Billy Rosen, David Krumholtz exclaimed that he was drawn to the character and wished to play a role different from Charlie Eppes, the character he played for six seasons on the crime drama Numb3rs.^[15] Other members of the main cast include Jenna Dewan,^[16] Laura Benanti,^[17] Leah Renee,^[16] Wes Ramsey,^[18] and Sean Maher.^[19] Hugh Hefner performed a brief voice-over narration during the pilot episode.^[4][5]

Principal photography for the episode took place in Chicago, Illinois, the same city where the story was set.^[13][20] Filming on the pilot episode began on March 15, 2011, with most scenes filmed on a set at Cinespace Studios on West 16th Street.^[21][22] Some scenes were also shot at the former Meigs Field on Northerly Island.^[13]

The pilot episode was heavily promoted in the weeks leading up to its airing.^[23] Laura Benanti appeared on a retro style cover of Playboy magazine released on September 16, 2011. The magazine had a 1961 theme, which included an old-fashioned visual style, photos of 1960s Playboy bunnies and clubs, and the same sixty cent price as that time period. Benanti wore a black bunny costume and held a tray with drinks on the cover photo.^[24] NBC also entered into a cross-promotional deal with the Bloomingdale's department store. The Walton Street store in Chicago included display windows inspired by the series,^[25][26] which were unveiled in September 2011 by Benanti, as well as Naturi Naughton and Wes Ramsey.^[25] Chosen for the storefronts due to its close proximity to the original Playboy Club, the Walton Street store allowed visitors to take virtual photos with the show's stars, view photos of the real-life clubs and the show's set, and enter into a contest to win such prizes as a walk-on role on the show and a $5,000 Bloomingdale's shopping spree.^[25]