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

During the show's cold open, Harris appeared alongside actress Maya Rudolph, who has portrayed the vice president on SNL since 2019. —David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024

Rudolph finally came face-to-face with the real-life Harris in this week’s cold open, whose speaking-to-the-mirror conceit was similar to a recent Jennifer Coolidge sketch. —Omar L. Gallaga, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2024

The Saturday Night Live alum, who returned to the show last week to once again play President Joe Biden in a cold open with Maya Rudolph's Kamala Harris and Andy Samberg's Doug Emhoff, revealed that the sketch's most memorable moment was an act of improvisation. —Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 12 Oct. 2024

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

Word History

First Known Use

1987, in the meaning defined above