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 the middle of the narrative or plot

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

In the highest-profile contest, enough to earn a Saturday Night Live cold open, Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani is facing independent Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa. —Ted Johnson, Deadline, 3 Nov. 2025

In its Saturday cold open, the sketch show parodied the final New York City mayoral debate, with Miles Teller as Andrew Cuomo, Ramy Youssef as Zohran Mamdani and Shane Gillis as Curtis Sliwa. —Bart Jansen, USA Today, 3 Nov. 2025

The show kicked off on a tired note with a cold open that took on the last New York City mayoral debate, which at this point happened more than a week ago. —Charu Sinha, Vulture, 2 Nov. 2025

The first comes in the show’s shocking cold open, in which a mother gives birth to a demonic baby that subsequently attacks an 11-year-old boy. —Andrew McGowan, Variety, 27 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1987, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cold open

• reopen