"Boardwalk Empire" is the pilot episode of the HBO crime drama Boardwalk Empire. Written by series creator Terence Winter and directed by Martin Scorsese with a budget of $18 million, the episode introduces the character of Nucky Thompson, played by Steve Buscemi, as the corrupt treasurer of Atlantic City who is involved in gambling and bootlegging in 1920. The show used a large ensemble cast and a specially constructed boardwalk set to re-create the Prohibition and Jazz Era, and was based on Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times and Corruption of Atlantic City by Nelson Johnson. Filming for the pilot took place at various locations in and around New York City in June 2009. The episode first aired in the United States on September 19, 2010.

The episode opens with bootleggers being ambushed, and then moves to a Temperance rally two days earlier during which Nucky Thompson attracts the attention of a pregnant woman who later seeks assistance from Thompson for her husband, Schroeder. In a night club the day after the rally, we are introduced to other characters, including Thompson's brother, Eli, the town sheriff, and Jimmy Darmody, a political assistant. Thompson makes a deal to supply alcohol to four gangsters, including Arnold Rothstein who agrees to use his own men to transport the alcohol. Meanwhile, Schroeder drunkenly tangles with Thompson, and then beats his (Schroeder's) wife into a miscarriage. The next day, Darmody plots with Al Capone to rob Rothstein's incoming whiskey shipment. The episode returns to the ambush and we see Capone and Darmody shoot all the bootleggers and run off with the whiskey, with Darmody later giving Thompson a share of the heist.

David Hinkley of the New York Daily News awarded the episode five stars, saying "Watching HBO's new 'Boardwalk Empire' is like sitting in your favorite tavern and hearing someone say, 'Drinks are on the house.' Friends, it doesn't get much better." Paige Wiser of the Chicago Sun-Times called it "... an event not to be missed," and praised Buscemi in particular, calling his performance "fascinating." The episode gained a 2.0/5 ratings share among adults aged 18–49 and garnered 4.81 million viewers. This was the highest rated premiere for a HBO series since the pilot of Deadwood in March 2004. Following this successful debut, HBO immediately renewed the series for a second season.

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