This UnderratedTwilight Zone Episode Was Secretly a Spinoff Pilot for a Sitcom

The Twilight Zone is a beloved series with a storied history of delivering surprising twists and turns often packaged with a hefty helping of social or cultural commentary. The program routinely leaned into sci-fi and horror for the storylines explored within. However, the program occasionally delivered a one-off episode that dared to do something completely different and totally unexpected. One unforgettable example of this is Season 3, Episode 36, “Cavender Is Coming.” This unorthodox installment, which follows a well-meaning angel (Jesse White) who can’t quite get his act together to earn his wings, was conceived as a backdoor sitcom pilot. In other words, the episode was testing the waters for a spinoff series. Despite the best efforts of the creative team, the episode didn’t resonate with fans or critics, and it remains an outlier largely derided by the masses.

There are a variety of reasons why this episode didn’t connect as intended. However, it’s still a fascinating anomaly with an interesting story surrounding its conception.

“Cavender Is Coming” Began Life as a Backdoor Sitcom Pilot, but Few Saw the Appeal

This oft-maligned episode turned off viewers for a variety of reasons, perhaps the most obvious of which is the presence of a laugh track during its inaugural broadcast. The initial airing features canned laughter like a sitcom episode from the era. While that approach might have been appropriate if CBS had ordered the backdoor pilot to series, the presence of a laugh track stands as completely out of place in a canonical episode of The Twilight Zone. Thankfully, syndicated broadcasts, the complete series collection, and many streaming platforms have excised the laugh track, making the episode slightly more palatable for those taking it in all these years later.

Aside from the laugh track, fans also took issue with the derivative nature of the episode. Series creator Rod Serling scripted a very similar series installment with Season 1, Episode 33, “Mr. Bevis.” The aforementioned installment also features a guardian angel attempting to help an eccentric charge in trouble. While some of the finer details are reworked, many thought this episode was too close for comfort.

“Cavender Is Coming” attempts to differentiate itself from “Mr. Bevis” by gender-swapping the sex of the angel’s troubled charge. In this case, the recipient of divine intervention is Agnes (Carol Burnett in an early career role). Over the course of the episode, Cavender tries to help Agnes improve her life in a quest to secure his wings. However, she ultimately realizes that her perceived problems are actually not particularly problematic. In fact, all she needed was a fresh perspective. “Mr. Bevis” concludes on a similar note, with Bevis (Orson Bean) realizing that his life is actually pretty great when he stops to think about it. Fans have long memories, and many were unimpressed by the lack of nuance between the two installments.

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There’s a Reason This Episode of The Twilight Zone Is So Different From the Others

Burnett’s star power may well be another reason “Cavender Is Coming” failed to resonate. Even though she hadn’t really broken out at this point, her screen presence is massive, and that caused problems for the series Serling was trying to set up.

Many have pointed out that the actress upstages White as Cavender in almost every scene where the pair share the screen. With the plan for the proposed sitcom being to feature a revolving door of charges in need of help from Cavender, this didn’t set a proper precedent. Seeing as Cavender frequently plays second fiddle to Burnett’s Agnes, the network saw little merit in expanding upon the premise.

Perhaps if Serling had cast a less magnetic actor as Cavender’s charge and eschewed the laugh track, we’d look back on this unorthodox series installment more fondly. As it stands, few have much reverence for this episode. Some fans have even called it the worst of the series.

So, there you have it, “Cavender Is Coming” was initially planned as a spinoff pilot for a sitcom, yet the episode bombed and the network quickly lost interest in the premise. If only circumstances had played out differently, the concept may have made it to series.

Are you a fan of this under-appreciated episode of The Twilight Zone? Be sure to let us know in the comments section!