Page "Television pilot" Paragraph 19

In other cases, however, an episode of the parent show may also focus on one or more guest characters who have not previously appeared in the show ; for example, the backdoor pilot for the television sitcom Empty Nest was an episode of The Golden Girls, which relegated that show's regular stars to supporting characters in an episode devoted to new characters who were introduced as their neighbors.

Feedback on the episode resulted in Empty Nest being extensively reworked before its debut ; while the " living next to the Golden Girls " setting was retained, the series ended up featuring different characters than the original Golden Girls episode.