bottle episode

American  

[bot-l ep-uh-sohd] / ˈbɒt l ˈɛp əˌsoʊd /

noun

1. an episode of a television series set in a single limited or confined location, such as a hotel room or a broken elevator, and often using only a few regular cast members, sometimes undertaken as a cost-cutting measure or as a creative challenge.

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Etymology

Origin of bottle episode

First recorded in 2000–05; perhaps modeled on ship in a bottle or to bottle up

Example Sentences

It is not, however, a bottle episode, as two characters’ story lines move notably forward; it’s just an episode that, apart from those characters, goes essentially nowhere.

From New York Times • Apr. 19, 2023

“Atlanta” mastered the art of the bottle episode, with some stand-alone installments featuring the core cast and others focusing on characters who had never been part of the main story.

From Washington Post • Nov. 11, 2022

Directed by The Last Jedi’s Rian Johnson, it is a bottle episode that had a Marmite affect on fans, but has aged well eight years on.

From The Guardian • Jan. 17, 2018

But the secret weapon of the show is writer/showrunner Sam Catlin, a veteran of Breaking Bad with credits like the infamous bottle episode “Fly” to his name.

From The Verge • Mar. 17, 2016

Ray gets new legs, and we get a great bottle episode.

From Slate • Feb. 1, 2013