 " Pilot " is the first episode and the series premiere of the American sitcom The Drew Carey Show . It first aired on September 13 , 1995 on the ABC network in the United States . The premise of the show revolves around the life Drew Carey would have lived if he had not become a stand @-@ up comedian . The pilot introduces the main characters of Drew ( Carey ) , Kate ( Christa Miller ) , Lewis ( Ryan Stiles ) and Oswald ( Diedrich Bader ) , as well as Drew 's workplace , the fictional Winfred @-@ Lauder department store , and enemy Mimi Bobeck ( Kathy Kinney ) . 
