15 TV Shows You May Not Know Were Spinoffs [Photos]
Hollywood has few if any original ideas, and that opinion extends from movie remakes right on down to television show spinoffs.
photo: WENN
And if a show is pulling in high ratings, why not give viewers a slightly different variation to keep them coming back. That’s what will happen when former Breaking Bad character Saul Goodman gets his own vehicle with Better Call Saul. Only time will tell if Saul will be more successful than any of these 15 TV show spinoffs.
—
Photo: WENN
photo: WENN
When Denise Huxtable went off to her parent’s alma mater Hillman College, the stage was set to keep The Cosby Show tradition rolling on A Different World. In true spinoff fashion, things kept rolling even when Denise dropped out of school.
photo: WENN
Jon Stewart brought comedy to world news with The Daily Show, and the format was flipped on its head when Stephen Colbert played the role of a faux conservative pundit on The Colbert Report.
photo: WENN
Remember when Dave Chappelle and Jim Brewer appeared on Home Improvement? Most people don’t, but the pair was popular enough to get a short-lived spinoff named Buddies. Turns out they were much more successful as stoners in Half Baked.
photo: WENN
Cleveland Brown wasn’t the most popular of Peter Griffin’s pals on Family Guy, but that didn’t stop him from getting the moderately popular spinoff, The Cleveland Show, which benefited from a few Kanye West cameos during its tenure.
photo: WENN
Believe it not, Harriet and Carl Winslow were neighbors to Larry and Balky on the ABC show Perfect Strangers. They ended up carrying the torch for ABC’s TGIF block of programming when the Winslows got their own show in 1989 in the form of Family Matters.
photo: WENN
Any real or perceived friction between Brandy Norwood and Countess Vaughn became irrelevant when Vaughn’s character Kim and her mom moved from Moesha and got their own show entitled The Parkers. Who would’ve guessed Mo’Nique would be the one from the entire cast to win an Academy Award?
photo: WENN
You can blame the seemingly never-ending parade of NCIS shows on JAG. In what may have been one of the best orchestrated spinoffs ever, NCIS was introduced on the infamous “Ice Queen” episode of JAG and the rest is television history.
photo: WENN
There would be no “Wheelchair Jimmy” without The Kids of Degrassi Street, which ran from 1979 through 1984. Those crazy Canadian kids just kept the Degrassi theme rolling in 2001 by rebooting the series with Degrassi: The Next Generation.
photo: WENN
Turning one-minute cameos on The Tracey Ullman Show into over 20 years of a serialized, animated sitcom was the ultimate come up for The Simpsons.
photo: WENN
Nickelodeon kept the registers ringing by creating Sam & Cat from a mix of spinning off and crossing over the shows iCarly and Victorious. Either due to some cast friction or a mild bit of controversy, Sam & Cat got the axe, allowing Ariana Grande to cross back over to a music career and keep stacking.
photo: WENN
The Tyler Perry empire continued to grow when House of Payne spawned Meet The Browns. The spinoff lasted a full five seasons.
photo: WENN
Shonda Rhimes essentially doubled down on Grey’s Anatomy when she gave Dr. Addison Montgomery her own show with Private Practice. The checks just keep coming in.
photo: WENN
The multi-region spinoffs in Miami, New York, and New Orleans can all be traced back to the original CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. The show has been running 14 years, proving that if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.
photo: WENN
Before there was The Challenge, various reunions, and Road Rules, there was The Real World: New York in 1992 featuring Heather B., Kevin Powell, Norman Korpi, Julie Gentry, Becky Blasband, Andre Comeau, and Eric Nies. That was 30 seasons ago.
photo: WENN
Part of the dark humor of Breaking Bad always stemmed from the bumbling, grimy character Saul Goodman. He was equal parts goon and attorney, and in what seems like a complete, 180-degree turn, AMC is moving forward with a Saul Goodman spinoff, Better Call Saul.
