With news that NBC is developing a Dwight Schrute spinoff from The Office I thought I’d take a look at the best and worst spinoffs of all time. (Side note: I’m a huge Dwight Schrute fan and am 100% behind this idea. Still there are many pitfalls along the road to TV spinoff success as the latter list will illustrate.)
Top 10 TV spinoffs (in order of longevity)
1. The Simpsons (1989–present)
There’s no question this is the most popular spinoff of all time. The Tracey Ullman Show skit has grown into a TV icon and has been running for over 20 years. Not bad for some animated shorts on a show that lasted just a few years.
2. Knots Landing (1979–1993)
I don’t have much to say about soap operas and I’m not very familiar with Knots Landing but it’s always nice to see the student become the teacher as Knots Landing outlasted its predecessor Dallas by two years.
3. Frasier (1993–2004)
No one could have guessed that after the wildly popular Cheers (1982–1993) went off the air that one of the pub dwellers could up and move across the country, introduce us to his never before heard of family members and enjoy similar success. That’s just what we got from Dr. Frasier Crane though (fingers crossed that Dwight K. Schrute can pull off the same trick).
4. The Jeffersons (1975–1985)
Another spinoff that outlasted its parent was The Jeffersons (searching unsuccessfully for a Movin’ On Up reference). George Jefferson was a neighbor of Archie Bunker in All in the Family. The Jeffersons is still the longest running sitcom with a predominantly African American cast.
5. Family Matters (1989–1998)
Speaking of predominantly African American casts, “Did I do that?” The Winslow family runs second with a respectable 9 years. The show spun off of Perfect Strangers and mostly focused on Carl Winslow and his family with a healthy dose of Urkel of course.
6. The Facts of Life (1979–1988)
Edna Garret leaves the Drummond family on Diff’rent Strokes to go from housekeeper to housemother at a dormitory at Eastland School. The incomparable Charlotte Rae (Edna) is joined by Blair, Tootie, Natalie and Jo and the life lessons begin.
7. The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968)
The Andy Griffith Show was one of those contrived spinoffs. They wanted a show for Andy so they dumped in a cameo on The Danny Thomas Show (previously known as Make Room for Daddy). Danny Thomas gets pulled over by a small town sheriff and POOF, Mayberry is born.
8. The Colbert Report (2005-present)
Stephen T. Colbert holds the title as my current favorite TV spinoff. Technically it’s a spinoff as Colbert previously served as a correspondent on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the show that still precedes his show. If you haven’t seen it then you are truly missing out.
9. Sesame Street (1969–present) The Muppet Show (1976-1981) Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies (1984–1991) Fraggle Rock (1983-1993)
This is somewhat of a life time achievement award for the late great Jim Hensen. All of those shows were a spinoff of Sam and Friends (1955–1961), Hensen’s first effort in puppeting that brought Kermit the Frog to life.
10. Saved by the Bell (1989-1993)
Good Morning, Miss Bliss may have been short-lived by its child shape the lives of so many children of my generation. It’s funny that most of the cast was retained except for Hayley Mills, the headliner and only recognizable name when the show first started. There is not a person my age who doesn’t know Zack Morris, Lisa Turtle or Screech Powers. They threw in Kelly Kapowski, Jessie Spano and A.C. Slater and BOOM! It was a hit. This is also a good segue to our next list as Saved by the Bell: The College Years was a colossal stinker. One spinoff too many.
Honorable Mention for top TV spinoffs (as these spinoffs filled hours and hours of my childhood)
Benson (1979–1986) spunoff Soap (1977–1981), Mama’s Family (1983-1990) spunoff The Carol Burnett Show (1967-1978), A Different World (1987–1993) spunoff The Cosby Show (1984–1992), Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994) spunoff Star Trek: The Original Series (1966–1969), Empty Nest (1988-1995) spunoff The Golden Girls (1985–1992), Melrose Place (1992–1999) spunoff Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990–2000) (just admit it, you watched both of them), and last but certainly not least Xena: Warrior Princess (1995-2001) spunoff Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1995-1999).
10 Worst TV spinoffs (in no particular order as they are all bad in their own special way)
The Brady Brides (1981)
Look, who doesn’t love The Brady Bunch? Greg, Marshall, Alice, Jan, Bobby, we get it. It was great, but you have to know when to say when. This was a horrible idea along with The Brady Kids (1972-1974) The Brady Bunch Hour (1977), and The Bradys (1989-1990).
Three’s a Crowd (1984-1985)
Then there’s the runner up in the “don’t know when to say goodbye” category. Three’s Company was good and I don’t want to speak ill of the dead but John Ritter shouldn’t have just walked away from this, he should have run. Three’s Company is also one of the many to produce multiple failed spinoffs with The Ropers (1979-1980) attempting to focus on their landlords from across the way.
The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (1966-1967), Queer Eye for the Straight Girl (2005), Toni’s Boys (1980), Mrs. Columbo (1979)
This is the “anything he/she can do I can do only not nearly as good” category. The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Charlie’s Angels, Columbo beget each of these largely unappealing shows. Toni’s Boys? Really? The titles alone speak to how much thought went into these programs.
Baywatch Nights (1995–1997)
No question the weirdest spinoff of the bunch. Baywatch was great and normally I wouldn’t complain about anything Angie Harmon does but the detective thing barely fit as it was; throw in vampires and other sci-fi junk and it is no wonder this one failed in a hurry.
Joey (2004–2006)
The only reason this show lasted as long as it did was because everybody was missing their Friends. This is the most prominent example of when a character is great as part of a collective but doesn’t have the gravitas to carry a show alone. Same goes for our next three bombs.
Booker (1989-1990)
Richard Grieco became a big star in the late 80’s on 21 Jump Street. His character Dennis Booker was very popular so you can’t fault Fox for jumping (that’s right I went there) on this one. Although it started strong with Billy Idol’s “Hot in the City” as the theme song, it was all downhill after that.
Enos (1980–1981)
I know, let’s take a fringe character from The Dukes of Hazzard move him to LA and remind everybody at the beginning of every episode that Daisy Duke will not be appearing on this show. Good idea, right? WRONG!
The Art of Being Nick (1987)
I cannot stress this enough, the loveable dumb guy has a role in a story. However, that is not a lead role. Nick Moore played Mallory’s artist boyfriend on Family Ties. This was doomed from the start. By the way am I the only one who believes that Pawn Stars mechanic Danny Koker is the illegitimate love child of Scott Valentine?
Living Dolls (1989)
In a perfect world Alyssa Milano, Leah Remini, Halle Berry and Vivica A. Fox would all be teenage model friends, but would you really want to watch a show about their lives together? Me too! Still don’t know why this Who’s the Boss? spinoff failed.
Joanie Loves Chachi (1982)
Nobody wanted to say goodbye to Happy Days; that is until Joanie loved Chachi. You can blame jumping the shark (literally) all you want but it was this short-lived spinoff that sent this beloved Gary Marshall Midwest American 1950’s era sitcom to its grave.
So be careful what you wish for as your favorite show winds down or your favorite character gets his/her chance at the spotlight. More often than not it’s nothing like you hoped it would be.
