If there had never been “The Tracey Ullman Show,” there likely would never have been “The Simpsons.” Too, without “Happy Days,” then “Laverne and Shirley” and “Mork and Mindy” would never have seen the light of primetime. Television series spinoffs have been a thing going back to some the earliest days of the medium itself, when “The Honeymooners” premiered in 1955 after beginning life as a series of sketches on “The Jackie Gleason Show” a few years earlier. Thus was born the concept of introducing a character or characters on a show that prove so popular it’s decided they deserve their own series.
Sometimes, the strategy hasn’t worked out so brilliantly, such as when “Cheers” gave birth to “The Tortellis,” “M*A*S*H” to “AfterMASH” and “The Brady Bunch” to “The Brady Brides” (we’ll save the rest of those for our forthcoming all-time worst spinoffs list.) But other times, gold is struck and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” spawns “Rhoda” and “Lou Grant,” and more recently “Breaking Bad” beget “Better Call Saul.” There have even been instances when a successful spinoff produced another successful spinoff, such as when “The Andy Griffith Show” (a spinoff of “The Danny Thomas Show”) gave rise in the 1960s to “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.” and, later, when “Maude” (an “All in the Family” spinoff) spun out “Good Times.”
There have also been cases where the spun show exceeded the quality and popularity of its parent. I’m looking at you, “NCIS” (spun out of “JAG”) and at you, “The Simpsons” – which is now passing an astonishing 750 episodes, or roughly 670 episodes more than its mother “The Tracey Ullman Show.”
Any time is a good time to do a qualitative assessment of TV’s finest spinoffs, but it’s especially appropriate now with the reboot of “Frasier,” the already successful spinoff from “Cheers.” So let’s do it right here and right now, shall we? Tour our photo gallery below for the 30 greatest television spinoffs, ranked worst to best.
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30. “Young Sheldon” (CBS)
Image Credit: Bill Inoshita/CBS Spun from: “The Big Bang Theory”
Original Airdates: September 25, 2017 to present
The Scoop: “Young Sheldon” has to be on this list as a spinoff/prequel if for no other reason than star Iain Armitage is so phenomenally good in portraying the intellectual child prodigy growing up in rural Texas who would go on to become Sheldon Cooper (played by “Big Bang” of course by Jim Parsons, who also executive produces and narrates “YS”). It’s been going now for six seasons, with the seventh delayed by the joint WGA and SAG-AFTRA walkouts. The show has a terrific extended cast that includes the great Annie Potts, but this is Armitage’s show. He’s a marvel.
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29. “Family Matters” (ABC and CBS)
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC Spun from: “Perfect Strangers”
Original Airdates: September 22, 1989 to July 17, 1998
The Scoop: No one could have envisioned that the characters introduced on “Perfect Strangers” would center a series that survived for nine seasons, becoming at the time in the 1990s the second-longest-running live action American sitcom with a predominantly African American cast (behind only “The Jeffersons,” which ran 11 seasons). It starred Reginald VelJohnson and Jo Marie Payton – that is, until midway through the first season, when the Winslows’ nerdy neighbor Steve Urkel (memorably portrayed by Jaleel White) was introduced and became the show’s breakout.
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28. “The Honeymooners” (CBS)
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS Spun from: “The Jackie Gleason Show”
Original Airdates: October 1, 1955 to September 22, 1956
The Scoop: In what is commonly acknowledged to be TV’s first spinoff of note, “The Honeymooners” spun out of comedic sketches that began on the soon-to-be-defunct DuMont network and then out of shorts on Jackie Gleason’s variety show. It would grow to become a beloved part of early television in the mid-1950s and then in the rerun landscape for decades thereafter, starring Gleason as bus driver Ralph Kramden, Audrey Meadows as his long-suffering wife Alice, Art Carney as pal Ed Norton and Joyce Randolph as Ed’s wife Trixie. It ran for just 39 episodes but remains a classic nearly 70 years later.
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26. “Empty Nest” (NBC)
Image Credit: Courtesy Image Spun from: “The Golden Girls”
Original Airdates: October 8, 1988 to June 17, 1995
The Scoop: Originally conceived as a “backdoor pilot” in a 1987 episode of “Golden Girls,” the series wouldn’t make it onto the NBC schedule until the following fall. But once it did, it stuck around for seven seasons, starring Richard Mulligan as a Miami pediatrician whose life is turned askew when his wife dies and two of his adult daughters (Kristy McNichol and Dinah Manoff) move back in. David Leisure (Joe Isuzu), Park Overall and Paul Provenza are also part of a very talented cast. Mulligan would win an Emmy for lead comedy actor in 1989 in one of the ceremony’s biggest upsets, beating Ted Danson (“Cheers”), Michael J. Fox (“Family Ties”), John Goodman (“Roseanne”) and Fred Savage (“The Wonder Years”).
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25. “Angel” (The WB)
Image Credit: Courtesy Image Spun from: “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”
Original Airdates: October 5, 1999 to May 19, 2004
The Scoop: The spinoff was created by Joss Whedon, also “Buffy’s” creator, writer and director and his Mutant Enemy production company. It focuses on Angel (David Boreanaz), an Irish vampire who is more than 240 years old yet doesn’t look a day over 235. His human soul was restored to him as punishment for murder, and he moves to Los Angeles (the show’s version of purgatory) in pursuit of redemption. Good luck with that one! The show is dark and compelling in a way that moves the “Buffy” story in a hardcore new direction, telling a masterful supernatural tale all its own.
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24. “The Facts of Life” (NBC)
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBC Spun from: “Diff’rent Strokes”
Original Airdates: August 24, 1979 to May 7, 1988
The Scoop: This surprisingly deep and charming comedy spun out of “Diff’rent Strokes,” featuring the Drummond family’s former housekeeper Edna (Charlotte Rae) working a job as the housemother of the dormitory of an all-girls private school in New York. Her girls included the spoiled rich kid Blair (Lisa Whelchel), the gossipmonger Tootie (Kim Fields) and the impressionable Natalie (Mindy Cohn). Molly Ringwald was also there for season one. “Facts of Life” dealt with some heavy topics in the sitcom format, including drugs, sex, eating disorders, peer pressure and parental issues.
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23. “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.” (CBS)
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS Spun from: “The Andy Griffith Show”
Original Airdates: September 25, 1964 to May 2, 1969
The Scoop: “Gomer Pyle” is one of those shows we take for granted because it’s so unassuming, with a can’t-miss formula of a dim-bulb but good-natured Marine and a short-fused sergeant. But in fact, Jim Nabors and Frank Sutton had exceptional chemistry, and their spinoff (aired as the fourth season finale of “Andy Griffith”) was consistently sweet and amusing, if not necessarily uproarious. The show had no direct correlation to the real world, with no mention of war or death or PTSD. And that was just fine.
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22. “Boston Legal” (ABC)
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC Spun from: “The Practice”
Original Airdates: October 3, 2004 to December 8, 2008
The Scoop: Things get a little confusing when describing the spinning between “Boston Legal” and its predecessor “The Practice,” which can somewhat feel like the same show. That’s why “BL” is also described as a “continuation” of “The Practice,” which took several characters from its eighth season and spun them into “Boston Legal.” Credit the genius of creator-exec producer David E. Kelley, who was abl to breathe fresh new life into the concept with lawyers played by James Spader, William Shatner and Candice Bergen. It carries the signature combo of wry comedy and broad drama that’s so consistently irresistible.
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21. “Melrose Place” (Fox)
Image Credit: ©1992 FOX TELEVISION/SOAPNET Spun from: “Beverly Hills, 90210”
Original Airdates: July 8, 1992 to May 24, 1999
The Scoop: What’s this, an Aaron Spelling series on a list of great spinoffs? Well, yes. Begin with the fact that this soapy hour descended from “Beverly Hills, 90210” boasted a stellar cast of young acting talent, including Thomas Calabro, Heather Locklear, Vanessa Williams, Josie Bissett, Andrew Shue, Doug Savant and Courtney Thorne-Smith. The show that followed the lives of hot adults living in a West Hollywood apartment complex also also was the rare serialized program to have a sense of humor about himself. Extra points for that.
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20. “The Good Fight” (CBS All Access and Paramount+)
Image Credit: Paramount+ Spun from: “The Good Wife”
Original Stream Dates: February 19, 2017 to November 10, 2022
The Scoop: Created by Robert and Michelle King and Phil Alden Robinson, “The Good Fight” was created for the CBS All Access (later Paramount+) streaming service and was a spinoff and standalone sequel to “The Good Wife.” No show that stars Christine Baranski can be less than stellar. Here, Baranski plays a lawyer victimized, along with her goddaughter (Rose Leslie), in a massive financial scam. They both have to start over, personally and financially, while navigating a path dominated by political and social issues. A passionate, well-acted and smart-written show.
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19. “Good Times” (CBS)
Image Credit: CBS/Photofest Spun from: “Maude”
Original Airdates: February 8, 1974 to August 1, 1979
The Scoop: This is one of those spinoffs of a spinoff, spun from “Maude,” which was spun from “All in the Family,” which was the ultimate original. Developed by exec producer Norman Lear – still kicking at 101 – its characters Florida Evans (Esther Rolle) and husband James (John Amos) were introduced on a “Maude” episode and live in Chicago with their three kids in a poor Black tenement in inner-city Chicago. Among its breakouts was Jimmie Walker as J.J. The show addressed the lives of working class people of color with a substance and realism that had previously never been sh0wn before, and all in the context of comedy.
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18. “Knots Landing” (CBS)
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS Spun from: “Dallas”
Original Airdates: December 27, 1979 to May 13, 1993
The Scoop: Brought into the world by the legendary nighttime soap “Dallas,” “Knots Landing” wound up matching its predecessor with a 14-season run and proved the creme de la creme of the primetime serial. It began with the spinning off of Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford) and Valene Ewing (Joan Van Ark) into their own show. They would lead a soapy storyline in the Seaview Circle cul-de-sac that also featured characters played by Michele Lee, Donna Mills and any others. It proved to be a show that critics liked to praise, even as they lambasted the genre itself, because it was so skillfully produced – the ultimate show you loved to hate and hated to love.
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17. “Benson” (ABC)
Image Credit: Courtesy of ABC Spun from: “Soap”
Original Airdates: September 13, 1979 to April 19, 1986
The Scoop: A quality, very amusing series that was nearly as inspired as “Soap,” the show it was spun from, “Benson” found star Robert Guillaume being rewarded for his work on “Soap” (he won a 1979 supporting actor Emmy for it and, in ’85, took home a lead comedy trophy for “Benson”). Guillaume played a butler on “Soap” and on “Benson” was hired to head up household affairs for the widowed Governor Gatling (James Noble). The show enjoyed a seven-season run that rose on the star’s talented, wisecracking, underrated shoulders.
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16. “Mork & Mindy” (ABC)
Image Credit: Courtesy Image Spun from: “Happy Days”
Original Airdates: September 14, 1978 to May 27, 1982
The Scoop: “Mork & Mindy” was introduced as a weird episode of “Happy Days” that introduced Robin Williams’ outrageous “Mork from Ork” alien as a one-off called “My Favorite Orkan.” No one foresaw a series, but Williams’ massive comic chops impressed producer Garry Marshall enough (and generated such positive audience reaction) that the show was rushed into production. He and Pam Dawber displayed a nice chemistry, but the show thrived for four seasons because the star was larger than life. It didn’t hurt that it also featured supporting players like the great Jonathan Winters.
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15. “House of the Dragon” (HBO)
Image Credit: HBO Spun from: “Game of Thrones”
Original Airdates: August 21, 2022 to present
The Scoop: “Game of Thrones” was such a popular show with its obsessive fans that it stood to reason a prequel spinoff like “House of the Dragon” would have its work cut out to come close to matching the dedication shown to the multiple Emmy-winning series that spawned it. But it’s received plenty of acclaim for a simple reason: it’s really really good. Based on George R.R. Martin’s book “Fire & Blood,” it’s set 200 years before the events of “GOT” in telling the story of House Targaryen. The first season generated rave reviews for the action-adventure fantasy, with major praise for its characters, stunning visual effects, writing, score and performances.
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14. “NCIS” (CBS)
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS Spun from: “JAG”
Original Airdates: September 23, 2003 to present
The Scoop: It isn’t often that a spinoff series doubles the length of the show that spawned it. But such is the case with NCIS, which has been around now for 20 seasons and has been renewed for a 21st (though due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, it will be a while before that gets on the air). “JAG” stuck around for a mere 10 years. “NCIS” is a mere police procedural, but it’s an exceptionally well-produced one, with star Mark Harmon toplining it into season 19 (or an astounding 435 episodes). “NCIS” is as dependable as your favorite faded pair of jeans.
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13. “The Colbert Report” (Comedy Central)
Image Credit: Scott Gries/Picturegroup Spun from: “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart”
Original Airdates: October 17, 2005 to December 18, 2014
The Scoop: The lore of “The Colbert Report” is that it began almost by accident. The idea of doing a fake right-wing news show hosted by a fictional pompous, smug anchorman character named Stephen Colbert, played by the real-life Stephen Colbert, got its start as a series of commercial parodies on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” that were based on Bill O’Reilly’s nightly show on Fox News. The send-up of cable news pundits would become a fixture of the late-night landscape stuck around for nine years before Colbert was hired to host a real late-night talk show on CBS.
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12. “Rhoda” (CBS)
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS Spun from: “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”
Original Airdates: September 9, 1974 to December 9, 1978
The Scoop: The character of Rhoda Morgenstern (played by Valerie Harper) was so good on the first four seasons of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” that she was rewarded with her own spinoff series on CBS that began in ’74 and played through ’78. Transparently and unapologetically Jewish, Rhoda was a modern New York City gal and later divorcee with a colorful collection of co-stars who included Julie Kavner (later the voice of Marge Simpson on “The Simpsons”), Nancy Walker, Harold Gould and Ron Silver. But this was a terrific sitcom because Harper was so irresistibly spunky and charismatic. She won three Emmys for “Mary Tyler Moore” and one for “Rhoda.”
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11. “Maude” (CBS)
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS Spun from: “All in the Family”
Original Airdates: September 12, 1972 to April 22, 1978
The Scoop: There have been few bigger sitcom acting powerhouses in television history that Bea Arthur, starting with a pair of episodes on “All in the Family,” which convinced Norman Lear and partner Bud Yorkin to spin her into her own series (“Maude”) and then of course her seven seasons on “The Golden Girls.” Her six seasons on “Maude” resulted in five Emmy nominations and a lone win, and the show (co-starring Bill Macy, Adrienne Barbeau, Conrad Bain and Rue McClanahan) was groundbreaking in its discussion of civil rights, racial and gender equality, feminism and abortion. Beyond all that, it was simply a hilarious show.
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10. “The Andy Griffith Show” (CBS)
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS Spun from: “The Danny Thomas Show”
Original Airdates: October 3, 1960 yo April 1, 1968
The Scoop: It was a single episode of “The Danny Thomas Show” that led to what would become a genuine piece of Americana, a series packed with charm and sweetly eccentric characters – with Andy Griffith holding it all together as the strong center. “The Andy Griffith Show” is such an entertaining throwback to its time that it’s impossible not to be won over by its wholesome genuineness. And has there ever been a funnier character than Deputy Barney Fife – played with charismatic hilarity by Don Knotts, who took home Emmys for all five of his nominations. Just thinking about the show puts that classic whistling theme song into your head.
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9. “CSI” – the whole universe (CBS)
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS Spun from: “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”
Original Airdates: Various from 2000 to present
The Scoop: No one could have predicted when the original “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” premiered on October 6, 2000 that it would stick around for 15 seasons and lead to four spinoffs of various lengths and rates of success: “CSI: Miami” in 2002, “CSI: NY” in 2004, “CSI: Cyber” in 2014 and “CSI: Vegas” in 2021. It would also lead to a “CSI” merchandising bonanza that’s included novels, comics, a magazine, video games, board games and toys. In terms of the spinoffs, “CSI: Miami” (starring David Caruso and Emily Procter, 10 seasons) and “CSI: “NY” (starring Gary Sinise, Melina Kanakaredes and Sela Ward, nine seasons) were the most successful.)
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8. “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (NBC)
Image Credit: © NBC Universal, Inc Spun from: “Law & Order”
Original Airdates: September 20, 1999 to present
The Scoop: In terms of sheer longevity, aside from “The Simpsons,” there has never been a spinoff as successful as “Law & Order: SVU,” which has aired for a whopping 24 seasons and has been renewed for its 25th. And through it all, there has been star and Emmy winner Mariska Hargitay, who has been a part of all 24 seasons and every one of the 538 episodes. In terms of number of episodes, only three shows have gone on longer: “The Simpsons,” “Gunsmoke” and “Lassie.” The Dick Wolf-created procedural series, while formulaic in its discussion and investigation of sexually-oriented crimes and those against children, the disabled and the elderly, is incredibly taut and beautifully acted and produced.
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7. “Better Call Saul” (AMC)
Image Credit: Ben Leuner/AMC Spun from: “Breaking Bad”
Original Airdates: February 8, 2015 to August 15, 2022
The Scoop: No one had any clue when “Better Call Saul” got the greenlight from AMC to go to series if it could come close to matching the majesty of its parent “Breaking Bad,” which some critics consider the greatest drama in television history. Led by “BB” alumni Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks and Giancarlo Esposito, it has exceeded all expectations, carving out a niche as a classic in its own right outside the shadow of the legendary series it spun from. It also featured stellar performances from Rhea Seehorn and comedy vet Michael McKean and exceptional writing from “Breaking Bad” vet Peter Gould and his staff.
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6. “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (Syndicated)
Image Credit: Courtesy of Paramount Spun from: “Star Trek”
Original Airdates: September 28, 1987 to May 23, 1994
The Scoop: If you return with me here to 1987, you might (or might not) recall that a lot of people thought it blasphemous that the immortal original “Star Trek” would dare agree to produce a spinoff featuring a captain not played by William Shatner – and a bald-headed one with a British accent at that. But “Star Trek: TNG” would quickly win over the skeptics with its incomparable quality, as would Patrick Stewart as Captain Picard and a colorful staff of crewmates played by Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Denise Crosby, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Brent Spiner and Wil Wheaton. There have been several other “Trek” spinoffs since, but none better.
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5. “Laverne and Shirley” (ABC)
Spun from: “Happy Days”
Original Airdates: January 27, 1976 to May 10, 1983
The Scoop: The best of the “Happy Days” comedy spinoffs produced eight stellar seasons of hilarity thanks to the talents of Penny Marshall (Laverne DeFazio) and Cindy Williams (Shirley Feeney). It was set in Milwaukee, where Laverne and Shirley were bottle-cappers at the fictitious Shotz Brewery and best friends in the late 1950s and early ’60s. Both were marvels of physical comedy excellence, and all of the madcap mix-ups they got involved in were consistently uproarious. Shockingly, neither actress was ever nominated for an Emmy, and the show itself received just one: for its costume design. It remains one of great comedies the medium has produced.
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4. “Lou Grant” (CBS)
Image Credit: Courtesy of CBS Spun from: “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”
Original Airdates: September 20, 1977 to September 13, 1982
The Scoop: Not too many shows can successfully change genre from half-hour comedy to hour-long drama in the spinning off. Fewer still can do it with even half the flair that “Lou Grant” managed in shifting gears from “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” Quite simply, “Lou Grant” is the most consequential series about print journalism in TV annals, with star Ed Asner going from the gruff teddy bear of the Minneapolis TV newsroom to a serious editor at an L.A.-based daily newspaper. Asner would win five Emmys for playing version of the same character – three for “MTM’ and two more for “Lou Grant.” The show itself would win an Emmy for Best Drama and others for its writing and acting (Nancy Marchand in particular).
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3. “The Jeffersons” (CBS)
Image Credit: Courtesy Image Spun from: “All in the Family”
Original Airdates: January 18, 1975 to July 2, 1985
The Scoop: The Bunker family’s African American neighbors got a series of their own in “The Jeffersons” when patriarch George Jefferson’s (Sherman Hemsley’s) dry cleaning business took off and he and his wife Louise (Isabel Sanford) were “moving on up” to a swanky apartment on Manhattan’s East Side. As a sitcom, the show spun from “All in the Family” was solid as a rock and packed with terrific performances. It was a top 20 show it the ratings for most of its 11 seasons and 253 episodes and often diverted from the traditional sitcom to focus on issues like alcoholism, racism, suicide, gun control, the KKK and adult illiteracy.
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2. “Frasier” (NBC)
Image Credit: Courtesy Image Spun from: “Cheers”
Original Airdates: September 16, 1993 to May 13, 2004
The Scoop: “Frasier” began its life on NBC as the child of “Cheers,” where Kelsey Grammer originated his iconic Frasier Crane character. It would go on to become successful beyond anyone’s wildest dreams, the most decorated situation comedy in television history — earning 107 Emmy nominations and winning a record 37 of them. That included four apiece for both Grammer and the actor who portrayed his brother Niles Crane, David Hyde Pierce. It also found the series winning Best Comedy Series for five consecutive years (1994 to 1998), an all-time record later tied by “Modern Family.” Few comedies can match its doggedly consistent performances and intelligent writing.
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1. “The Simpsons” (Fox)
Image Credit: Courtesy Image Spun from: “The Tracey Ullman Show”
Original Airdates: December 17, 1989 to present
The Scoop: What can you say about “The Simpsons” that hasn’t already been said? It’s the longest-running scripted series in primetime history at 750 episodes and counting over an unfathomable 34 seasons. It originally spun out of crudely animated “bumper” shorts on “The Tracey Ullman Show” on the then-fledgling Fox network, invented by artist Matt Groening while waiting to go into a pitch meeting. Several billion dollars later, it’s still on the air in its fifth different decade and remains a marvel of creativity. It sometimes doesn’t get the credit it deserves for keeping this thing going, and with a freshness that’s unmatched.
