Surprising TV Show Spinoffs: You Won't Believe How Many Exist!

There are several TV shows that have created spinoffs, but some of these spinoffs have been forgotten. Among these forgotten spinoffs are Joey, a follow-up to Friends, and Mr. T and Tina, which was derived from Welcome Back, Kotter but had no connection to the famous Mr. T. Like these examples, many spinoffs have faded into obscurity. However, when a successful series does have spinoffs, such as Cheers and Law & Order, it's worth noting that they also had other related shows or sequels that were not as successful.

Not all forgotten spinoffs were failures, though. Some TV shows had niche follow-ups or by-products that only dedicated fans know about. Other spinoffs have been forgotten because they became popular in their own right. From classic sitcoms like All in the Family to procedural dramas like Chicago Fire and even the zombie horror series The Walking Dead, these shows have all had successful spinoffs. However, they have also produced other spinoffs that are not as well-known or fondly remembered.

12 Cheers

This long-running comedy series begat one of the most popular and award-winning sequel series of all time with Frasier. That spinoff continued to follow one of Cheers' supporting characters with a significant change of scenery, and a revival of the show is set to arrive almost 20 years after initially signing off. Before Frasier, however, the creators of Cheers experimented with another spinoff, The Tortellis, which revolved around Carla's ex-husband, Nick Tortelli, and his new wife, Loretta. Despite their popularity on Cheers, the characters were unable to sustain their own show, resulting in the cancellation of the 1987 spinoff after 13 episodes. Wings had a connection to Cheers as well, though it technically wasn't considered a spinoff.

11 The Golden Girls

The Golden Girls, a beloved sitcom from the '80s, is often remembered as a standalone TV show. However, it actually had a few spinoffs. One of these spinoffs was The Golden Palace, which served as a sequel series. The Golden Palace continued the story of The Golden Girls but without Dorothy, who had gotten married and moved away in the series finale of 1992. Just a few months after, Blanche, Rose, and Sophia found themselves back on television, either returning or remaining, with a new title and premise. They embarked on a new adventure as they opened a hotel named after themselves. Despite their efforts, The Golden Palace didn't gain the same level of popularity as the original show and unfortunately, it only lasted for one season. This one season consisted of 24 episodes.

10 Star Trek

Prior to that forgotten sitcom, Empty Nest was actually born as a spinoff of the popular show Golden Girls. Unlike typical spinoffs, this series didn't feature any characters from the original show. However, its origins can be traced back to a 1987 Golden Girls episode called "Empty Nests," which introduced the neighbors of the main characters and was initially intended as a pilot for a spinoff that never materialized. A year later, a revamped version of Empty Nest was created, with mostly new cast members, but still set in the same neighborhood. The show went on to run for seven seasons and occasionally crossed over with The Golden Girls. It even spawned its own spinoff called Nurses, which also had crossover episodes with both shows.

The majority of Star Trek fans are probably familiar with its many TV shows. However, the casual viewer may have forgotten a few of the spinoffs, including Star Trek: The Animated Series from the mid '70s. While many shows and movies have produced cartoons, not all of them hold the same level of canonical importance as Star Trek's Emmy-winning animated spinoff. Following the popularity of the original Star Trek series in syndication, Gene Roddenberry decided to continue the USS Enterprise's adventures in animated form. Remarkably, all the main cast members reprised their roles by providing the voices for their characters. Although Roddenberry initially removed the show from canon, passionate fans eventually restored its rightful status.

9 Beverly Hills, 90210

Star Trek: The Next Generation is widely recognized. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the subsequent installment, stood out for its setting on a space station and its more serialized format. Although disliked by many fans initially, it is now considered one of the finest Star Trek TV series. Following Deep Space Nine, there was Star Trek: Voyager, and then the relatively short-lived and forgotten Star Trek: Enterprise. It would be more than a decade before additional spinoffs emerged. Since 2017, however, there has been a plethora of new content: the prequels Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, the TNG sequel Star Trek: Picard, and the animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks and Star Trek: Prodigy.

The popular '90s teen drama, Beverly Hills, 90210, gave rise to the slightly more mature Melrose Place, which had a character dating one of the main characters from the original show. Years later, 90210 and Melrose Place were revived, and then came the self-referential reboot BH90210. However, one spinoff was missing from this lineup - Models Inc., which was cancelled after just one season despite being a spinoff of the successful Melrose Place. Interestingly, the same character that connected Beverly Hills, 90210 and Melrose Place also played a role in bridging Melrose Place and Models Inc.

8 All In The Family

Spinoffs of spinoffs are credited to TV producer Norman Lear. Lear's iconic sitcom All in the Family led to the creation of Maude, featuring Bea Arthur as Edith Bunker's cousin. This led to the birth of Good Times, the first spinoff of a spinoff, centered around Maude's former housekeeper. All in the Family also gave rise to The Jeffersons, a show following the Bunkers' former neighbors as they achieved upward mobility. It should be noted that The Jeffersons had its own spinoff called Checking In, which focused on the Jeffersons' maid and lasted only four episodes in spring 1981.

Additionally, All in the Family had a sequel spinoff called Archie Bunker's Place, where the main character ventured into entrepreneurship after the departure of Jean Stapleton, who played Archie's wife, Edith. From Archie Bunker's Place came Gloria, which revolved around the Bunker's daughter who was a main character in All in the Family. Unfortunately, Gloria was canceled after one season. Finally, in 1994, Lear created 704 Hauser, featuring a new Black family living in the Bunkers' former home. Sadly, due to poor ratings, this overlooked spinoff was canceled after airing only five episodes, with a sixth episode produced but never broadcast.

7 Happy Days

The most well-known spinoffs of Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley and Mork and Mindy, are remembered for their independence. However, Joanie Loves Chachi, a failed spinoff, brought the title characters back to the original series. Happy Days, the nostalgic sitcom that introduced the iconic character the Fonz, had a few other unsuccessful spinoffs that didn't last more than half a season. These included Blansky's Beauties, which was strangely set many years after the episode of Happy Days it originated from, and Out of the Blue, which had the absurd premise of a beginner angel being forced to live with a suburban family.

However, the most bizarre Happy Days spinoff was The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang. Happy Days and its spinoffs inspired a few animated series, such as the Mork & Mindy cartoon and Laverne & Shirley in the Army, where the lead actors of the live-action shows reprised their characters through their voices. Taking advantage of the creative freedom of animation, The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang not only involved time travel and a future girl character but also starred a dog named Mr. Cool with anthropomorphic traits. Later, two of the cartoons merged into Laverne & Shirley with The Fonz, where Mr. Cool also had a co-starring role.

6 Chicago Fire

Due to the immense popularity of Chicago Fire, which made its debut in 2012, a multi-show universe known as the One Chicago franchise has flourished, spawning a few spinoff series. Two of these interconnected dramas, Chicago P.D. and Chicago Med, were launched in 2014 and 2015 respectively, and have enjoyed comparable success and longevity. However, Chicago Justice, the third spinoff from Chicago Fire, arrived in 2017 but faced a less fortunate fate. While it was not considered a subpar show, nor did it lack a following, NBC decided to cancel this legal drama installment after just one season due to the network's inability to accommodate all four shows. Being the most recent addition, Chicago Justice was the one that had to be axed.

5 Law & Order

Similar to the One Chicago franchise, the Law & Order shows are part of the Dick Wolf Universe, along with other series like the various FBI shows, New York Undercover, and Homicide: Life on the Street. While the original Law & Order has had eight spinoffs that have come and gone, along with one TV movie called Exiled, there are two titles that stand out the most: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Law & Order: Organized Crime, both of which are still ongoing. Additionally, there were long-running series such as Law & Order: Criminal Intent, as well as the short-lived spinoffs Law & Order: Trial by Jury and Law & Order: LA, which did not gain much traction.

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4 The X-Files

, envisioned as a recurring anthology series that would depict a different real-life case each season. However, no further seasons have been released since 2017's Law & Order True Crime: The Mendendez Murders. Further in the past, and largely forgotten, Conviction (2006) focused more on the personal lives of its characters. This shift, coupled with the absence of the Law & Order branding in the title, undoubtedly contributed to its struggle with ratings and subsequent cancellation. Even earlier and completely erased from the memories of fans, Deadline (2000) was a swiftly axed show that revolved around the fictional newspaper of Law & Order, known as the New York Ledger.

While some fans argue that Millennium is a spinoff of The X-Files, the connection between the two shows was not established until after Millennium's cancellation. Millennium ended after three seasons without a definitive conclusion, but The X-Files season 7, episode 4, "Millennium," served as a pseudo finale for the series. This crossover retrospectively confirmed that Millennium and The X-Files shared the same universe, as both shows involved the FBI. On the other hand, The X-Files did have a true spinoff, The Lone Gunmen, which focused on the eponymous conspiracy theorists. The Lone Gunmen lasted for 13 episodes before it was canceled, and its final storyline was wrapped up in an episode of The X-Files.

3 All That

Besides originating the characters and premise for the movie Good Burger, the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series All That also resulted in Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell, cast members, getting their own sitcom called Kenan & Kel. Two other cast members, Amanda Bynes and Nick Cannon, also got their own spinoffs: The Amanda Show, a sketch comedy series, and The Nick Cannon Show, a semi-scripted program. All That also paved the way for other popular Nickelodeon series, such as Zoey 101 starring Jamie Lynn Spears and Just Jordan featuring Lil' JJ.

These spinoffs are connected more by casting choices rather than a common storyline, but the way they were developed is not much different from other TV series spinoffs. And the chain of spinoffs did not end there. The Amanda Show also led to another spinoff called Drake & Josh. Additionally, All That was instrumental in the creation of the '90s Nickelodeon cartoon KaBlam!, which further spawned the spinoff series Action League Now!, which combined shorts from the previous shows, as well as Angela Anaconda.

2 Doctor Who

In a way, the modern Doctor Who series can be viewed as a continuation or derivative of the original show, having its own series of seasons. In the interim, there have been some notable additions to the Doctor Who universe, such as the 1993 miniseries Doctor Who: Dimensions in Time, the 1996 TV special Doctor Who: The Movie, and several productions that technically fall outside the official canon but are still legally recognized and involve characters from the initial run. Alongside these, there have also been a variety of genuine spinoffs associated with Doctor Who, some of which have been somewhat overlooked. These include the companion spinoff TV pilot K-9 and Company: A Girl's Best Friend, as well as the companion spinoff series Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures, and K9. Additionally, there have been a few animated serials and the short-lived series Class.

1 The Walking Dead

Following its 11th season, The Walking Dead, the zombie series, concluded its run in the autumn of 2022. However, the show's journey is far from over. Fear the Walking Dead, a successful spinoff set in the same universe, has continued beyond the flagship series, with its expected conclusion in 2023. In the meantime, The Walking Dead: Fear City has embarked on its journey, centering around the characters Maggie and Negan's adventures in New York City, commencing in June 2023. Moreover, fans can look forward to several upcoming Walking Dead spinoffs, including The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, scheduled for arrival in September 2023, and The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live, a captivating series focusing on the lives of Rick and Michonne, to be released in 2024.

The Walking Dead: World Beyond, a less successful spinoff from 2020, often gets overlooked due to the franchise's numerous new storylines and complex timeline. Adding to the already busy lineup for 2022 is Tales of the Walking Dead, an anthology series that won't have a second season but will be followed by another anthology called More Tales of the Walking Dead.

In addition to these, during the early years of the main show, AMC released several limited web-series spinoffs on its website. These include The Walking Dead: Torn Apart, The Walking Dead: Cold Storage, The Walking Dead: The Oath, and The Walking Dead: Red Machete. Fear the Walking Dead also has its own web series, such as the longer Fear the Walking Dead: Flight 462 and Fear the Walking Dead: Passage, as well as the miniseries The Althea Tapes and Dead in the Water: A Fear the Walking Dead Story. It's worth noting that these web series are often perceived as disposable and inconsequential, leading many fans of the show to forget about them.