In media, a spin-off[1] (or spinoff[2]) is a radio program, television program, video game, film, or any narrative work, derived from already existing works that focus on more details and different aspects from the original work (e.g. particular topics, characters or events).
After the seventh year of Da Vinci's Inquest, most of the main characters returned the next season for Da Vinci's City Hall. The new series carries over some of the same plot threads, the difference being a slight shift in themes that began in the last season of the original series. City Hall is sometimes even referred to as the eighth season of Inquest.
Before the 11th season of M*A*S*H the seven principal cast members voted whether that season would be the series' last. Following the series' conclusion, the three actors to vote for continuation, William Christopher, Jamie Farr, and Harry Morgan, appeared in the post-war series AfterMASH, which lasted less than two complete seasons.
Six years after the British sitcom Are You Being Served? ended, a new series started up featuring five of the six cast members from the final season of the original show. The new show was entitled Grace & Favour (aired in the United States as Are You Being Served? Again!) and featured the characters from the original show transplanted into a new setting.
After three series of the prison-based sit-com Porridge, the main character of Norman Stanley Fletcher was released from prison and the show was retooled as Going Straight. It sees Fletcher trying to re-emerge as a valued member of society, having vowed to stay away from crime on his release.
At the end of its seventh season, Three's Company became Three's a Crowd following the marriage of Janet (Joyce DeWitt) and the departure of Terri (Priscilla Barnes). Jack (John Ritter) moves in with his girlfriend Vicky (Mary Cadorette) in an apartment above his restaurant, located in a building subsequently bought by her disapproving father (Robert Mandan). This development ended the gay ruse, with Mr. Furley (Don Knotts) taking credit for Jack's "conversion".
Having succeeded with Isa TKM, the original telenovela-like teen program from Nickelodeon Latin America, it has a spin-off named Isa TK+, with some of the same and new main characters, and new minor characters.
Girl Meets World is a spin-off of Boy Meets World where the show revolves around Cory and Topanga's daughter Riley and her best friend Maya. The series ran for three seasons.
Salty's Lighthouse is an American spin-off of the British children's TV series Tugs as it uses recycled footage and characters from Tugs.
Endeavour is a prequel of the British detective series Inspector Morse, with the main character Morse in his younger years. Another spin-off is Lewis (see below).
Private Practice was a spin-off of Grey's Anatomy, recounting the life of Dr. Addison Montgomery. The spin-off itself, introducing the show's cast, was set up during a season three episode of Grey's Anatomy. The series ran for six seasons.
All in the Family is responsible for several spin-offs. Maude and The Jeffersons both featured characters that began on All in the Family. Good Times was later spun off from Maude, making it the first spin-off of a spin-off.
The Dukes of Hazzard spun off TV series Enos starring DeputyEnos Strate. He was invited to Los Angeles to join a special police team after he had caught two infamous criminals in Hazzard. The series was canceled after one season and the character returned to The Dukes of Hazzard.
The series A Different World, a spin-off from The Cosby Show, was originally created as a vehicle for Lisa Bonet's character, Denise Huxtable. In an unusual turn of events, even though Bonet was written out of A Different World after the first season and returned to The Cosby Show, A Different World continued – and thrived – for another five seasons without her.
The series Diff'rent Strokes spun off in 1979 one of NBC's longest running sitcoms, The Facts of Life, where Philip Drummond's housekeeper, Edna Garrett (played by Charlotte Rae), became housemother and dietitian in all-female boarding school called Eastland. Rae's character was very popular at the time and, at the end of the first season, she got her own show that lasted nine years, while the original series ended in 1986. At first, Rae didn't want to leave a hit series, so she got a deal that she could come back if the spinoff didn't last; but the show was renewed for a second season, so Mrs. Garrett was replaced by Adelaide Brubaker (Nedra Volz) first and by Pearl Gallagher (Mary Jo Catlett) then. She only made one guest appearance after four years from her departure.
The Ropers was spun off from Three's Company. At the end of the third season, landlords Stanley and Helen Roper sold their apartment building and moved in another house in Cheviot Hills. Norman Fell and Audra Lindley got a deal that, if the spinoff didn't last, they could go back to the original series. The show was canceled at the end of its second season, only a few days after the deal expired, and the Ropers made only one guest appearance after two years from their departure on Three's Company, where they were replaced by Don Knotts, as new landlord Ralph Furley.
The only daytime soap opera to spin off a primetime soap is As the World Turns. In 1965, the producers capitalized on the popularity of the character Lisa Miller Hughes and created a limited-run show for her character, called Our Private World. A year after the nighttime show ended, Eileen Fulton, Lisa's portrayer, returned to ATWT, where she remained until the soap's cancellation in 2010.
Trapper John, M.D. was another spin-off from the movie M*A*S*H. When sued by the makers of the series M*A*S*H, the makers of Trapper John demonstrated in court that it was derived from the movie rather than the series.
The BBC series Doctor Who is the show with the most spun off media, most of which concern supporting characters, although a few are simply set in the same fictional universe. The first, in 1981, was an unsuccessful pilot featuring Sarah Jane Smith, called K-9 and Company. The company Reeltime produced a series of short films, beginning with Wartime in 1987 and going on to include Downtime, Mindgame and several others. The independent production company BBV, on their part, produced and released a series of movies based on the series including the P.R.O.B.E. series, Shakedown: Return of the Sontarans, the Auton trilogy, Cyberon and others (they also produced a range of audio spin-offs). In 2006 the BBC launched another spin-off, Torchwood, aimed at a more adult audience and featuring Captain Jack Harkness from the revived series. The Sarah Jane Adventures was more child-oriented than Doctor Who and produced after a BBC request for a Young Doctor Who series was felt to be inappropriate by the makers of the programme, and was influenced by a deal struck with the makers of yet another spin-off, K-9, which also used the character in question and ran from 2009 to 2010. In 2016, another spin-off, Class, ran for a single series, debuting online before being broadcast on the main BBC network.
Kinnikuman spun off Tatakae!! Ramenman, which depicts Ramenman in his native country of China. However it is not the same Ramenman as in the series and is instead an ancestor of the main Ramenman.
Family Matters is a spinoff of Perfect Strangers. Carl Winslow, the main character of Family Matters, was featured in an episode of Perfect Strangers. His wife Harriet Winslow was a regular cast member as the elevator operator in Perfect Strangers.
Ravenswood is a spin-off to the popular series Pretty Little Liars. The show focused on the character Caleb Rivers is moving to Ravenswood. Only lasted one season, the character returned to the former show's fifth season.
The Originals is a spin-off to the fantasy series The Vampire Diaries focusing on the former supporting characters Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah Mikaelson.
The supporting character Buster from the children's TV show Arthur got a spin-off series with 2003's Postcards from Buster.
Dil Boley Oberoi, an Indian soap opera is a spin-off of the television series Ishqbaaaz which focused on the characters Omkara and Rudra from the original series. Within few months, the spin-off merged with the parent series Ishqbaaaz.
Kundali Bhagya, an Indian spin-off soap opera of Kumkum Bhagya, focuses on the story of Preeta and Shrishti.
The Casagrandes is a spin-off of the hit Nickelodeon series The Loud House. It is focused on the new lives of Bobby and Ronnie Anne Santiago as they move in with their extended family.
Pearson is an upcoming spin-off of Suits centered around character Jessica Pearson as she embarks on a new journey in the political world of Chicago after being disbarred in New York City.
Supporting character getting own show (after original series ended)
The long-running December Bride spun off the series Pete and Gladys starring Harry Morgan and Cara Williams. Harry Morgan's character, Pete Porter was a supporting character on December Bride, constantly complaining about his mother-in-law, as well as his wife Gladys, who was never seen in the December Bride show.
Frasier is one of the most critically acclaimed and popular spin-off series of all time, based on the character Dr. Frasier Crane from the American sitcom Cheers. The series ran for eleven seasons (the same number as Cheers).
Three's a Crowd was another spinoff of Three's Company, where Jack Tripper (played by John Ritter) is now married and owner of a restaurant. The show was canceled after one season.
Joey was spun off from long-running show Friends after the show's final season. The show focused on the character Joey Tribbiani moving to Los Angeles.
Cory in the House was spun off after the series That's So Raven ended. It involves Cory and Victor moving to the White House; Raven has appeared as a guest-star.
Highlander: The Raven was spun off from Highlander: The Series, featuring the recurring character of Amanda. Highlander: The Series was itself a spin-off from the Highlander film franchise, featuring a relative of the film's protagonist.
Angelica and Susie's Pre-School Daze was spun off from Rugrats after the show ended the previous year, featuring recurring characters Angelica Pickles, Susie Carmichael, and Harold in pre-school. It is the second Rugrats spin-off series, following All Grown Up!.
Clifford's Puppy Days is a spin-off to the Clifford show and it revolves Clifford's adventures as a puppy.
Michael Tse starred in the film Turning Point, which was spun off from the TVB serial E.U. to feature his popular character Laughing Gor. The film recounts Laughing's life before the events of E.U.. He later also starred in the TV series Lives of Omission which recounts Laughing's life after the events of E.U..
The character Sheen Estevez from The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius stars in a spin-off known as Planet Sheen. Sheen crashes on an alien planet known as Zeenu after borrowing a rocket from Jimmy Neutron. After destroying his rocket by crashing into the alien antagonist Dorkus's home, he has to fix his broken rocket to get back to Earth.
After Channel 4 sitcom Desmond's was brought to an end in 1994 by the death of Norman Beaton, who had portrayed the title character, another popular character was featured in a short-lived spinoff series, Porkpie.
After The Closer ended, Captain Sharon Raydor became head of the Major Crimes Division in its spin-off of the same name, Major Crimes, replacing Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, upon her departure.
Ripley and Scuff from the CITV series Roger and the Rottentrolls were given their own series called Ripley and Scuff in 2002 in which the duo, alongside their sister Strid and baby barguest Bargie, visit schools across the UK and wreak havoc in them.
Sergeant Lewis, the assistant to Inspector Morse, was promoted to inspector and main character in the Lewistelevision series six years after the original series ended with the death of Morse.
Bunk'd was spun off from Jessie after it ended. It features the Ross kids (sans Luke) going to summer camp.
D. J. Tanner, Stephanie Tanner, and Kimmy Gibbler from the sitcom Full House got their own show, Fuller House, in 2016. The series features recently widowed D. J. moving into her childhood home to raise her three sons. Her sister Stephanie, and her best friend Kimmy, as well as Kimmy's daughter, also move in. The show features cameos from characters from the original show and is also produced by John Stamos, who plays Uncle Jesse.
I Am Weasel was originally a series of segments in Cow and Chicken. It was later separated and got its own series after Cow and Chicken production ceased.
The Magic School Bus television series produced a spin-off Halloween special in live-action called A Magic School Bus Halloween, where Ms. Frizzle who disguises herself as an old peddler visits some students who are lost in a museum. It also uses the first-season episode "In the Haunted House" and the second-season episode "Going Batty".
24: Legacy is a spin off series of the American serial drama 24.
Dallas, a hugely popular prime time soap opera, spawned its own successful spin-off series called Knots Landing. A continuation to the original Dallas series was also produced in 2012.
EastEnders is a popular British soap opera that spawned several spinoffs. CivvyStreet was a one-off prequel set during World War II. Perfectly Frank was a short-lived series following a popular character after he left the parent show. In 2010, there was EastEnders: E20, a spin-off show on BBC3 which focuses on the teenage characters (but had cameos from the main cast), which had a limited number of episodes (compared to the soap which runs weekly). In 2017, the spin-off Kat & Alfie: Redwater saw popular characters, Kat and Alfie Moon, travel to Ireland in search of Kat's son.
The Practice was a television series that ran for eight seasons on ABC and then was canceled. New characters who were introduced during the later seasons became so popular they became the main characters in a spin-off, Boston Legal, which ran for five more seasons—giving the franchise a 13-year total run. The show shared such similar characters in the same universe, the show began with the working title The Practice: Fleet Street, before the name was changed.
Strange Love spun off three seasons of Flavor of Love. Additionally, Rock of Love can be seen as a conceptual spin-off of Flavor of Love (other than the similar name, it is a VH1 show featuring contestants vying for the love of a popular musician).
Contestants from Rock of Love's first and second seasons went on to appear in Rock of Love: Charm School.
Contestant Daisy De La Hoya from Season 2 of Rock of Love spun off her own show Daisy of Love. It additionally features David Amerman aka 12 Pack from season one of I Love New York as a contestant.
Contestants from Real Chance of Love went on to appear in Charm School with Ricki Lake.
Contestants from Flavor of Love, Rock of Love, I Love New York, and Real Chance of Love (many of whom have also appeared in other shows listed previously) have appeared on the two seasons of I Love Money. A third season was produced, featuring contestants from Rock of Love, Real Chance of Love, Daisy of Love,Megan Wants a Millionaire, and For the Love of Ray J. It was however canceled prior to airing because of controversy surrounding contestant Ryan Jenkins, who was also rumored to have been the winner.[4]
90210, a second spinoff from the original series, began airing in 2008.
The BBC show HolbyBlue is a spin-off of Holby City, which is itself a spin-off of Casualty. All shows are set within the fictional town of Holby, and characters from the various shows often appear in episodes of the other shows.
The popular detective series Barnaby Jones began as the second part of a two part story-arc as a spin-off to Cannon.
The schoolroom sketches became the genesis to Cero en conducta (1998–2002)
Many of the other sketches and guest appearances of popular Mexican comedians would evolve into Humor es...los comediantes (1999–2001). For the entirety of both programs' runs there was a certain interplay between those shows, with cast members of one series appearing on another (Ortiz de Pinedo, Carlos Espejel, and Shamila were regular cast members on both series, and Maria Alicia Delgado, Teo Gonzalez and Aida Pierce were regulars on one series and guests on another), and guest comedians on the latter series also guesting on the former.
Ortiz de Pinedo invited back many of the same comedians who guested on the aforementioned series for Festival del humor (2002–2005) and Fabrica de risas (2006–2009).
Frequent Humor es...los Comediantes guest Mara Escalante starred in her own series Maria de todos los angeles (2009–present), playing several of the same characters she had portrayed on the former series, including the title character.
Newhart was revealed to be a surprise spin-off of The Bob Newhart Show when Bob awakens from sleep back on the older series to reveal the Newhart series was only a dream as former stated in List of Newhart episodes Series 8 Episode 24 "The Last Newhart".
Yo Gabba Gabba! has a spin-off called Hi Baby Boo both have the same segments along with Yo Gabba Gabba!, and started on Kickstarter.
The producers of the film U.S. Marshals stated that it was a spin-off from, rather than a sequel to, The Fugitive.
The 1999 direct-to-video film Bartok the Magnificent is a spin-off to the 1997 film Anastasia, which focuses on a street performing albino bat named Bartok.
In the 90s, Disney's direct-to-home video series, Disney Sing-Along Songs produced a live-action spin-off videos, including the 1990 video, Disneyland Fun.
Gargoyle's Quest is a series that focuses on Firebrand, an antagonist from the Ghosts 'n Goblins series. The latter also is host to another spin-off, the Maximo series.
The Kingdom Hearts series features a good number of spin offs that greatly expanded the plot of the mainline games, notably there are 4 handheld games and a smartphone game released between the 2005's Kingdom Hearts II and 2019's Kingdom Hearts III, all of which expanded the original thread of the story.
Bessie Bunter, in essence a female version of Billy Bunter by Frank Richards got so popular by herself that she got her own comic strip, aimed a girls' audience.
Bidule is a spin-off of Cubitus by Dupa, featuring baby characters of the main cast. It is drawn by Michel Rodrigue.[9]
The Bunty Boys by Herbert Sydney Foxwell originated from The Bruin Boys (aka Tiger Tim). The original comic featured anthropomorphized animals, but the spin-off made them human characters.[11]
Blueberry spawned out of the original comics series "Fort Navajo" in 1963, but after a few stories breakout character "Blueberry" got his own spin-off and the series continued under this title. The older "Fort Navajo" stories are available under the name "Blueberry" too. Other spin-offs, such as "La Jeunesse de Blueberry" and "Marshall Blueberry", were created too.[13]
Corinne et Jeannot by Jean Tabary, a spin-off of Tabary's earlier series Totoche.[14]
Cowboy Henk originated in a one-shot comic by Kamagurka named Meneerke Plagiaat.
The Adventures Of Kid Lucky is a juvenile spin-off of Lucky Luke for very young children.[30]
Kiligolo a spin-off created around the pet monkey of Perlin and Pinpin, from Maurice Cuvillier's series Perlin and Pinpin,[31] created by Cuvillier's successor Claude Dubois.[32]
Krazy Kat was originally a character in George Herriman's predecessing series The Dingbat Family, but got his own comic strip series three years later, which has eventually eclipsed it in fame and popularity.[33]
Klein Suske en Wiske is a juvenile spin-off of Suske en Wiske for toddlers.[34]
Marsupilami first appeared in the Spirou et Fantasio in 1952. He became a popular side character in a few albums. In 1987 he was given his own spin-off series, which depicts him living in his original jungle environment again. Between 2011 and 2013 this series in itself spawned another short-lived spin-off series based on his children, called Marsu Kids.[36]
Nero was a side character in Marc Sleen's The Adventures of Detective Van Zwam, but proved so popular with readers that the series was named after him instead: The Adventures of Nero.[41][42]
Patoruzú was originally only a side character in Quinterno's series "Don Gil Contento", but became so popular with readers that the comic was renamed after him.[46][47] Patoruzú in his turn also inspired the spin-off Isidoro Cañones.
Popeye was introduced as a minor character in the popular Thimble Theatre series in 1929. He became the shows's break-out character and the entire series was named after him.[55]
Rantanplan, a popular side character in the Lucky Luke franchise, received his own spin-off series in 1987.[30]
Snake Tales, an Australian gag-a-day comic was originally titled The Old Timer when it debuted in 1974.[63] Only when the character Snake was introduced two years later did the comic become more popular, too the point that the entire series was renamed after him in 1978.
Son of Jonah was a spin-off of Jonah and was published from 1992 to 1993, drawn by Jerry Swaffield.[64]
Spider-Woman, created in 1977 and immediately given her own series to prevent other companies from using the name, is a spin-off from Spider-Man.[8]
Star Wars: Darth Vader Down is a spinoff of the comic Star Wars: Darth Vader, which in itself is a spin-off of Star Wars (2015 comic book), which is a spin-off of the film Star Wars: A New Hope.
Tsjoem, a spin-off revolving around the parrot Tsjoem, a side character from Ray Goossens' earlier comics series Snops.[66]
Uncle Scrooge was introduced as Donald Duck's uncle in 1947 and became the comic strip's breakout character. In 1952 Scrooge received his own successful spin-off series which is still in syndication as of today.[67]
Ur Klackamo Dagbok is a spin-off by Gunnar Persson of Kronblom.[68]
The series Magnus Chase & The Gods of Asgard is a spin-off of both the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus book series, with Annabeth Chase, a character from those series appearing.
^Sanderson, Peter; Gilbert, Laura, ed. (2008). "1970s". Marvel Chronicle A Year by Year History. Dorling Kindersley. p. 161. ISBN978-0756641238. December saw the debut of the cigar-smoking Howard the Duck. In this story by writer Steve Gerber and artist Val Mayerik, various beings from different realities had begun turning up in the Man-Thing's Florida swamp, including this bad-tempered talking duck.{{cite book}}: |first2= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)