30 TV Spinoffs You Probably Forgot Ever Existed

Television loves a spinoff. Once a show catches on, networks have an obvious question: Is there another character, corner of the story, or vaguely related premise we can turn into another series? Sometimes that gamble gives us “Frasier” or “Better Call Saul.” Other times, it gives us a private-eye version of “Baywatch” that suddenly starts chasing paranormal creatures.

Not every show on this list was a disaster. A few actually lasted several seasons, and some have devoted fans today. But all 30 are spinoffs, sequels, or unusually close extensions of better-known television shows that have largely slipped out of the pop-culture conversation. How many do you remember?

Norman Lear returned to the Queens house made famous by “All in the Family” for “704 Hauser,” but Archie Bunker was long gone. The new residents were Ernie and Rose Cumberbatch, a liberal Black couple whose conservative son provided the show's generational and political friction. CBS produced six episodes in 1994 but aired only five before pulling the series.

• Years on the Air: 1994
• Starring: John Amos, T. E. Russell, Maura Tierney, and Lynnie Godfrey

Avery Brooks' Hawk was already a memorable part of “Spenser: For Hire,” so ABC gave the character his own series after the parent show ended. “A Man Called Hawk” moved him from Boston to his hometown of Washington, D.C., where he continued helping people while operating by his own moral code. The series lasted 13 episodes in 1989.

• Years on the Air: 1989
• Starring: Avery Brooks, Angela Bassett, Moses Gunn, and Lorraine Toussaint

Following the enormous success of “M*A*S*H,” CBS continued the story with Colonel Potter, Maxwell Klinger, and Father Mulcahy after the Korean War. Much of “AfterMASH” took place at a veterans hospital in Missouri, where the characters tried to adjust to civilian life. The show initially drew a sizable audience but struggled after CBS moved it into direct competition with “The A-Team.” It lasted two seasons and 31 episodes.

• Years on the Air: 1983 to 1985
• Starring: Harry Morgan, Jamie Farr, William Christopher, David Ackroyd, and Rosalind Chao

“Baywatch” already had beaches, rescues, and David Hasselhoff. Naturally, somebody decided what it really needed was a detective spinoff. The first season of “Baywatch Nights” followed Mitch Buchannon, Garner Ellerbee, and private investigator Ryan McBride as they worked cases around Los Angeles. With ratings slipping, the second season took an even stranger turn and embraced supernatural and science-fiction stories. That overhaul did not save it, and the series ended after two seasons and 44 episodes.

• Years on the Air: 1995 to 1997
• Starring: David Hasselhoff, Angie Harmon, Gregory Alan Williams, Eddie Cibrian, and Donna D’Errico

When “Hill Street Blues” ended, Dennis Franz's Norman Buntz left police work behind, moved to Beverly Hills, and became a private investigator. The tonal shift was substantial: a character from one of television's defining police dramas was suddenly leading a half-hour comedy-drama. NBC produced 13 episodes of “Beverly Hills Buntz,” but only nine aired during its original run.

• Years on the Air: 1987 to 1988
• Starring: Dennis Franz, Peter Jurasik, and Dana Wheeler-Nicholson

Billy Connolly joined the final season of “Head of the Class” as Scottish teacher Billy MacGregor, replacing Howard Hesseman's Charlie Moore as the show's central educator. ABC then spun MacGregor into “Billy,” which moved him to Berkeley, California. There, he enters a marriage of convenience with single mother Mary Springer so he can remain in the United States. The sitcom lasted 13 episodes in 1992.

• Years on the Air: 1992
• Starring: Billy Connolly, Marie Marshall, and Johnny Galecki

Richard Grieco's Dennis Booker began as a recurring officer on “21 Jump Street,” the police drama that also helped turn Johnny Depp into a star. “Booker” took the character out of the Jump Street program and put him to work as an investigator for a large corporation. Fox gave the spinoff one season and 22 episodes before canceling it.

• Years on the Air: 1989 to 1990
• Starring: Richard Grieco, Carmen Argenziano, and Marcia Strassman

The “CSI” franchise successfully expanded to Miami and New York before trying something different with “CSI: Cyber.” Patricia Arquette starred as Avery Ryan, an FBI cyberpsychologist working with a team that investigated crimes involving computers and the internet. CBS canceled the series in 2016 after two seasons and 31 episodes. Its ratings were respectable by ordinary standards, but considerably softer than the franchise had enjoyed at its peak.

• Years on the Air: 2015 to 2016
• Starring: Patricia Arquette, James Van Der Beek, Peter MacNicol, and Ted Danson

“Day by Day” has an unusually loose connection to “Family Ties.” Brian Harper was established as an old college friend of Steven Keaton, and characters from “Family Ties” crossed over, including Steven and young Andy. The series itself followed Brian and his wife, Kate, who leave careers in finance and law after the birth of their second child and open a daycare center in their home. It ran for two seasons on NBC.

• Years on the Air: 1988 to 1989
• Starring: Douglas Sheehan, Linda Kelsey, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Courtney Thorne-Smith

“Deadline” was less a traditional character spinoff than an extension of Dick Wolf's “Law & Order” universe. The drama centered on the fictional New York Ledger, the newspaper that frequently appeared in “Law & Order,” with Oliver Platt playing Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Wallace Benton. NBC canceled the show after five episodes in fall 2000, although additional completed episodes were later broadcast in 2001.

• Years on the Air: 2000 to 2001
• Starring: Oliver Platt, Bebe Neuwirth, Tom Conti, Lili Taylor, and Hope Davis

Unlike most of the short-lived shows here, “Empty Nest” was genuinely successful. The “Golden Girls” spinoff followed widowed pediatrician Harry Weston and his adult daughters, with the Golden Girls occasionally appearing as their Miami neighbors. Kristy McNichol left the regular cast in 1992, and previously unseen youngest daughter Emily was introduced for one season. “Empty Nest” ultimately ran seven seasons, and Richard Mulligan won an Emmy for his performance as Harry.

• Years on the Air: 1988 to 1995
• Starring: Richard Mulligan, Kristy McNichol, Dinah Manoff, David Leisure, and Park Overall

Walter Sherman first appeared in a sixth-season episode of “Bones” that doubled as a backdoor pilot for “The Finder.” A military veteran who suffered a brain injury during the Iraq War, Sherman becomes obsessed with locating people and objects others cannot find. Fox gave the character his own series in 2012, but it struggled to build an audience. All 13 episodes aired before the show was canceled after one season.

• Years on the Air: 2012
• Starring: Geoff Stults, Michael Clarke Duncan, Mercedes Masohn, and Maddie Hasson

Polly Holliday's Flo Castleberry became popular enough on “Alice” to get her own CBS sitcom. Flo leaves Mel's Diner believing she is headed to a new job in Houston, but a stop in her Texas hometown changes the plan. She buys a rundown local bar and turns it into Flo's Yellow Rose. The series earned Holliday an Emmy nomination, along with Golden Globe nominations for Holliday and Geoffrey Lewis, but lasted only two seasons.

• Years on the Air: 1980 to 1981
• Starring: Polly Holliday, Jim B. Baker, and Geoffrey Lewis

“The Golden Girls” ended with Dorothy getting married and leaving Miami, but Rose, Blanche, and Sophia were not finished yet. In “The Golden Palace,” the remaining trio sell their house and buy a Miami hotel, where they work alongside manager Roland Wilson and chef Chuy Castillos. CBS aired 24 episodes during the 1992-93 season. Bea Arthur even returned as Dorothy for a two-part guest appearance, but the sequel did not receive a second season.

• Years on the Air: 1992 to 1993
• Starring: Betty White, Estelle Getty, Rue McClanahan, Don Cheadle, and Cheech Marin

When “Friends” ended, Joey Tribbiani packed up and moved from New York to Los Angeles to keep chasing an acting career. The premiere attracted a huge audience, but ratings declined substantially over the next two seasons. NBC eventually moved “Joey” to Tuesdays, where it faced powerhouse “American Idol,” and pulled the series from the schedule in 2006 before canceling it. Some completed episodes never aired on NBC.

• Years on the Air: 2004 to 2006
• Starring: Matt LeBlanc, Andrea Anders, Jennifer Coolidge, Paulo Costanzo, and Drea de Matteo

Coach Graham Lubbock appeared repeatedly on “Growing Pains” as a teacher and coach at Mike and Carol Seaver's school. “Just the Ten of Us” moved Lubbock, his wife, and their eight children to Eureka, California, after he took a job at an all-boys Catholic school. The series lasted 47 episodes over three seasons and became part of ABC's early TGIF lineup.

• Years on the Air: 1988 to 1990
• Starring: Bill Kirchenbauer, Deborah Harmon, Heather Langenkamp, Jamie Luner, Brooke Theiss, JoAnn Willette, Matt Shakman, and Heidi Zeigler

“Living Dolls” began with a backdoor pilot on “Who's the Boss?” Leah Remini played Charlie Briscoe, a friend of Samantha Micelli who is unexpectedly discovered as a potential model. She moves into a house run by modeling-agency owner Trish Carlin, played by Michael Learned, alongside other aspiring models. The show lasted just 13 episodes in 1989, but it did give a young Halle Berry one of her earliest acting roles.

• Years on the Air: 1989
• Starring: Michael Learned, Leah Remini, and Halle Berry

Mulder's conspiracy-obsessed allies from “The X-Files” received their own series in 2001. “The Lone Gunmen” followed Byers, Frohike, and Langly as they investigated conspiracies and published their underground newspaper. Its pilot became particularly eerie in hindsight: broadcast on March 4, 2001, it involved a plot to remotely hijack a passenger jet and crash it into the World Trade Center. Despite a strong premiere audience and generally positive reviews, ratings declined and Fox canceled the series after 13 episodes.

• Years on the Air: 2001
• Starring: Bruce Harwood, Tom Braidwood, Dean Haglund, Zuleikha Robinson, and Stephen Snedden

“The Brady Bunch” spawned the animated “The Brady Kids,” and that cartoon led to an even more obscure offshoot. Magical teacher Miss Tickle, who had appeared on “The Brady Kids,” became the central adult character in “Mission: Magic!” The animated series also featured Rick Springfield as a cartoon version of himself. A magical gramophone allowed Springfield to contact Miss Tickle and her students before they headed off on fantasy adventures. ABC aired 16 episodes in 1973.

• Years on the Air: 1973
• Starring: Rick Springfield, Lola Fisher, Howard Morris, Erika Scheimer, and Lane Scheimer

The “Beverly Hills, 90210” universe kept expanding in the 1990s. “Melrose Place” became a hit of its own, which led to “Models Inc.,” centered on a Los Angeles modeling agency run by Hillary Michaels, the mother of “Melrose Place” character Amanda Woodward. Despite the Aaron Spelling pedigree and a cast that included Linda Gray and Carrie-Anne Moss, Fox canceled it after one season and 29 episodes.

• Years on the Air: 1994 to 1995
• Starring: Linda Gray, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Cassidy Rae

Lieutenant Columbo famously talked about his wife but audiences never met her on the original series. NBC tried to change that in 1979 with “Mrs. Columbo,” starring a young Kate Mulgrew as reporter Kate Columbo. Peter Falk never appeared, and the show's connection to “Columbo” proved so awkward that NBC repeatedly renamed it, first “Kate Columbo,” then “Kate the Detective,” and finally “Kate Loves a Mystery.” The series ended after 13 episodes.

• Years on the Air: 1979 to 1980
• Starring: Kate Mulgrew

HBO's “Tales from the Crypt” adapted horror stories from EC Comics and became a cult favorite. “Perversions of Science” used a similar anthology format but shifted toward science fiction, drawing stories from EC titles including Weird Science and Weird Fantasy. Instead of the Crypt Keeper, episodes were introduced by a female robot named Chrome, voiced by Maureen Teefy. Only 10 episodes aired in 1997.

• Years on the Air: 1997
• Starring: Maureen Teefy as the voice of Chrome

“Pretty Little Liars” sent Caleb Rivers to the nearby town of Ravenswood and used the move to launch a supernatural spinoff. Caleb meets Miranda Collins, and the pair make the unsettling discovery of old gravestones bearing their names and photographs. They soon become tangled in a curse connecting several young residents of the town. ABC Family aired 10 episodes before canceling the series in 2014.

• Years on the Air: 2013 to 2014
• Starring: Tyler Blackburn and Nicole Gale Anderson

Stanley and Helen Roper were popular enough as Jack, Janet, and Chrissy's landlords on “Three's Company” to receive their own sitcom. “The Ropers” moved the couple to an upscale Los Angeles neighborhood and built much of its comedy around Stanley's clashes with their status-conscious neighbor Jeffrey Brookes. The show actually started strongly in the ratings, but ABC moved it to Saturday nights for its second season, where viewership dropped sharply. It ended after 28 episodes.

• Years on the Air: 1979 to 1980
• Starring: Norman Fell and Audra Lindley

ABC tried a second “Three's Company” spinoff immediately after the original series ended. Jack Tripper falls in love with Vicky Bradford and proposes, but Vicky does not want to marry after watching her parents' ugly divorce. The couple instead live together above Jack's restaurant, while Vicky's disapproving father buys the building and repeatedly interferes in their relationship. “Three's a Crowd” lasted 22 episodes.

• Years on the Air: 1984 to 1985
• Starring: John Ritter, Mary Cadorette, and Robert Mandan

Jennifer Love Hewitt's Sarah Reeves Merrin left “Party of Five” and San Francisco for New York City in “Time of Your Life.” Her goal was to learn more about her biological parents, while the series surrounded her with a new group of friends that included Jennifer Garner's struggling actress Romy Sullivan. Fox ordered 19 episodes, but weak ratings led to a lengthy hiatus and the show's cancellation after one season.

• Years on the Air: 1999 to 2000
• Starring: Jennifer Love Hewitt and Jennifer Garner

The CW introduced its modern version of wealthy inventor Tom Swift in a 2021 episode of “Nancy Drew,” setting up a series of his own. The character was loosely drawn from the long-running Tom Swift literary tradition but reimagined as a young Black, gay billionaire inventor investigating the disappearance of his father. “Tom Swift” premiered in May 2022. The CW canceled it after one season, but all 10 episodes completed their run.

• Years on the Air: 2022
• Starring: Tian Richards and Ashleigh Murray

Before Matt LeBlanc was Joey Tribbiani, he was Vinnie Verducci in the “Married... with Children” universe. Vinnie and his scheming father, Charlie, were introduced on the parent series before receiving a backdoor pilot and then their own sitcom. “Top of the Heap” followed the broke Chicago father and son as Charlie tried to maneuver Vinnie into wealth and high society. Only six regular episodes followed the pilot, although the concept somehow managed to spawn another short-lived show, “Vinnie & Bobby,” the following year.

• Years on the Air: 1991
• Starring: Matt LeBlanc, Joey Lauren Adams, and Joseph Bologna

Long before “Cheers” ended and Frasier Crane moved to Seattle, the sitcom made its first attempt at a spinoff with “The Tortellis.” Carla's ex-husband Nick Tortelli follows his second wife, Loretta, to Las Vegas after she leaves him. Nick tries to win her back, starts a television-repair business, and is joined by his son Anthony and Anthony's wife, Annie. The NBC series lasted just 13 episodes in 1987.

• Years on the Air: 1987
• Starring: Dan Hedaya, Jean Kasem, and Timothy Williams

Robert Smigel's animated “TV Funhouse” segments became a recurring part of “Saturday Night Live” beginning in the 1990s. Comedy Central eventually turned the concept into a separate half-hour series that mixed animation with a deeply strange parody of children's television. Doug Dale played the relentlessly cheerful host while his puppet “Anipals” routinely abandoned his planned theme and headed off on much less wholesome adventures. Comedy Central aired eight episodes from December 2000 through January 2001.

• Years on the Air: 2000 to 2001
• Starring: Doug Dale, Robert Smigel, Jon Glaser, Dino Stamatopoulos, Tommy Blacha, and David Juskow