A spinoff or spin-off is any

narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether non-fictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller ...

work derived from an already existing work that focuses on different aspects from the original work.

History

One of the earliest spin-offs of the modern media era, if not the first, happened in 1941 when the supporting character Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve from the old time radio comedy show '' Fibber McGee and Molly'' became the star of his own program '' The Great Gildersleeve'' (1941–1957).

Description

A spin-off (also spelled spinoff) is derived from already existing works that focus on more details and different aspects from the original work (e.g. particular topics, characters or events), and includes books, radio programs,

television program A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via Terrestrial television, over-the-air, Satellite television, satellite, and cable te ...

s, films,

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

s, or any narrative work in any medium. In

genre fiction In the book-trade, genre fiction, also known as formula fiction, or commercial fiction,Girolimon, Mars"Types of Genres: A Literary Guide" Southern New Hampshire University, 11 December 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2024. encompasses fictional ...

, the term parallels its usage in television; it is usually meant to indicate a substantial change in narrative viewpoint and activity from that (previous) storyline based on the activities of the series' principal protagonist, and so is a shift to that action and overall narrative thread of some other protagonist, which now becomes the central or main thread (storyline) of the new subseries. The new protagonist generally appears first as a minor or supporting character in the main storyline within a given milieu and it is very common for the previous protagonist to have a supporting or cameo role, at the least as a historical mention, in the new subseries. Spin-offs sometimes generate their own spin-offs, leaving the new show in its own series only vaguely connected to the original series; for example, the

police procedural The police procedural, police show, or police crime drama is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasises the investigative procedure of police officers, police detectives, or law enforcement agency, law enforcement agencies ...

franchises of ''NCIS''/ ''JAG'' and ''CSI'' have both spun off multiple shows, including multiple spin-offs from series and spin-offs from spin-offs.

Types and variations

Sidequels

A spin-off may be called a sidequel, a portmanteau of "side" (as in side-by-side) and " sequel", when it occurs in the same timeframe as the original, sometimes contacting with the main narrative at points. In Japanese, the word also refers to such contemporaneous spin-offs and is frequently translated as "side story".References for the translation of as "side story":

Crossovers

Sometimes even when a show is not a spin-off of another, there will nevertheless be crossovers in which a character from one show makes an appearance on another. Sometimes crossovers are created in an attempt to provide closure to fans of another failed series. Sometimes show producers will re-introduce a character from an older series into a later one as a way of providing a connectivity of that particular producer's television "world".

References