Television Spinoff

A spinoff in television is a new series containing characters or settings that originated in a previous series, but with a different focus, tone, or theme. For example, the series ''Frasier'' was a spinoff of the earlier series ''Cheers'': the character Frasier Crane was introduced as a secondary character on ''Cheers'', and became the protagonist of his own series, set in a different city, in the spinoff. Spinoffs are particularly common in sitcom. A related phenomenon, not to be confused with the spinoff, is the crossover.

Some spinoffs are "engineered" to introduce a new character on the original television series, just so that that character can anchor the new spinoff – that episode of the original series is often known as a "backdoor pilot". For example, the character Avery Ryan appeared in two episodes of the Las Vegas-based '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' before the premiere of '' CSI: Cyber''.

A revival, a later remake of a preexisting show, is not a spinoff. This is the case in ''Doctor Who,'' where the 2005 series which begins with a new Doctor but maintains the existing continuity. An exception to this rule can be made to series such as ''The Transformers'' where the lines of continuity are blurred. If a television pilot was written but never shot, it is not considered a spinoff. When a show undergoes a name change, it is not necessarily a spinoff.

Neither is a reboot series, a term recently invented for motion pictures, which can also occur in television (e.g. The ''Battlestar Galactica'' series of 2003 is a reboot, not a spinoff of the 1978 version). This is distinct from a revival in that there is little or no attempt to retain continuity, or casting, with the original. A recent example is the 1987 series ''Beauty and the Beast'', rebooted as the 2012 The CW television series ''Beauty & the Beast'', which keeps only the main premise of a female law enforcement official aided by a man-beast, the New York City locale, and the names of the two main characters. The CW's ''Beauty & the Beast'' was later rebooted again as a Max series starting in 2023.

NBC's '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (1999–present), which is the spinoff of NBC's ''Law & Order'' (1990–2010; 2022–present)), is the longest-running spinoff series in American TV history with its landmark 25th season set to premiere on January 18, 2024.

The following is an alphabetical list of television spinoffs by their respective parent series.
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A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

See also

* List of American television series based on British television series
* Television shows that spun off from anthology series
* List of animated spinoffs from prime time shows
* List of television series revivals

Notes

References

External links

The 10 Best TV Spin-offs of All Time

The 10 best (and worst) spinoff shows of all time, ranked



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