The 20 Best TV Spin-off Series of All Time, Ranked
The best of TV's follow-up shows, from "Angel" to "Xena."
It’s been 30 years since Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie first
appeared as interstitials on “The Tracey Ullman Show.” The origins story
of “The Simpsons” is now the stuff of legend: “Tracey Ullman” executive
producer James L. Brooks recruited Matt Groening to turn his “Life in
Hell” comic strip into interstitials; instead, Groening came up with the
Simpsons family, based on his own family (and named after most of
them). After three seasons on “Tracey Ullman,” a series was attempted —
starting with an animated Christmas special in 1989.
Now entering Season 29, the show is close to surpassing “Gunsmoke”
(which ended its run with 635 episodes) as the primetime scripted show
with the most episodes in history. “I can’t believe how many people who
work on the show have been working on the show for as long as they
have,” creator Matt Groening said
this summer
at San Diego Comic-Con. “It’s gratifying to be able to continue to tell
stories and come up with new jokes — and repeat some old ones.”
14. “A Different World”
- “A Different World”
- NBC TV/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
Unfortunately, the sexual assault legacy of Bill Cosby now tarnishes
both “The Cosby Show” and its spinoff, “A Different World.” But setting
that aside, “A Different World” remains a unique and groundbreaking
sitcom, set inside a world never before mined in comedy: a fictional
historically black college. “A Different World” also tackled issues that
“The Cosby Show” didn’t, such as HIV/AIDS and race. The show followed
Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) as she moved from New York to Virginia’s
Hillman College, where her dormmates included Jaleesa (Dawnn Lewis),
Whitney (Jasmine Guy) and Maggie (Marisa Tomei). Bonet left the show
after Season 1 because she was pregnant, while Tomei also departed.
Producer Debbie Allen refocused the show around the remaining characters
(including fan favorite Dwayne Wayne, played by Kadeem Hardison), while
bringing in several new ones, giving the show a much more relevant,
culturally significant take. “A Different World” ended its run in 1993
after 145 episodes.
19. “The Facts of Life”
- “The Facts of Life”
- NBC-TV/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock
You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both, and there you
have… a “Diff’rent Strokes” spinoff that in some ways surpassed the
original. Sure, “Diff’rent Strokes” featured very special moments:
Kimberly getting kidnapped, Mr. Drummond losing his memory, Gordon Jump
being creepy with Dudley and Kimberly (again!) discover her hair turning
green. But things never really evolved on that show. “The Facts of
Life” was all about the young women of Eastland School growing up and
learning, well, the facts of life. The show’s first season started out
too crowded (with original cast members including Molly Ringwald), but
by Season 2, the focus had switched to the core quartet: Blair (Lisa
Whelchel), Tootie (Kim Fields), Natalie (Mindy Cohn) and Jo (Nancy
McKeon). Mrs. Garrett (Charlotte Rae), previously the Drummonds’
housekeeper, was there to share sage wisdom. Eventually the action
shifted, as the girls graduated, to Mrs. Garrett’s Peekskill food
boutique (and later, novelty store). When Rae departed, Cloris Leachman
joined the cast, which also even later included George Clooney. By the
time the show ended in 1988, 209 episodes had aired — and those young
women had grown up.
Complete list (IndieWire.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment