Many forms of entertainment compete for the public’s attention, but television has endured for over 50 years. TV has progressively grown into one of the most dominant mediums. It has evolved in significant ways, but the past decade has given fans some of the most beloved shows.
Pop culture has also become increasingly interested in connected universes and continued storytelling, which television often gets to engage in through spin-off series. There was once a stigma around spin-offs in that they can dilute the original series, but there are many spin-offs that actually surpass their roots and improve upon their formula.
Updated on September 19, 2022, by Samantha McPhee: Recent years have seen even more spin-offs come to the mainstream. However, there are already plenty of strong spin-offs that surpassed the quality and popularity of their iconic predecessors.
10 The Good Fight
Spin-Off Of The Good Wife
The Good Wife ran for seven strong seasons, but it also produced a very direct spin-off that has nearly run for just as long on Paramount+. However, The Good Fight developed an even more refined voice. Robert and Michelle King's The Good Fight is set a year after The Good Wife's conclusion. The spin-off ditches Julianna Margulies but doubles down on Christine Baranski's Diane Lockhart.
The Good Fight is very similar to its predecessor in terms of courtroom drama. However, the spin-off is less restricted with its storytelling and really gets to hold a mirror up to society in fantastic, challenging ways.
9 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Spin-Off Of Star Trek: The Next Generation
The Star Trek universe continues to expand even now. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine comes out of Star Trek: The Next Generation, making it a spin-off of a spin-off. However, DS9 is a Star Trek series that really has something to say. Deep Space Nine differs from the other Star Trek series because it's less interested in galactic voyages.
Instead, the spin-off looks at the political conflict and strategy that surrounds their control of the Deep Space Nine space station. The crew is left in a volatile position between feuding extraterrestrial species, which makes for an excellent premise for a sci-fi series.
8 Family Matters
Spin-Off Of Perfect Strangers
Perfect Strangers ran for eight seasons and effectively represents the wackier sensibilities of 1980s sitcoms. Perfect Strangers establishes its own legacy, but many don't realize that it's also where Family Matters' Harriette Winslow originates.
Harriette is a welcome presence as an elevator operator in Perfect Strangers, but she's certainly an unexpected choice to fuel a spin-off. Family Matters would run for over 200 episodes and become an anchor of ABC's "TGIF" lineup, but curiously, it's Steven Urkel who is largely responsible for this success, not Harriette.
7 Legends Of Tomorrow
Spin-Off Of Arrow And The Flash
The CW has done seriously impressive work with their connected Arrowverse. Arrow is the first series, which expands into The Flash and several other spin-offs. The most interesting and entertaining of these endeavors is Legends of Tomorrow, which assembles a cast of supporting players and oddball villains who have previously appeared in different Arrowverse series.
Legends of Tomorrow finds the perfect tone where it doesn't take itself too seriously and can engage in the chaotic silliness and action that a comic book series should. Even after so many casting changes, Legends of Tomorrow continues to deliver.
6 Boston Legal
Spin-Off Of The Practice
David E. Kelley is considered to be one of the biggest names in television and the 1990s were littered with his productions. The Practice was one of Kelley's bigger successes. The legal drama ran for eight seasons with Dylan McDermott and Camryn Manheim at the head of the series.
The Practice would eventually introduce James Spader's Alan Shore and William Shatner's Denny Crane, who slowly became The Practice's focus. This evolves into them getting their own spin-off, Boston Legal. The spin-off still functions as a legal drama, but it is a much more surreal and silly one.
5 NCIS
Spin-Off Of JAG
Police procedurals and crime shows are a staple of television, but nobody suspected that the Navy and Marine Corps would inspire such enduring television with NCIS. NCIS is its own institution, which makes it easy to forget that it's actually a spin-off of the Naval-focused JAG, which also ran for a decade.
NCIS has enjoyed much more success than JAG, having put out over 400 episodes in nearly two decades. However, its continued success has also resulted in many of its own spin-offs, like NCIS ventures set in Los Angeles, New Orleans, and Hawaii.
4 Happy Days
Spin-Off Of Love, American Style
Happy Days is an important piece of television that highlights both the power of nostalgia and the importance of a large cast of eccentric characters. Happy Days becomes a popular destination for a number of its own spin-offs, like Laverne & Shirley and Mork & Mindy.
However, Happy Days is actually a spin-off of ABC's anthology series, Love, American Style, which was a mainstay during the early 1970s. The episode "Love and the Happy Days" establishes the template for the '50s and '60s set comedy. Happy Days was incredibly popular and would go on to introduce iconic television personalities, like the Fonz.
3 Frasier
Spin-Off Of Cheers
Sometimes, the best spin-off series come from the most unexpected places. Cheers was one of the biggest sitcoms of the 1980s. It remained consistent and ended up on top after more than a decade. Cheers’ cast is large, but Frasier Crane is far from the most obvious spin-off candidate.
Against all odds, Frasier spends over 200 episodes exploring the snobbish socialite's life in Seattle with his family. Frasier's cast is a rare occasion where opposites attract when it comes to Frasier and his father, but the decision to make Niles a more intense version of Frasier is a stroke of genius.
2 Angel
Spin-Off Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an iconic piece of genre programming that helped put the WB Network and the UPN on the map. Buffy establishes many great characters and, after the show's exceptional third season, David Boreanaz's Angel was deemed strong enough to headline his own series.
Angel begins as a darker neo-noir that's more about adulthood than supernatural metaphors for high school and the teenage experience. Angel takes a season to find its voice, but it engages in exceptional long-form storytelling and character development, especially when it comes to Wesley Wyndam-Pryce.
1 Better Call Saul
Spin-Off Of Breaking Bad
One of the major caveats of a spin-off series is that it can retroactively taint the legacy of the original show. The prospect of a potentially more humorous prequel series to Breaking Bad that focuses on the exaggerated lawyer, Saul Goodman, made many fans nervous.
However, Better Call Saul turned into an enlightening character study that's an excellent exercise in tension. Better Call Saul takes its time, but once its pieces come together, it's unlike anything else. Bob Odenkirk has never been better, and Better Call Saul is an example of how the right kind of prequel and spin-off can effectively strengthen its source material.