5 Surprising Television Spin-Offs

Television spin-offs are a staple of the TV landscape. A spin-off is a television show based around a character or "universe" from an existing show, focusing on a different element or running with a beloved character. It's common for spin-offs to be crafted around the time a popular TV show ends, such as the short lived Joey following NBC's hit sitcom Friends. For this reason, it's usually easy to pick out which TV show a spin-off originated from.

Not all TV spin-offs are so easy to pick out, however. Several spin-offs throughout the years have popped up, often with very little connection to the show that originally inspired them. Here's a look at the five most surprising television spin-offs, and the shows from whence they came.

Family Matters

This show was hugely popular as part of ABC's kid-focused TGIF Friday night lineup in the late '80s to mid '90s. Family Matters focused on Chicago's Winslow family and their nerdy neighbor, Steve Urkel.

Fans may not remember Winslow family matriarch Harriette began as a minor character on another ABC show, buddy comedy Perfect Strangers. Harriette Winslow was a character for two seasons, playing an elevator operator and later a security guard at the Chicago Chronicle, the fictional newspaper where Perfect Strangers' main characters worked.

Good Times

Good Times was also set in Chicago, though over a decade before Family Matters came on the air. This show featured the Evans family, including eldest son JJ - best remembered for his catchphrase "Dy-no-MITE!". Young Janet Jackson made her acting debut as character Penny, in an episode speaking out about child abuse. Penny would go on to become a regular character on the show.

Good Times wasn't just a spin-off - it was a spin-off of a spin-off. Good Times originated from Maude, a '70s sitcom featuring Bea Arthur as the title character. Similar to Family Matters, Good Times' spin-off originated from the matriarchal character; Florida Evans played Maude's housekeeper. The outspoken Maude character was a cousin of Edith Bunker, and thus Maude was spun off from the popular sitcom All in the Family. All in the Family spawned more than half a dozen spin-offs, including The Jeffersons.

Sesame Street

Another surprising television spin-off is the hugely popular children's program Sesame Street. This show, featuring Jim Henson's famous Muppet puppets, has spawned several spinoffs in its own right: The Muppet Show and cartoon Muppet Babies are among the extensions of the Sesame Street franchise. Sesame Street is currently celebrating its 40^th season, making it the longest-running children's show in television history.

Sesame Street had its humble beginnings in a show called Sam and Friends, also created by Jim Henson. This black-and-white puppet show was broadcast locally in the Washington, D.C. area, from 1955 to 1961. Beloved character Kermit the Frog was the only Muppet to make the jump from Sam and Friends to Sesame Street, however.

Mork and Mindy

Mork and Mindy aired on ABC in the late '70s and early '80s. This sitcom featured Robin Williams as Mork, an alien who comes to Earth from the planet Ork to study the behavior of humans. He finds a friend and roommate in the Mindy character, played by Pam Dawber. By the end of the series, Mork and Mindy fell in love, and married in the show's final season.

It's hard to believe, but this show was spun-off based on a single episode of another show. In season five of Happy Days, the Mork character appears. He attempts to abduct main character Richie Cunningham, only to have his plan spoiled by none other than The Fonz. This took place in the same season that Fonzie famously "jumped the shark". "Jumping the shark" is a pop culture term for when a television show goes sour, typically following a change in writers or the departure of a lead character. This term originated from the season premiere of of Happy Days' fifth season, when the Fonzie character jumped over a shark while water skiing.

Happy Days

While we're on the topic of Happy Days, that show is - yep, you guessed it...also a spin-off. The original concept for Happy Days, as written by Garry Marshall, was entitled New Family in Town. When he failed to successfully pitch the show to the major television networks, the pilot was sold for use as a skit on Love, American Style entitled "Love and the Happy Days". The show was later picked up by ABC and went on to air for 11 seasons.

Happy Days was set in the late '50s and early '60s in Milwaukee, WI, and was a nostalgic look back at an idealized American life during that time period. Acclaimed director Ron Howard starred as Richie Cunningham, a clean-cut average teen. Happy Days focused on Richie and his family, his friends and their favorite hangout, Arnold's Drive-In. Happy Days, like All in the Family, spawned several spin-offs, including Laverne & Shirley, starring writer Garry Marshall's sister Penny in her Golden Globe-nominated role as Laverne.

Source:

Wikipedia. "List of television spin-offs."