What Makes a Successful Spin-off TV Show?

Every year, we hear about how executives are considering a new spin-off for a successful show. Some of these become successful while most others fall flat. What makes a spin-off show successful? Why is it so many of these new shows collapse after a very short amount of time?

Successful

The first step in ensuring a spin-off TV show will be successful is to seed it from a successful show. The show does not necessarily need to be successful when it first comes out. "Star Trek: The Next Generation" is an example of a successful spin of a show which was not entirely successful when it first aired. "Star Trek" made the mark through syndication and gained cult status through the followers which saw it for the first time after it had been canceled.

Major Secondary Character

"Joanie Loves Chachi" is a perfect example of what can happen when secondary characters people are not fully interested in get their own spin-off. "Lavern and Shirley" was also spun from "Happy Days," but lasted for many more seasons than "Joanie Loves Chachi" due to the fact that characters had more of a secondary following through the original show.

Closure

If the original show has already given full closer to fans, a spin-off might not be the best idea. It can appear to be milking the original show and will be compared to the original at every turn. When "The Golden Palace" was spun from "The Golden Girls," the stuidos thought it would be a huge success since it starred three of the main characters from the original. The problem was fans had already said their goodbyes and were not interested in coming back for more.

Crossover

If a show can have strong crossovers from the original, it might become successful. "Empty Nest" was also spun off from "The Golden Girls," but had crossover appeal as members of each show appeared on the other during the run. This kept the shows fresh and allowed the creators to have one storyline continue for the entire hour.

Format

"Law & Order" and "CSI" have had many successful spin-offs since the secondary shows stay true to the idea of the first. "The Lone Gunmen" which was spun from "The X-Files" but did not stay true to the original. The problem was that the format for the show changed. The characters were still hunting down conspiracies, but there was much more comedy than on "The X-Files." It only lasted about a dozen episodes.

A spin-off needs to follow all of these rules to be successful on TV. It needs to be based off of a hot show and use make strong secondary characters into strong primary characters. The original show should not have had closure, and should allow for crossovers if the original is still on. The original format should continue through to the new show as well.