19 TV Shows You Probably Didn’t Realize Were Spinoffs

7. Maude

The central character of Maude first appeared on All in the Family Season 2 Episode 12 “Cousin Maude’s Visit” in December 1971. Maude Findlay, played by Bea Arthur, appeared as Edith Bunker’s cousin and harbored a dislike for Edith’s husband Archie.

Maude and Archie constantly got on each other’s nerves with Maude serving as a liberal foil to Archie’s conservative beliefs. When Maude appeared a second time, it was during a family wedding that set up the premise for the new series.

Maude premiered in September 1972 and followed Maude and her third husband Walter.

The show dealt with several serious issues with one of the most-watched episodes being the Season 4 Episode 17s and 18 “Maude’s Dilemma” where Maude discovered she was pregnant at 47 and decided to get an abortion. The show also tackled menopause and women’s liberation.

8. Xena: Warrior Princess

If you grew up in the late 90s, you have probably heard of Xena: Warrior Princess, but you may not remember that Lucy Lawless’ iconic character originally appeared on Hercules: The Legendary Journeys!

The saga that created Xena: Warrior Princess began with three guest appearances on Hercules.

Originally Xena was supposed to die after the third appearance, but when the producers recognized the popularity of her character, they decided to create a spin-off series based on Xena’s adventures.

The show was an astounding success with the series soaring past its predecessor in ratings and popularity. The show aired in more than 108 countries across the world and created many TV tie-in products such as books, video games, comics, and conventions.

9. Law and Order: Special Victims Unit

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is the longest running spinoff on this list. Reaching the 400-episode milestone this year, this spin-off follows a sex crimes unit in New York City.

Yes, it is part of the Law & Order franchise, but this series pulled characters from two shows and placed them into this new SVU unit. The first was Dan Florek’s Don Cragen, who appeared on the original Law & Order for three seasons before the network wrote him out.

Then when Homicide: Life on the Street was canceled, Richard Belzer’s John Munch was added to the cast as well, although his addition required the consent of Tom Fontana and Barry Levinson.

Currently in its nineteenth season, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit has continued to pull in high ratings, despite its seniority in the network lineup. The show has aired over 400 episodes and continues to produce more.

10. The Jeffersons

The Jeffersons is one of the longest-running sitcoms, but did you know that it is also a spin-off? Louise Jefferson first appeared on All in the Family Season 1 Episode 8 “Lionel Moves into the Neighborhood.”

The episode centered around Louise, her son Lionel, and her husband George moving next door to Archie and Edith Bunker in the working-class section of Queens.

The family continued to appear on All in the Family until The Jeffersons was created in 1975. The series was the first to prominently feature an interracial couple when they wrote Lionel’s biracial fiancé Jenny into the show.

11. The Finder

The Finder was a one-season series that was spun off of Bones back in 2012. The drama, starring Geoff Stults, premiered with Bones Season 6 Episode 19 “The Finder” serving as a backdoor pilot, in which booth and Brennan travel to Key West, Florida.

The Finder centers around retired army major, Walter Sherman. Walter suffered a traumatic brain injury during the Iraq War when a roadside bomb exploded. Walter was the sole survivor of the explosion, and the accident left him paranoid, suspicious, and quirky.

However, the injury allows him to be able to find anything because of his ability to see patterns where others don’t, and his ability meant that some very rich, very influential people owed him a lot of favors.

12. Fraiser

The sitcom Fraiser was created after fans took to the introduction of psychiatrist Fraiser Crane. Fraiser Crane was introduced on Cheers Season 3 Episode 1 “Rebound, Part I” as Sam’s psychiatrist and Diane Chambers’ boyfriend. During Season 3, Fraiser and Diane got engaged but she left him at the altar. Fraiser would later marry Lilith Sternin.

After making recurring appearances on Cheers, through the series finale Cheers Season 11 Episode 28 “One For the Road,” the producers began to develop a spin-off for the character.

The producers decided to have the psychiatrist return to his hometown of Seattle to start a new life after his divorce from fellow psychiatrist Lilith. In Seattle, he would move in with his father and start a radio show.

Unlike many other spin-offs, producers David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee didn’t want the show to draw direct comparisons to Cheers. So they set the series as far away from Boston as possible in order to keep network executives from demanding appearances from other Cheers characters.

13. Stargate: Atlantis

Yes, Stargate: SG-1 was adapted from a movie, but the popular series later spawned a new incarnation when they discovered a base in Antarctica and began looking for the lost city of Atlantis.

Stargate: SG-1 Episodes 21 and 22 “Lost City,” and Season 8 Episodes 1 and 2 “New World Order” set up for the spinoff as Colonel Jack O’Neill and his team search for a city inhabited by the first evolution of humans. What they find is an outpost base in Antartica. Stargate: Atlantis Season 1 Episode 1 “Rising” introduces the audience to an international research team working with the technology found there.

The series used two characters viewers had been previously introduced to. The first was Rodney McKay, an egotistical scientist who constantly challenged SG-1’s astrophysicist Samantha Carter. They also took “Lost City” and “New Order” character Elizabeth Weir and placed her in charge of the expedition.

The location of the city to another galaxy imposed new travel restrictions, stranding this new team in a galaxy with no way to reach Earth. This not only helped the producers answer the question as to why SG-1 wouldn’t be running to the Atlantis base’s aid every episode but also came with a sense of freedom to play with new ideas and stories instead of adhering to the standard set by Stargate: SG-1.

Stargate: Atlantis was a ratings success for the SciFi Channel during its five-year run, up until its cancellation in 2009.

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