The Gamble Of The Spin-Off Game

The spin-off has long allowed fans to continue enjoying aspects of their favorite TV shows. Let’s take a look at the clever art of creating a fresh and (hopefully) successful series from a current hit.

To Spin-off or not to Spin-off, that is the question

Your favorite show is winding down. Most main characters have dated each other. A few have died—some even resurrected. And then there were the time jumps…

Pretty Little Liars nemesis pairing for spin-off The Perfectionists.

But the fan base is strong. Lots of subplots and support characters were never fully explored, and the crew work well together. This is where a spin-off is pitched and the network weighs the pros and cons.

All I can taste is coriander

Spin-offs are like perfecting a spice mix. The audience needs familiar flavors blended with new tastes.

Old fans need to feel the series is similar yet different to the original. New viewers need to believe it doesn't matter they haven’t watched the original drama.

Yeah, I'm on it.

The audience cannot be limited to fans of the original show. Being limited to a niche market is a one-way street to early cancellation.

Cult shows and prequel spin-offs

Most spin-offs are either set in the same period or after the original drama but in recent times massive cult hits have produced relatively successful spin-offs by pre-dating a popular series.

Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul is a prequel exploring the history and personal evolution of a character from the popular drama.

This one's funny I swear. So, a zombie and a human walk into a bar...

Fear The Walking Dead is a prequel spin-off to the hit show The Walking Dead. Both deal with different points in the timeline of a zombie apocalypse.

You spin me right round baby right round

And then there are the spin-offs of other hit shows that are happening but haven’t hit screens quite yet.

Popular series Suits is set to have a spin-off called Second City, following the character Jessica Pearson into politics.

I'd vote for her.

Game of Thrones has long seemed a spin-off goldmine due to having, you know, about a million characters. Turns out the first spin-off will be a prequel series.

When the spin-off is too different and you can’t sit with us

Fans were excited to hear of popular series Battlestar Galactica getting a spin-off, and that Caprica would follow the prequel route.

I wasn’t into BG but I really enjoyed Caprica. Most of my friends who loved Battlestar Galactica did not enjoy Caprica.

Caprica dove into consideration of religion and philosophy.

Convincing friends who loved science fiction but did not like or had not seen Battlestar Galactica to watch Caprica proved almost impossible.

Somehow the series’ spin-off status worked against it, and meant the drama ended up being cut off from potential fans.

Messing with a ship

Many viewers become invested in the romantic elements of a drama. Spin-offs have shown the risk of disregarding established or potential relationships.

The Vampire Diaries teased a Klaus and Caroline relationship, yet spin-off The Originals cut the ship short by sending Klaus to New Orleans.

Good times in Angel.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer took a more careful approach and wrote Angel and Buffy into a corner before having Angel depart for LA.

Pretty Little Liars spin-off Ravenswood separated couple Hanna and Caleb, and then compounded the issue with a new co-star slash past life love interest. (Just no.) New Pretty Little Liars spin-off The Perfectionists includes Alison but not her wife Emily, so we'll see how that goes...

When the spin-off gets a spin-off and this is getting meta

The Vampire Diaries birthed The Originals. In that series Klaus has a child with Hayley. Now a new spin-off focusing on Klaus and Hayley’s daughter Hope is in production, called Legacies. The series opts for a school setting, this time a supernatural institute.

Book learnin' the magical way.

Alaric and Caroline set up the school in the series finale of The Vampire Diaries. The character of Caroline isn’t returning as a cast regular. With two shows already it’s a complex backstory. Only time will tell if this angle will work.

Shout out to the best possible spin-off that didn’t get spun

Blogging about spin-offs can’t happen without mention of Supernatural spin-off Wayward Sisters. Dropping this series at the last minute was a television programming mistake on par with the early cancellation of Firefly.

Missed already.

Starring popular female regulars from Supernatural, the characters had complex personal histories full of tragedy and persecution, whose compassion and sense of humor was inspiring. The show already boasted a massive fan base…

…And the CW network pulled the plug at the last minute. Go figure.

Nod to the classics

I don’t think spin-offs can be mentioned without a tip of the hat to arguably one of the greatest combos: Cheers and Frasier.

To think a hit show about a group of regulars at a bar would then birth another massive hit by focusing on the life of one of those quirky characters goes to show what great writing can achieve.

Niles was my dad's fave character.

Despite being almost cancelled in its debut year, the network kept the faith, and Frasier ran for ten more seasons.

Difference between a spin-off and a franchise

Spin-offs follow characters, and a franchise is focused more on shows set in a particular version of reality. Star Trek and it's many shows counts as a franchise. The shows move along the timeline but remain in the same universe (excuse the pun).

Personally I always wanted to see a spin-off that was a Star Trek medical drama. Fingers crossed for that in the future.

The birth of so many memes... 

Recently a new Star Trek spin-off was announced focusing on life for Captain Jean Luc Picard after the events of the series and follow-up films. Yes!

The future of spin-offs

Audience appetite continues to be voracious but patience with new shows is shorter. As platforms expand networks are taking less risks while conversely needing more material.

I'm just sayin', those clone backstories from Orphan Black...

Spin-offs are bound to be in abundance in this kind of entertainment environment. An already present fan base is the go-to for today’s nervous execs. Here’s hoping the fresh brood contain that all-important ingredient for TV success: great writing.