Andy Sullivan: Against the Grain

Thu, 08/18/2022 - 8:41am — Diane Dyer

What was the longest-running television spinoff? Dallas ran on CBS from 1978-1991. The spin-off, Knott’s Landing, ran from 1979-1993. T’s rare that a spin-off has a longer run than the original. However, according to IMDB, I have a little more spinoff information.

Even though spinoffs create excitement, many often struggle to hit the heights reached by the original. A few have managed to do so over the years by maintaining quality and lasting longer. Some spinoffs have become even more appreciated than the original shows.

The Navy-themed drama JAG aired a backdoor pilot for NCIS during season 8 and, after a good reception, the show was ordered to series. Jag lasted for 10 seasons. So far, NCIS is on season 19 with no signs of stopping.

All In The Family focused on the Bunker family. Soon, they got new neighbors named George and Louise “Weezy” Jefferson, who became so popular a spinoff was created about them. The Jeffersons ended up lasting 11 seasons. All In The Family lasted 9 seasons.

Better Call Saul is in its sixth and final season. It has gone on for a season longer than its parent show, Breaking Bad. As a prequel, background stories of several fan-favorite characters are explored while new are introduced as well.

Law & Order is actually a show with one of the most spin-offs: SVU, Trial By Jury, Criminal Intent, True Crime, Law & Order and Organized Crime. And I think I’ve seen only one episode. But let’s get back to spinoffs and originals, shall we?

Happy Days, which ran from 1974-1984, was a spinoff of Love, American Style. The parent show was a collection of shorts about love in America. If you think Happy Days sounds like the show with more longevity, you’re correct. Happy Days ran 11 seasons. The parent show only ran 5 seasons.

Never has there ever been a smoother transition to a spinoff than this. After doing a great job as widower Phillip Drummond’s maid in Different Stokes, which lasted 8 seasons, Edna Garrett gets employed in a boarding school as a housemother and gets her own show, The Facts of Life, which aired 9 seasons.

Did you know the iconic show The Simpsons is as spinoff? The Simpsons is the offspring of The Tracey Ullman Show. The Simpsons have hit 26 seasons and counting. It’s predecessor? It ran for 4 seasons.

This next one, you might have to think back. Diagnosis Murder(1993-2001) was born out of Jake & The Fatman(or as it would probably be called today, Jake and the obese one). The spinoff ran for 8 seasons, surpassing the 5 that its predecessor was on.

Most spinoffs start at the end of the original show (except for the Dallas-Knott’s Landing that started this column), but Benson started while its parent show, Soap, was still on the air. The spinoff, which lasted 7 seasons compared to its predecessors 4, was developed after butler Benson Dubois left the Tate family to work as Governor Eugene Xs head of household.

The final spinoff I’ll discuss this week is Family Matters. In the fall of 1989, after two seasons on Perfect Strangers, the character of Harriet Winslow was given her own spinoff series called Family Matters. The show joined Perfect Strangers in the TGIF lineup. Family Matters eventually ran longer than its parent show. Perfect Strangers ran from 1986-1993. Family Matters ran from 1989-1997. There’s never been any doubt who made Family Matters push Perfect Strangers into obscurity. Steve Urkel (played by Jaleel White) was only supposed to appear in one episode as the nerdy neighbor of the Winslow’s but he literally took over the show, becoming arguably one of the best sitcom characters ever with one of the most recognizable catchphrases ever-“did I do that”. Admit it, you said it just like Urkel, didn’t you? (www.screenrant.com)