The best and worst TV spinoffs

Possibly one of the most prolific spinoffs in television history, "Happy Days" started life as an unsold pilot repurposed in 1972 as an episode of ABC's "Love, American Style" anthology show. The popularity of the episode, combined with renewed interest in '50s nostalgia thanks to George Lucas' "American Graffiti," gave "Happy Days" life, leading to 11 seasons and an unprecedented five spinoffs of its own, including "Joanie Loves Chachi," "Laverne & Shirley" and "Mork & Mindy."

Of the five spinoffs spawned from "Happy Days," "Joanie Loves Chachi" represents the biggest failure based on the highest hopes. Unlike the other spinoffs, which featured characters who appeared on one or two episodes of the original show, "Joanie Loves Chachi" featured two significant characters in the form of Chachi Arcola (Scott Baio) and Joanie Cunningham (Erin Moran). Despite early interest leading to high ratings, the show quickly tanked, and by the end of its abbreviated second season, the show was canceled, and the title characters found themselves back on "Happy Days" in time for its final season.

The third spinoff from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "Lou Grant" was rare in that it was quite possibly better than the show it originated from. Starring Ed Asner as Grant, the show follows him to L.A., where he finds work as a city editor of the fictional Los Angeles Tribune. Whereas "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" was a sitcom, "Lou Grant" was a straight drama and ultimately a critical powerhouse, as the show won 13 Emmys, giving Asner the rare distinction of winning Emmys for both "Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series" and "Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series" playing the same character.

Decidedly less successful than "Lou Grant." "Phyllis" was the second spinoff from "The Mary Tyler Show" (preceded by "Rhoda"). Starring Cloris Leachman in the title role, "Phyllis" initially started strong, as it found itself sandwiched between "Rhoda" and "All in the Family," even managing in its first season to achieve higher ratings than either show. But changes in the second season led to declining quality in stories and as a result, ratings subsequently plummeted.

When "All in the Family" creator Norman Lear launched the show in 1971, his intention was for lead character Archie Bunker to have an acerbic foil which came in the form of George Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley), a black businessman every bit Bunker's equal, if not better. The popularity of that character led to a spinoff four years later which went on to become one of the longest-running sitcoms with 11 seasons and 253 episodes. "The Jeffersons" was groundbreaking television, dealing with topics such as alcoholism, racism, suicide, gun control and racism, remaining extremely popular with all audiences throughout its run.

Far less popular (or entertaining) than "All in the Family's" two previous spinoffs ("The Jeffersons" and "Maude"), "Gloria" proved to be a giant misstep, as audiences quickly showed they had no interest in the further adventures of Archie Bunker's now-divorced daughter, Gloria Stivic (Sally Struthers), as she left Queens for upstate New York. From its inception, "Gloria" faced a number of obstacles behind the cameras, and despite a solid cast, which featured Burgess Meredith, the lack of any creative input from Norman Lear or any of the other "All in the Family" production team led to a show begging to be put out of its misery after only one season.

By far the best of the "Happy Days" spinoffs, "Laverne & Shirley," focusing on the exploits of Penny Marshall as Laverne DeFazio and Cindy Williams as Shirley Feeney, ran a solid eight seasons and 178 episodes. "Laverne & Shirley" featured both slapstick comedy as well as a good amount of drama, as the show wasn't afraid to go into topics not usually broached in sitcoms. The resiliency of "Laverne & Shirley" included the early departure of Cindy Williams in 1982 due to contract negotiations gone sour, after which ratings managed to stay solid until the show was quietly canceled at the end of the eighth season. 

Part spinoff, part continuation, "AfterMASH" is largely remembered as an all-around bad idea, finding itself on "worst of" lists and generally treated as a punchline. The series opens up directly after the end of the highly rated "M*A*S*H" finale, following the exploits of Colonel Potter (Harry Morgan), Klinger (Jamie Farr) and Father Mulcahy (William Christopher) as they reunite in the states at a small Veteran's Hospital in Missouri. Although "AfterMASH" made numerous references to its predecessor, featuring stories about PTSD and other casualties of war at home, the series lacked both the humor and weight of the original.

When the crudely animated sketches by a little-known illustrator first appeared as shorts on "The Tracey Ullman Show" in 1987, they were a humorous diversion from the live-action skits of the popular early Fox series. No one at the time could've dreamed that it would balloon into the longest-running sitcom and animated show in television history. Spanning nearly 28 seasons, 618 episodes and a feature film, "The Simpsons" is a juggernaut that serves as a cornerstone of Fox Television programming, and despite its age, doesn't look to be ending any time soon.

Spun off from the barely popular "B.J. and the Bear," a slight rip-off of Clint Eastwood's "Every Which Way But Loose"/"Any Which Way You Can" orangutan films, "The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo" starred Claude Akins as Sheriff Lobo, lead enforcer of the law, in fictional Orly County, Georgia, as well as one of its leading offenders. NBC executives wanted to recreate the success of shows like "The Dukes of Hazzard" but preferred going after more urban audiences. The show was retooled after the first season, effectively killing off what little audience it had, leading it into cancellation and leaving a legacy of one of the worst TV shows of all time.

When NBC staple "Cheers" ended in 1993 after a successful 11-season run, it already had one failed spinoff under its belt in "The Tortellis." But the continuing adventures of Dr. Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) — a character originally written as a romantic foil meant to last a couple of episodes — proved to be every bit as popular as its parent show, lasting 11 seasons of its own. A change of scenery from Boston to Seattle, as Frasier took his psychiatric practice to the radio waves, with a solid supporting cast in tow, led to solid ratings and featured numerous cameos and appearances from practically all the "Cheers" cast. "Frasier" earned 37 Emmy Award wins during its run.

Unlike the runaway success of "Frasier," "The Tortellis" suffered a fate far less kind. Featuring Dan Hedaya as "Cheers'" barmaid Carla Tortelli's loutish ex-husband, Nick, "The Tortellis" drew low ratings pretty much from its premiere. Critics derided the saccharine storylines, which felt less than genuine, with characters who were much better done a couple of months later by Fox's new sitcom "Married with Children." After 13 episodes, NBC pulled the plug, and Nick Tortelli, along with his wife (Jean Kasem) and his children would make occasional appearances on "Cheers," without much mention to the failed spinoff.

Although she found her origins on MTV's "Beavis and Butt-Head," Daria Morgendorffer carved a true niche for herself in pop culture history in the spinoff to the Mike Judge original. "Daria," a show which had no connection to "Beavis and Butt-Head," up to and including zero participation from Judge, who agreed to release her for the new show, quickly gained a solid following, becoming an instant time capsule of the 1990s in terms of style and culture. "Daria" was one of the rare MTV shows loved equally by both critics and viewers, remaining to this day as a high-water mark for the network.

Smack in the middle of the success of "The Dukes of Hazzard," a decision was made to spin off the character of Enos Strait (Sonny Shroyer), the one honorable deputy of the corrupt Hazzard County, to a new show where he joined the LAPD. Lasting only 18 episodes, "Enos" never captured an audience, which disliked seeing the popular "Dukes of Hazzard" character removed from the show, leading to the show's cancellation and subsequent return to the still-popular "Dukes."

Spun off from the extremely popular revival of "Doctor Who," "Torchwood" represented a significantly more adult version of sci-fi stories that embraced themes such as sexuality and mortality in a way that the kid-focused "Doctor Who" simply couldn't do. Even though "Torchwood" was relatively short-lived, spawning only four seasons, the show has a cult following, largely focused on the bisexual adventurer, Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), spawning comic books, radio dramas and other tie-in media.

Whereas the critically acclaimed "Hill Street Blues" served as a somber look at the lives of police officers in a fictional, mostly undetermined city, the series' only spinoff, "Beverly Hills Buntz," following later season cast member Norman "Guido" Buntz (Dennis Franz) as he quit the police force to relocate to California and a life of a private eye, was more of a sitcom with dramatic elements. Despite the fanfare and strong marketing push, it found itself buried on Friday nights, ensuring the show never gained an audience, with only nine of 13 episodes ever seeing light of day.

The character of the self-important newsman Stephen Colbert, played expertly by Stephen Colbert, first found life on 1996's "The Dana Carvey Show," but didn't fully flourish until he joined "The Daily Show" in 1997. Once Jon Stewart took over from Craig Kilborn in 1999, Stewart encouraged Colbert to explore more political humor, leading to the faux conservative pundit viewers know and love. As his popularity rose, "The Colbert Report" started as a fictional program, but after Comedy Central liked the pitch for a real show, Colbert spun off and caught fire instantly. Were it not for Colbert being hired to take over David Letterman's "The Late Show," it's likely "The Colbert Report" would still be on air today.

When NBC announced that its most-popular show "Friends" was coming to an end after 10 seasons, fans were still hungry for more. So NBC decided to move forward with "Joey," a continuation of the original show featuring Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc), the handsome yet naive womanizer and actor who moved to L.A. to pursue his acting career. Despite spending a ton of money on marketing, the show failed relatively quickly, largely due to changes to Joey's character that fans hated almost from the first episode. Thirty-eight of 46 episodes aired before NBC thankfully put the show out of its misery.

Set six years before "Breaking Bad," "Better Call Saul" focuses on the early days of crooked lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) back when he was known as Jimmy McGill, an affable conman who is quickly losing his heart of gold. Like "Breaking Bad," "Better Call Saul" has become a runaway success with critics and viewers, holding the record for highest-rated, non-reality series premiere on basic cable. Finishing its third season earlier this year, "Better Call Saul" already has an impressive resume of awards and nominations, a testament to creator Vince Gilligan's desire to deliver a prequel every bit as good as its predecessor.

Once upon a time, the "Law & Order" franchise was bulletproof, with its first two spinoffs, "Special Victims Unit" and "Criminal Intent," running for at least 10 seasons a piece. When the flagship "Law & Order" closed its last case in 2010, creator Dick Wolf decided to take the franchise outside its familiar New York confines to Los Angeles. Unfortunately, NBC, in need of a hit to go along with "Special Victims Unit," wanted instant results, which in turn resulted in schedule changes and production changes, leaving viewers confused and frankly fatigued with the tried-and-true concept. NBC canceled "Law & Order: LA" before the end of the first season.