In the age of reboots like Fuller House and Cobra Kai, people may forget about the good old spin-off. Unlike a reboot - which often stars the same cast of characters who return to continue their beloved shows - a spin-off usually comes not long after the original show ends, sometimes starring a couple of familiar faces while typically bringing on some new ones.
While some spin-offs make it big, like How I Met Your Father and Frasier, others are swept under the rug due to failing to live up to their predecessors and are ultimately forgotten.
'Joey'
Friends aired on NBC for ten mega-successful seasons and starred one of the most beloved ensemble casts in TV history. But once viewers saw that famous purple door with the yellow peephole frame for the last time, they soon saw a brand-new apartment.
Joey starred Matt LeBlanc as his titular character Joey Tribbiani after moving to Los Angeles to further pursue his acting career and reuniting with his sister and nephew. While the show lasted two seasons on NBC, it was canceled in 2006 due to low ratings.
'Planet Sheen'
All you 90's kids probably remember the Nickelodeon series The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius, based on the 2001 film of a similar name, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius. The movie-turned-show followed a young boy pegged as a genius compared to his classmates, including best friends Carl and Sheen.
But what you 90s kids probably don't remember is that the latter received his own spin-off after Jimmy Neutron ended its run in 2006. Planet Sheen aired for a single season that spanned three years on Nickelodeon and Nicktoons.
'Port Charles'
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General Hospital has been offering up love in the afternoon for almost 60 years on ABC, most recently celebrating their 15,000th episode and winning the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series in June 2022.
But what some soap opera fans may forget is that the show spawned a spin-off in the late 90s titled Port Charles, starring GH alums old and new and making its primetime premiere in 1997 before moving to the daytime time slot of the previously canceled soap The City (which happened to be a spin-off of popular soap Loving) for six seasons.
'The Golden Palace'
The Golden Girls was an iconic 80s sitcom starring Betty White, Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty, running for seven seasons on NBC and will most likely air forever in reruns. But after its 1992 series finale, the girls joined forces for another series.
The Golden Palace starred three of The Golden Girls' leading women, centering around Blanche, Rose, and Sophia after Arthur's Dorothy got married. While the show only lasted a short 24 episodes, Hulu has begun offering the spin-off to stream.
'That '80s Show'
That '70s Show launched the careers of notable actors like Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, and Wilmer Valderrama when it ran on FOX for eight seasons starting in 1998. But long before its upcoming reboot, That '90s Show, it launched a little-known spin-off called That '80s Show.
The show revolved around main character Eric Forman's cousin Corey and his friends living in California in 1984, being the only relation the show made with its predecessor. The spin-off only lasted 13 episodes on FOX before it was canceled.
'Sam & Cat'
Everyone remembers iCarly and Victorious taking Nickelodeon by storm in the late 2000s. Still, not everyone may remember the crossover spin-off starring iCarly's Jennette McCurdy and future singing sensation, Victorious' Ariana Grande.
McCurdy and Grande reprised their fan-favorite roles from their respective sitcoms, coming together to create Sam & Cat, following their growing friendship and babysitting business. The show was canceled after one season due to McCurdy's desire to leave the acting business and Grande's rising music career.
'Baywatch Nights'
Not long after his leading role on Knight Rider, Baywatch continued to bring success to its leading man David Hasselhoff for its first ten seasons on NBC, ending after eleven due to failed ratings.
But that didn't stop the show from spinning off into Baywatch Nights, following Hasselhoff's Mitch Buchannon as he worked the night shift as a P.I. The show only lasted two seasons, totaling 44 episodes before its cancellation.
'The Lone Gunman'
The X-Files was a popular sci-fi drama that lasted eleven seasons on FOX from 1993 until 2002. But before the show ended, it was given a spin-off that's since been forgotten by many viewers.
The Lone Gunman centered around the computer geniuses that would always help Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, airing for just one season before getting canceled, forcing The X-Files to later clean up the show's finale cliffhanger.
'The Finder'
In the middle of Bones' twelve-season run on FOX, the network aired a short-lived spin-off titled The Finder after Bones released a backdoor pilot for the show in a Season 6 episode of the same name.
The Finder starred Geoff Stults and the late Michael Clarke Duncan, whose characters Major Walter Sherman and Leo Knox team up as "finders," tasked with finding people and things law enforcement cannot. Despite its popular cast and interesting plot, the series only lasted thirteen episodes.
'Time Of Your Life'
Party of Five rose to fame with actresses like Neve Campbell, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Hallmark Channel starlet Lacey Chabert. Airing for six seasons on FOX before its cancellation, one popular cast member reprised their role for the show's spin-off.
Time of Your Life lasted only one season and starred Hewitt as Sarah Reeves Merrin, who takes off to New York in search of her biological father. After low ratings caused a five-month hiatus, the show returned during FOX's summer programming block, only to be canceled with seven episodes left unaired.