Best Television Spin-offs of All-Time
by statesnet975 | created - 20 Dec 2013 | updated - 20 Dec 2013 | PublicThis list includes some of the Best Spin-offs of all-time.
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1. Happy Days (1974–1984)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy, Family, Music
The Cunningham family live through the 1950s with help and guidance from lovable and almost superhuman greaser Fonzie.
Stars: Ron Howard, Henry Winkler, Marion Ross, Tom Bosley
Votes: 21,055
SPUN-OFF FROM: Love, American Style
2. The Andy Griffith Show (1960–1968)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy, Family
Widower Sheriff Andy Taylor, and his son Opie, live with Andy's Aunt Bee in Mayberry, North Carolina. With virtually no crimes to solve, most of Andy's time is spent philosophizing and calming down his cousin Deputy Barney Fife.
Stars: Andy Griffith, Ron Howard, Don Knotts, Frances Bavier
Votes: 16,954
SPUN-OFF FROM: Make Room for Daddy
3. Frasier (1993–2004)
TV-PG | 22 min | Comedy
Dr. Frasier Crane moves back to his hometown of Seattle, where he lives with his father and works as a radio psychiatrist.
Stars: Kelsey Grammer, Jane Leeves, David Hyde Pierce, Peri Gilpin
Votes: 95,329
SPUN-OFF FROM: Cheers
4. The Jeffersons (1975–1985)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy
A nouveau riche, African-American family who move into a luxury apartment building develop close, if occasionally fractious, relationships with other tenants.
Stars: Isabel Sanford, Sherman Hemsley, Roxie Roker, Franklin Cover
Votes: 10,596
SPUN-OFF FROM: All in the Family
5. CSI: NY (2004–2013)
TV-14 | 43 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Forensic scientists and investigators of the New York City Police Department unveil the circumstances behind mysterious and unusual deaths.
Stars: Gary Sinise, Carmine Giovinazzo, Hill Harper, Eddie Cahill
Votes: 49,544
SPUN-OFF FROM: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
6. The Facts of Life (1979–1988)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy, Family
Mrs. Edna Garrett, housemother and dietitian at the Eastland School, teaches a group of girls in her charge how to solve those problems that every teenager has to face.
Stars: Lisa Whelchel, Kim Fields, Mindy Cohn, Nancy McKeon
Votes: 8,511
SPUN-OFF FROM: Diff'rent Strokes
7. Laverne & Shirley (1976–1983)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy, Family
The misadventures of two single women in the 1950s and '60s.
Stars: Penny Marshall, Cindy Williams, David L. Lander, Eddie Mekka
Votes: 8,793
SPUN-OFF FROM: Happy Days
8. Melrose Place (1992–1999)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama, Romance
Classic serial drama around a group of friends living in Melrose Place, California.
Stars: Heather Locklear, Andrew Shue, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Thomas Calabro
Votes: 13,271
SPUN-OFF FROM: Beverly Hills, 90210
9. Rhoda (1974–1978)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy
In this spin-off of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," Rhoda Morgenstern leaves best pal Mary Richards and her other friends in Minneapolis, Minn., to try her luck in Manhattan.
Stars: Valerie Harper, Julie Kavner, Lorenzo Music, David Groh
Votes: 2,912
SPUN-OFF FROM: The Mary Tyler Moore Show
10. Saved by the Bell (1989–1992)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy, Family, Romance
A close-knit group of six friends get through their teens together while attending Bayside High School in Palisades, California.
Stars: Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Mario Lopez, Dustin Diamond, Lark Voorhies
Votes: 37,506
SPUN-OFF FROM: Good Morning, Miss Bliss
11. Family Matters (1989–1998)
TV-G | 30 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
The Winslow family deals with various misadventures, many of them caused by their pesky next-door neighbor, ultra-nerd Steve Urkel.
Stars: Reginald VelJohnson, Jaleel White, Darius McCrary, Kellie Shanygne Williams
Votes: 29,993
SPUN-OFF FROM: Perfect Strangers
12. Benson (1979–1986)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy, Family
Jessica Tate's sharp-tongued former butler, Benson DuBois, moves up in the world, becoming first the governor's "director of household affairs," then the state's budget director, then lieutenant governor and candidate for the executive mansion.
Stars: Robert Guillaume, James Noble, Inga Swenson, Missy Gold
Votes: 4,147
SPUN-OFF FROM: Soap
13. NCIS (2003– )
TV-14 | 60 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Follows the Major Case Response Team (MCRT) from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), as they get to the bottom of criminal cases connected to Navy and Marine Corps personnel.
Stars: David McCallum, Sean Murray, Mark Harmon, Brian Dietzen
Votes: 162,724
SPUN-OFF FROM: JAG
14. Knots Landing (1979–1993)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama, Romance
The residents of Knots Landing, a coastal suburb of Los Angeles, deal with various issues such as infidelity, health scares, rape, murder, kidnapping, assassinations, drug smuggling, corporate intrigue and criminal investigations.
Stars: Michele Lee, Ted Shackelford, Joan Van Ark, Kevin Dobson
Votes: 3,217
SPUN-OFF FROM: Dallas
15. Mama's Family (1983–1990)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy
Mama's Family originated with Thelma "Mama" Harper, and her younger sister Fran living together in Mama's house.
Stars: Vicki Lawrence, Beverly Archer, Ken Berry, Dorothy Lyman
Votes: 6,707
SPUN-OFF FROM: The Carol Burnett Show
16. The Joey Bishop Show (1961–1965)
30 min | Comedy
Joey Bishop stars as Joey Barnes, a New York talk show host, in this half-hour filmed series about the misadventures of a Hollywood public-relations man.
Stars: Joey Bishop, Joe Besser, Abby Dalton, Corbett Monica
Votes: 363
SPUN-OFF FROM: Make Room for Daddy
17. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999– )
TV-14 | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
This series follows the Special Victims Unit, a specially trained squad of detectives in the New York City Police Department that investigate sexually related crimes.
Stars: Mariska Hargitay, Christopher Meloni, Ice-T, Dann Florek
Votes: 124,458
SPUN-OFF FROM: Law & Order
18. Angel (1999–2004)
TV-14 | 44 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
The vampire Angel, cursed with a soul, moves to Los Angeles and aids people with supernatural-related problems while questing for his own redemption.
Stars: David Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter, Alexis Denisof, J. August Richards
Votes: 75,688
SPUN-OFF FROM: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer
19. Empty Nest (1988–1995)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
"Empty Nest" tells of the day to day misadventures of a widowed pediatrician named Harry Weston and his two adult daughters, Barbara and Carol, who have come back to live with him after failed marriages.
Stars: Richard Mulligan, Dinah Manoff, David Leisure, Park Overall
Votes: 3,955
SPUN-OFF FROM: The Golden Girls
20. Boston Legal (2004–2008)
TV-14 | 44 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Boston Legal is a spin-off of the long-running David E. Kelley series The Practice (1997), following the exploits of former Practice character Alan Shore (James Spader) at the legal firm of Crane, Poole, and Schmidt.
Stars: James Spader, William Shatner, Candice Bergen, Rene Auberjonois
Votes: 49,954
SPUN-OFF FROM: The Practice
21. Mork & Mindy (1978–1982)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy, Family, Sci-Fi
A wacky alien comes to Earth to study its residents and the life of the human woman he boards with is never the same.
Stars: Robin Williams, Pam Dawber, Ralph James, Conrad Janis
Votes: 12,650
SPUN-OFF FROM: Happy Days
22. CSI: Miami (2002–2012)
TV-14 | 43 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An elite unit, led by an ex-homicide cop, which is linked to the Miami-Dade Police Department, uses all possible resources and skills at their disposal to solve complex crimes in cross-cultural Miami.
Stars: David Caruso, Emily Procter, Adam Rodriguez, Rex Linn
Votes: 61,126
SPUN-OFF FROM: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
23. Adam-12 (1968–1975)
TV-PG | 30 min | Crime, Drama
Two regular police officers patrol Los Angeles.
Stars: Martin Milner, Kent McCord, Shaaron Claridge, William Boyett
Votes: 4,973
SPUN-OFF FROM: Dragnet
24. Maude (1972–1978)
TV-PG | 30 min | Comedy
"All In The Family" spin-off centered around Edith's cousin, Maude Findlay, a liberal, independent woman living in Tuckahoe, New York.
Stars: Bea Arthur, Bill Macy, Conrad Bain, Adrienne Barbeau
Votes: 4,698
SPUN-OFF FROM: All in the Family
25. Green Acres (1965–1971)
TV-G | 30 min | Comedy, Family
A New York City attorney and his wife attempt to live as genteel farmers in the bizarre community of Hooterville.
Stars: Eddie Albert, Eva Gabor, Tom Lester, Pat Buttram
Votes: 7,622
SPUN-OFF FROM: Petticoat Junction
26. NCIS: Los Angeles (2009–2023)
TV-14 | 43 min | Action, Crime, Drama
NCIS's covert operations team go undercover to investigate cases involving terrorism and National Security.
Stars: Chris O'Donnell, Daniela Ruah, LL Cool J, Eric Christian Olsen
Votes: 57,501
SPUN-OFF FROM: NCIS
27. A Different World (1987–1993)
TV-PG | 60 min | Comedy
A group of students at a historically Black university struggle to make it through college.
Stars: Lisa Bonet, Kadeem Hardison, Jasmine Guy, Darryl M. Bell
Votes: 7,914
SPUN-OFF FROM: The Cosby Show
28. Mayberry R.F.D. (1968–1971)
30 min | Comedy, Family
The further misadventures of the citizens of Mayberry.
Stars: Ken Berry, George Lindsey, Jack Dodson, Paul Hartman
Votes: 835
SPUN-OFF FROM: The Andy Griffith Show
29. Diagnosis Murder (1993–2001)
TV-PG | 45 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Dr. Mark Sloan has a knack for getting into trouble, negotiating the twists and turns of mysteries and solving crimes with the help of his son, Steve, a homicide detective.
Stars: Dick Van Dyke, Barry Van Dyke, Victoria Rowell, Charlie Schlatter
Votes: 8,605
SPUN-OFF FROM: Matlock
30. Lou Grant (1977–1982)
TV-PG | 60 min | Crime, Drama
The trials of a former television station manager, turned newspaper city editor, and his journalist staff.
Stars: Edward Asner, Robert Walden, Mason Adams, Jack Bannon
Votes: 2,399
SPUN-OFF FROM: The Mary Tyler Moore Show
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