Everyone knows that "The Simpsons" is the most successful and arguably best spin-off of all time, having been a series of shorts on "The Tracey Ullman Show" prior to getting its own pilot in 1989. But surely there have been many TV series both prior to and since that have far exceeded their predecessors. As it turns out, there are actually several, and we've picked our 10 favorites just for you. Give a shout out to some of yours that we may have missed in the comments below.
"Beavis and Butt-Head" from "Liquid Television"
We threw "The Simpsons" out early because it was pretty much the obvious choice when it comes to the subject matter. Therefore, it served as the perfect example. Surprisingly, it's not the only famous cartoon to have been born of a previous series. Mike Judge's own "Beavis and Butt-Head" was also originally a series of shorts run on the MTV animation showcase series "Liquid Television" which ran for a total of three seasons. During that time, the series also gave birth to shows such as "Aeon Flux" and "Celebrity Deathmatch" (although the latter was by association, as it was originally aired on the "Liquid Television" successor series "Cartoon Sushi").
"The Flash" from "Arrow"
When it comes to two shows that are both so fresh, it's difficult to determine which is truly "better" than the other. However, concerning these two specifically, it's a little easier to make such a call because they are both so closely related. And by that, we mean the two series literally cross over with each other when the need arises. That said, the creative direction of "The Flash" has the added benefit of learning from its predecessor's mistakes while also doing a much better job of keeping itself light and heavily comic book inspired in tone.
"Family Matters" from "Perfect Strangers"
Harriette Winslow of "Family Matters" fame served as the elevator operator at The Chicago Chronicle where Balki and Larry worked on "Perfect Strangers." In time, we were also introduced to her husband Carl, and from there the two gained enough popularity to eventually be spun off into their own series revolving around a middle class family living in Chicago. Had the addition of next door neighbor Steve Urkel to "Family Matters" not worked out as well as it did, the series likely wouldn't have survived. Fortunately, that character took the show from mediocre spin-off status to one that outshined its ancestor by leaps and bounds.
"The Colbert Report" from "The Daily Show"
Whose snark do you prefer more? That's essentially the question we had to ask ourselves when it came to this very close decision. While picking a winner here was about as easy as the average man trying to write political satire, ultimately it was the everyman appeal of Mr. Colbert that won this one over. After all, he's the one who has now been promoted to David Letterman's old position as king of late night television. Surely there's a reason for that, even if it was won by the skin of its teeth.
"Happy Days" from "Love, American Style"
"Happy Days," at least in this particular instance, is as close to the live-action equivalent of "The Simpsons" or "Beavis and Butt-Head" as it gets. Born of an anthology series with stories centering on romance with a comedic spin, one such story titled "Love and the Television Set" starred up-and-coming actor Ron Howard as a little character by the name of Richie Cunningham. The segment served as the backdoor pilot for "Happy Days," and we all know what happened from there. Ayyy!
"NCIS" from "JAG"
Speaking of backdoor pilots, "NCIS" was born in much the same way "Happy Days" was, besides not coming from an anthology series. Instead, it arose from two Season 8 "JAG" episodes which introduced us to Mark Harmon's Gibbs character and served as a launching point to one of the CBS network's most successful crime procedurals. Long story short, "NCIS" was born and your grandparents had a new and better show to watch once "JAG" came to a close two seasons later. Cue those hilarious head slap antics.
"Saved by the Bell" from "Good Morning, Miss Bliss"
Anyone familiar with the story of 1980s series "Valerie" will certainly be able to understand the origins of "Saved by the Bell" a little better. Essentially, it was born of an unsuccessful parent series by the name of "Good Morning, Miss Bliss." When that series was cancelled, the network that owned it retooled it, changed locations and relaunched without the original title character. In this case, it resulted in near instant success. While the circumstances surrounding this revamp weren't nearly as dark as those of "Valerie," you wouldn't know it from some of the fan theories people have come up with on the subject.
"Angel" from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" are about as neck and neck (unintentional vampire pun) as they come in terms of quality. However, a concept like Valley girl turned badass occult hunter is a little harder to swallow than vampire detective, so we felt that in terms of not polarizing an audience, "Angel" certainly pulls out ahead. Plus, like most of the other series on our list so far, it possessed the added perk of knowing which areas to shy away from and which to embrace in terms of what does and doesn't work based on its predecessor's occasional missteps.
"Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!" from "Tom Goes to the Mayor"
Polarizing doesn't even begin to describe the comedy styling of Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, and nothing is more telling of that than their first series "Tom Goes to the Mayor." While "Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!" may not technically be a "spin-off" by traditional standards, many concepts and characters from their original series have shown up there, including Channel 5 married news team Jan and Wayne Skylar. Without them, we would have never been graced with brilliant skits such as this, which in turn would never have come to pass without the existence of "Tom Goes to the Mayor."
"Better Call Saul" from "Breaking Bad"
It's always fun to end on a controversial decision, and it doesn't get much more disputable than this. We would completely understand if no one agreed with us at this point that "Better Call Saul" is a better show than "Breaking Bad." After all, it has only been on the air for one season while "Breaking Bad" was considered one of the greatest series to ever grace television. Our stance is that this show had plenty of opportunity to not exist, but creator Vince Gilligan decided to give it the go ahead. With everything he learned on "Breaking Bad," would he really risk tarnishing the show's reputation on a venture he didn't believe could at minimum live up to its potential? We think not. "Better Call Aaron Paul," on the other hand...