# most generations of spin-offs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 9, 2016, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919 "2016-06-09T14:48:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TGWATY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5e925/32.png) [@TGWATY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TGWATY)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/1 "2016-06-09T14:48:57Z")
This is a question about TV show spin-offs. For my purpose I want to be strict about what we mean by a spin-off. I would say a spin-off is strictly when a character or place is introduced in one series and then gets its own series. _Gomer Pyle, USMC_ is a spin-off of _The Andy Griffith Show_ because Gomer Pyle was a character on the Andy Griffith show before _Gomer Pyle, USMC_. I would not consider _Star Trek: The Next Generation_ a spin-off of\* Star Trek: TOS\*. It is more a continuation or sequel to the original series. If Harry Mudd had gotten his own show, that would be a spin-off. That said, if you want to include shows that are not strictly spin-offs in your answers, I think that it is still interesting but I might call you on it for not strictly satisfying the question. The question is: what is the most number of spin-off generations of a TV show? By generations I mean spin-offs of spin-offs. If Sgt Carter had gotten his own show, then that would be three generations: Andy Griffith Show --\> Gomer Pyle, USMC --\> Sgt Carter show . But if Barney Fife had gotten his own show, then Gomer Pyle, USMC and the Barney Fife show would be parallel “sibling” spin-offs and still part of only two generations of the Andy Griffith show. There are many, many examples of two generations. I’m sure there must be examples of three generation shows (but I can’t think of any at the moment so please share!) But are there any instances of four generations? ---
**Author:** ![Reluctant\_A](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@Reluctant\_A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reluctant_A)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/2 "2016-06-09T14:56:12Z")
Do any of the _NCIS_ shows qualify under your premise? All of them were introduced as backdoor pilots on _NCIS_, and _NCIS_ was, itself, introduced as a backdoor pilot on _JAG_. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/3 "2016-06-09T15:00:28Z")
> [@Reluctant\_A](#): > > Do any of the _NCIS_ shows qualify under your premise? All of them were introduced as backdoor pilots on _NCIS_, and _NCIS_ was, itself, introduced as a backdoor pilot on _JAG_. The same question applies to all the versions of Law & Order, which has had at least 3 series coming out of the original. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Shine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr_shine/32/464_2.png) [@Mr\_Shine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Shine)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/4 "2016-06-09T15:03:54Z")
An obvious triple is Love American Style\>Happy Days\>(Mork and Mindy, Laverne and Shirley) I don’t know if any M&M or L&S characters got their own show though. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/5 "2016-06-09T15:05:48Z")
_The Andy Griffith Show_ itself was spun off from an episode of _The Danny Thomas Show_. _Mork and Mindy_ was similarly spun off from an episode of _Happy Days_, and a series about an angel on Earth that flopped was spun off from _Mork & Mindy_. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/6 "2016-06-09T15:06:45Z")
All in the Family spun off Maude, which in turn spun off Good Times. It also spun off The Jeffersons, and that show spun off the short-lived Checking In, with feisty maid Florence becoming an executive housekeeper of a hotel. So Checking In and Good Times are first cousins, but each “generation” is still only three steps. Finally, AitF spun off Archie Bunker’s Place, which remained childless. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/7 "2016-06-09T15:07:02Z")
How about the Beverly Hillbillies \> Green Acres \< Petticoat Junction I wrote it that way because it was sort of a three way package. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/8 "2016-06-09T15:12:09Z")
If Marvel’s Most Wanted had been picked up, it would have been a spin-off of Agents of SHIELD which was a spin off of The Avengers (which you could argue is a sequel to Iron Man). ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/9 "2016-06-09T15:18:58Z")
The Kids of Degrassi Street spun off Degrassi Jr High, which in turn spun off Degrassi High, and which in turn spun off Degrassi Next Generation. That’s four. ---
**Author:** ![vd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b19c9b/32.png) [@vd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vd)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/10 "2016-06-09T15:30:23Z")
> [@Mr\_Shine](#): > > An obvious triple is Love American Style\>Happy Days\>(Mork and Mindy, Laverne and Shirley) I don’t know if any M&M or L&S characters got their own show though. > [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > _Mork and Mindy_ was similarly spun off from an episode of _Happy Days_, and a series about an angel on Earth that flopped was spun off from _Mork & Mindy_. _Out of the Blue_, IIRC. Also, don’t forget _Joanie Loves Chachi_ ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/11 "2016-06-09T15:33:45Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > _Mork and Mindy_ was similarly spun off from an episode of _Happy Days_, and a series about an angel on Earth that flopped was spun off from _Mork & Mindy_. _ **Out of the Blue** _ was the series about a guardian angel. _ **Laverne and Shirley** _ was also a spin-off of _ **Happy Days** _, which itself was a spinoff of _ **Love, American Style** _. Then there was _ **Joanie Loves Chiachi** _, also a spinoff of _ **Happy Days** _, and wasn’t there a spinoff about the Fonz was well? (I had quit watching Garry Marshall’s stable of shows long before they reached that point.) I guess the winner so far is either _ **Happy Days** _ or _ **Love, American Style** _, depending on how you count it. _ **All in the Family** _ begat _ **Maude** _, _ **The Jeffersons** _, and _ **Archie Bunker’s Place** _, making it a close second maybe? Did I miss anything here? Do all the _ **CSI** _ shows count as spinoffs? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![vd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b19c9b/32.png) [@vd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vd)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/12 "2016-06-09T15:37:00Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > _ **All in the Family** _ begat _ **Maude** _, _ **The Jeffersons** _, and _ **Archie Bunker’s Place** _, making it a close second maybe? Did I miss anything here? _Maude_ -\> _Good Times_ ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/13 "2016-06-09T15:39:43Z")
> [@vd](#): > > _Maude_ -\> _Good Times_ Plus, I see above, _ **Checking In** _. Quite an impressive list! ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/14 "2016-06-09T15:52:56Z")
_Dragnet --\> Adam-12 --\> Emergency_ _The D.A._ was linked to _Adam-12_, but was not technically a spinoff. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/15 "2016-06-09T16:19:14Z")
Mary Tyler Moore spun off Rhoda, and Phyllis, and Lou Grant. ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/16 "2016-06-09T16:25:44Z")
Power Rangers might be the winner. I beleive each successive series has been a spin-off from the previous. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/17 "2016-06-09T19:23:32Z")
> [@vd](#): > > Also, don’t forget _Joanie Loves Chachi_ No matter how hard we try … Another _All in the Family_ universe show was [704 Hauser](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108682/): About the _house_ the Bunkers lived in! The adult son of Mike and Gloria showed up in the first episode to provide continuity. It starred John Amos who was the dad for bit in the other spinoff _Good Times_. But not the same character. His last name in this show was the ridiculous and impossible name of “Cumberbatch”. No real person could ever have that name. It lasted 6 episodes. An upcoming spinoff will have a couple of characters from _The Good Wife_. Interestingly, it will be web only. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/18 "2016-06-09T19:35:16Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > An upcoming spinoff will have a couple of characters from _The Good Wife_. Interestingly, it will be web only. That way, they’ll reach five or six people who didn’t see ALL the recycled material on TGW’s seasons. ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/19 "2016-06-09T20:11:49Z")
I think calling Happy Days a “spin-off” (as used in this context) of Love, American Style is a stretch. The latter was a series of unconnected one act plays, with the show’s title as the underlying theme. It’s not like the Happy Days characters appeared in more than one of these. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2016, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919/20 "2016-06-09T20:12:03Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > _ **All in the Family** _ begat _ **Maude** _, _ **The Jeffersons** _, and _ **Archie Bunker’s Place** _, making it a close second maybe? Did I miss anything here? There was also [Gloria](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083424/?ref_=fn_al_tt_5), which lasted one season in 1982. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-generations-of-spin-offs/756919.md?page=2)