20 shows with spinoffs that came long after their original TV run

To this day, Star Trek remains one of the most popular and influential TV series ever. Names like Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock are practically household names, and the original series continues to be held up as an exemplar of what sci-fi TV can accomplish. Though several films were produced after the series’ initial run, it wouldn’t get its own true spin-off until 1987, when Star Trek: The Next Generation premiered. Since then, there has rarely been a time when Star Trek hasn’t been part of the popular cultural imagination, thanks to numerous TV series and films. 

There’s no question Spartacus was and remains one of the most successful series to have appeared on the Starz network. Focusing on the title character as he rises from being a gladiator to nearly toppling the Roman Republic, it featured more than its fair share of blood, guts, and sex and numerous characters it was impossible not to cheer for and care about. Though the original series ended in 2013, in 2023, a sequel, entitled Spartacus: House of Ashur, was announced. It appears that viewers will once again have the chance to find themselves immersed in the bloody (but also fun) world of ancient Rome. 

Few sitcoms captured the spirit of the 1950s and early 1960s, like Leave it to Beaver. Squeaky clean almost to a fault, it is certainly the series that most people imagine when they think of the supposedly halcyon days of post-World War II suburbia. Several decades later, in the middle and later years of the 1980s, it was given a spinoff in the form of the aptly titled The New Leave it to Beaver. While it didn’t have quite the same naive charm as the original, it did have the notable benefit of having most of the original cast reunite as their original characters. 

Throughout the 2000s and into the 2010s popular culture was fascinated with the antihero figure. Few antiheroes were quite as charismatic or as deadly as Dexter, played by Michael C. Hall. A serial killer who targets and hunts other murderers makes for compelling television, and Hall was undeniably enjoyable to watch. Seven years after the series’ conclusion in 2013, it got a bit of a revival with Dexter: New Blood, and there are currently plans for the series to receive a prequel as well. The character Dexter is proof of the fact that evil never truly dies.

Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone remains one of the most thought-provoking series ever aired on American television. It had the unsettling ability to get right under the viewer’s skin, often by drawing on the pervasive anxieties of the present. The shocking twist endings of almost every episode continue to be one of its lasting influences. So it makes sense that it would have not only been parodied and spoofed (for example, in The Simpsons) but that it would have been given its revival. It’s been revived three different times, in 1985, 2002, and 2019. 

The X-Files was one of those ‘90s shows that had the good fortune to have a great central cast — it’s hard to imagine a more iconic duo than Gillian Anderson’s Scully and David Duchovny’s Mulder — and a compelling premise. Combined with the sharp and subtle writing and extensive mythology, the show became a hit, and it managed to be thought-provoking and creepy at the same time. Fortunately for longtime fans, it has received not one but two further extensions after its initial conclusion, showing that there is always more of this unsettling universe for audiences to explore and enjoy.

Along with Animaniacs, Tiny Toon Adventures was one of the most beloved cartoon series of the 1990s, and it helped to reinvigorate the Looney Tunes brand for a new generation of viewers. Though a bit more kid-friendly than the classic cartoons from Warner Bros., there was still something infectiously ‘90s about the series that helped to explain its enduring appeal. 

For kids growing up in the 1980s, Saved by the Bell was necessary watching. It was the perfect teen sitcom for its era, combining the usual formulaic storylines with some engagement with pressing issues of the time. In 2020, it joined the ranks of those series that enjoyed a revival in interest, and it got its own spin-off. Though much of the focus is on the new set of characters, the original cast manages to make enough of an appearance to make the show appeal to established fans as well. 

During its original run, Roseanne was like almost nothing else on television. Focusing as it did on a blue-collar family and their attempts to make do, it was uproariously funny yet deeply touching. When rebooted in 2018, it demonstrated that it still had the ability to tap into the American unconscious, and the same is true of its successor, The Conners (which takes place after the title character’s death). Even after all of these years, it’s still an undeniable pleasure to see the Conners navigate the 21st century as a family.

Night Court was, in its way, one of the quintessential 1980s sitcoms. As its title suggests, it follows the various people involved in a New York City night court, it hits all the notes one would expect of a three-camera sitcom of its era. While it was successful and ran for several seasons, it never became a canonical series per se, which is why it’s somewhat surprising that it got its own reboot/revival in 2023. While its successor series is a retread of its predecessor, it still has its charms, which helps to explain why it managed to find enough audience love to score a second season.

Quirky, strange, and sometimes unsettling, the sketch comedy show The Kids in the Hall remains one of the most fascinating and fun things to have come out of Canada. Originally running in the very tail end of the 1980s and into the 1990s,  it was quite influential but never attained quite the level of success it deserved. However, it soon became its own source of nostalgia, which helps to explain why it got a bit of a revival, and the sixth season appeared on Amazon. Remarkably, given how many years have passed, the show feels as fresh as ever, with the ability to make the audience laugh undiminished. 

Though it was supposedly about the 1970s, That ‘70s Show was very much about the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, and it did a great deal to make genuine stars of its top-notch cast. It became, for many millennials, a key piece of popular culture, which may help to explain why it was given a belated spin-off in the form of That ‘90s Show, which began airing in 2023. Though its three-camera setup feels a bit dated in 2023, its new, younger cast can more than hold their own, which is good since the story focuses on Eric’s and Donna’s daughter and her friends. Even so, it’s also a pleasure to see the original members of the show when they put in an appearance. 

Law & Order is one of the most successful procedural franchises in the history of television, and it all began with the initial series, running from 1990 to 2010. In addition to the numerous spinoffs, including Special Victims Unit and Criminal Intent, the latter of which is still on the air, Law & Order was revived in 2022, featuring many of the same characters. Even after so many years, the series still has the uncanny ability to tap into the most pressing legal and philosophical questions of the day, and it is thus a fitting showcase for creator Dıck Wolf’s unique genius. 

Animaniacs was one of those animated series that could only have emerged in the 1990s, and there’s a ludic energy to it that harkens back to the animation style of such maestros as Tex Avery. Aside from its rather zany approach to animation, it was also remarkably sophisticated and often included sly bits of satire and pop culture commentary. When revitalized in the 2020s, it hit some of the same notes, though it also had a different feel than its predecessor. Even so, there’s still much that is slyly appealing about this series, which continues to demonstrate the appeal of sophisticated animation.

If there’s one series that seems to have the ability to reinvent itself for new eras of television continually, it would be Futurama. Created by Simpson’s maestro Matt Groening, it had a moderately successful run in the late 1990s and early 2000s on Fox. However, it has had two subsequent runs, one on Comedy Central and one on Hulu, and it continues to enjoy success on the latter. There’s something so charming and energetic about the series that it keeps being revived for new audiences and generations, indicating the fundamental appeal of the original show and its band of misfits. 

As part of ABC’s beloved TGIF programming block, Boy Meets World  was required viewing for many older millennials and young Gen-Xers. After all, who didn’t want to see more of the romance between Ben Savage’s Cory Matthews and Danielle Fishel’s Topanga Lawrence, to say nothing of Rider Strong’s troubled Shawn Hunter? In the early 2010s, this series experienced the reboot treatment in the form of Girl Meets World. As one would expect, it focuses on Cory’s daughter Riley, though there are still enough appearances from the original series to scratch the nostalgia itch of those who came of age in the latter part of the 1990s.

Full House perfectly captures the ebullient optimism of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Focusing on the Tanner family, it follows the father, Danny, as he tries to raise his three daughters with the help of his best friend and brother-in-law. Both saccharine and silly, it was sitcom gold during its run and, like so many other series of its era, it was revived in the 2010s with the spinoff Fuller House, which follows eldest daughter DJ as she tries to raise her family in her dad’s old house. The real highlight of the show is undoubtedly the members of the original cast who sometimes show up.

Candice Bergen’s Murphy Brown was truly one of those characters who defined an entire generation. A career woman who was name-dropped by none other than the Vice President of the United States, Brown was a feminist icon. The original show was beloved, so it makes sense that it would receive its sequel in the early 2000s. Featuring an updated set of storylines but including most of the original cast, the reboot was still funny, even if there were times when it felt like it was trying too hard to be relevant to the present. Seeing the gang back together was still such a pleasure that it’s hard not to be disappointed it didn’t get more time.

Kelsey Grammer deserves a great deal of credit for being able to craft a character, Frasier Crane, so compelling and fun to watch that he appeared on two enormously successful series, Cheers and Frasier, and then managed to return over two decades after the latter finished its run. While the sequel series doesn’t quite measure up to its predecessor, there’s no question it’s always a delight to see Grammer in the role that has defined his career. There is something equally comforting about the traditional form of the sitcom, even as the genre has moved on in so many important ways. 

When it premiered in 1998, Will & Grace was undoubtedly a game changer since it brought openly gay characters into audiences' living rooms. Though its quality might have suffered a bit in its later seasons, it was still remarkable for its effect on American culture, and the central foursome of Will, Grace, Jack, and Karen are some of the most beloved characters in sitcom history. After a short reunion made for the 2016 election became a phenomenon the show was brought back and, while it might not have hit the same highs as the original run, it was still a pleasure to see these four back together again.