The world of television is full of successful spinoffs of popular shows, like Frasier, Better Call Saul, and NCIS. However, for every spinoff that lived up to the original series, there are countless more that ruined the legacy that their predecessors established.
Some spinoffs start off weak but eventually find their footing in later seasons, while a few poorly-received spinoffs never get there and are canceled by the networks. Spinoffs like Joey, That '80s Show, and Blade: The Series disappointed viewers, who were glad they got canceled.
10 Joey (2004-2006)
Friends was one of the best '90s sitcoms that managed to transcend its time to become one of the most beloved comedies ever made. After wrapping up its 10-season run, Friends lived on in the form of Joey, a spinoff following Matt LeBlanc's eponymous character.
Unfortunately, Joey was never able to find its footing in quite the same way that its predecessor had. Taking Joey Tribbiani away from the other core cast members from Friends didn't play nearly as well as the producers had hoped. In 2006, Joey was canceled after only two seasons, allowing the spinoff to fade from viewers' memories.
9 That '80s Show (2002)
That '70s Show was a hallmark of television comedy in the late 1990s and early 2000s, building several stars' careers in the process. Its more recent spinoff, That '90s Show, has been met with praise. However, That '80s Show aired in 2002 and was nowhere near as well received. Whether That '80s Show was a spinoff of That '70s Show is somewhat confusing; both shows had many of the same creators, a similar format, and a similar title, and there were a few connections between characters.
That '80s Show both premiered and ended in 2002, marking an incredibly short run for a spinoff of a successful sitcom. Unlike the more recent spinoff, That '80s Show bore almost no resemblance to its predecessor. Ultimately, the series didn't appeal to audiences, so Fox canceled it after 13 episodes.
8 The Tortellis (1987)
When audiences think of Cheers spinoffs, they will most likely recall the celebrated 11-season run of Frasier. The spinoff centered on Kelsey Grammar's iconic character from the original series. While Frasier was a success, another Cheers spinoff disappointed fans. The Tortellis was a one-season spinoff that followed the eponymous family who had originally appeared in Cheers.
Unlike Frasier, The Tortellis lacked any of the same elements that made Cheers a success. Because the show was full of repeated plotlines, lazy jokes, and an over-reliance on stereotypes regarding Italian Americans, it was no shock that The Tortellis was canceled and swept under the rug after a single season.
7 Heroes Reborn (2015-2016)
Heroes gained traction in its early seasons as one of the first successful television shows about superheroes. However, following the 2007-2008 Writer's Guild Strike, Heroes was never able to regain its footing, and NBC canceled the show after its fourth season. The franchise attempted to revive itself years later, however, with Heroes: Reborn.
Unfortunately, Heroes: Reborn failed to learn any lessons from its predecessor. The series was a rehashing of all the worst parts of Heroes without recognizing any of the qualities that made the original so great. Recognizing the show's trajectory, audiences mostly ignored the show, which never received a second season.
6 The Farm (2013 Backdoor Pilot)
The Office had a terrific ending in Season 9, but things could have gone very differently. Originally, producers had intended to give Dwight Schrute his own spinoff series, which would follow his adventures living on his beet farm. The spinoff was ultimately canceled, and the pilot was reworked into an episode of The Office's ninth season, entitled "The Farm."
While audiences have been lobbying to see more of The Office for years, The Farm wouldn't have been an ideal option. Had the show gone forward, Dwight certainly wouldn't have gotten his happy ending at Dunder Mifflin, which was such a major part of what made the series finale work so well.
5 Green Arrow And The Canaries (2020 Backdoor Pilot)
Arrow kickstarted an entire universe of television series based on DC Comics, including multiple successful spinoffs like The Flash and Supergirl. Just before the finale of the flagship Arrowverse series in 2020, the CW aired a backdoor pilot as a part of Arrow's eighth season. This was intended to set up a spinoff following Oliver Queen's daughter, Mia Smoak, the Laurel Lance of Earth-2, and Dinah Drake.
Green Arrow and the Canaries sat in limbo for several years before the CW definitively passed on the spinoff. Although the show had the potential to be great, the poor quality of the Arrowverse's last several years suggests that Green Arrow and the Canaries would have disappointed fans. By passing on the spinoff, the CW likely saved audiences from another poorly crafted Arrowverse series.
4 Joanie Loves Chachi (1982-1983)
Scott Baio and Erin Moran may have been breakout stars thanks to their roles as Cachi and Joanie on Happy Days, but that didn't mean that their next project together would be nearly as successful as their first. Several years after leaving Happy Days, Baio and Moran starred in a spinoff featuring their two characters, Joanie Loves Chachi.
While Joanie Loves Chachi came at the right time and aired after Happy Days, the spinoff clearly didn't have the same level of inspiration as its parent series. The show only lasted two seasons after a drop in ratings because audiences preferred the original. Eventually, both Baio and Moran would return to the main cast of Happy Days for the show's eleventh and final season.
3 The Carrie Diaries (2013-2014)
Sex and the City defined a generation of television lovers with its compelling characters and water-cooler moments. In an attempt to revitalize the franchise a decade after the original series came to an end, the CW aired The Carrie Diaries. The spinoff also acted as a prequel that followed Carrie Bradshaw during her high school years.
The Carrie Diaries had its highlights, including a great performance by AnnaSophia Robb in the lead role, but it ultimately suffered from uninspired storytelling that added little to the original series. Ultimately, the show only lasted for two seasons before losing steam, thereby paving the way for And Just Like That... to continue the franchise in a more positive direction.
2 The Golden Palace (1992-1993)
Even 30 years after it came to an end, Golden Girls remains one of the best feel-good sitcoms of all time. When the beloved comedy series concluded with its seventh season in 1992, most of the original cast carried over into a new series, The Golden Palace, which followed their antics as they attempted to run a hotel in Miami. CBS eventually canceled the series the following year after only one season.
The Golden Palace remains one of the strangest ideas for a spinoff, as it completely changed the premise of the original show while retaining many of the same characters. Airing only a few months after Golden Girls came to an end, the spinoff did not include Bea Arthur's Dorothy Zbornak in the main cast. Instead, the cast included Betty White, Rue McClanahan, and Estelle Getty from the original series, but The Golden Palace feels more like a bad eighth season of Golden Girls than a proper spinoff.
1 Blade: The Series (2006)
Television spinoffs of popular movies have a turbulent track record in the modern world of cinema but, in the early 2000s, such shows were almost universally hated. This was certainly the case with Blade: The Series, a show that was meant to follow up on the events of Marvel's beloved Blade trilogy starring Wesley Snipes.
Sporting an all-new cast and a recast Blade, this Marvel series includes almost none of the elements that made the original movies so successful. Blade: The Series was allegedly set in the same universe as its cinematic predecessors, but the show trampled on the franchise's canon and added virtually nothing to its story. Ultimately, Blade's one-season run was far too long.