Netflix/YouTube
There’s no doubt that television is going through a bit of a renaissance all over the world. The main reason for this is, of course, the arrival of the streaming platforms like Netflix and Amazon, but the sheer quality of TV over the past decade or so is also a huge factor. In the first ten years of this century, shows like The Sopranos, The Wire and Breaking Bad redefined the television turning it into the absorbing, binge-watching industry that it is today.
The television industry is ever-changing and evolving, and the latest movement is that of the spin-off TV show – side-quels of popular properties hoping to capture the magic of what has come before. Far from a new thing, the spin-off is an interesting subject and here, we take a look at five over the very best to hit the small screen in recent times.
Torchwood
Remember Torchwood? Well, this series, produced by the BBC, was a spin-off from the popular and long-running science-fiction show Doctor Who, which is still on prime time television to this very day. Starring John Barrowman, Torchwood revolved around the character of Captain Jack Harkness (Barrowman) and the fictional Torchwood Institute in Cardiff, Wales. Con-Man Harkness is the leader of a team of alien hunters and the man challenged with protecting Earth from threatening extraterrestrials. Having originally appeared in a 2005 episode of Doctor Who, Russell T. Davis developed a spin-off series featuring the people of Torchwood that launched a year later. Torchwood was a huge cult success running for over 40 episodes over four seasons.
Angel
Hit series Angel was a spin-off from the hugely successful Buffy The Vampire Slayer and was spread across five seasons and 110 episodes. Co-created by future ‘Avengers’ writer and director Joss Whedon, Angel was based around the title character as played by David Boreanaz. Angel is a 200-year-old vampire who has his human soul restored by gypsies as punishment. Originally part of the main Buffy The Vampire Slayer storyline, Angel departed at the tail end of season three for a hugely successful spin-off lasting until 2004 when it was suddenly cancelled, leaving Whedon ‘heartbroken’.
Frasier
Frasier is perhaps one of the biggest and most successful TV series spin-offs on modern television. Revolving around the character of Frasier Crane, played by Kelsey Grammar, Frasier came to the screen for the first time in 1993, based on the character seen in the classic TV sitcom Cheers. Running for a massive 11 seasons, aired on network television for 11 consecutive years, Frasier spanned a colossal 264 episodes and garnered 37 Emmy awards over the course of its run, a record at the time until it was beaten very recently by Game Of Thrones (with 38 wins).
A new series has been often mentioned, and in interviews during the first part of 2019, Grammar has said that a revival is ‘likely’ and, should that happen, would see the first new episodes since the show tragically ended in 2004.
Better Call Saul
One of the newest shows on our list and absolutely one of the best. Better Call Saul is a spin-off for the groundbreaking crime drama Breaking Bad. A prequel story centering on the character of Saul Goodman/ Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk), Better Call Saul is known for its very well constructed, if indeed slow-paced story, and excellent performances across the board.
Set in the years before Goodman would go on to become the lawyer of Bryan Cranston’s Walter White, Better Call Saul sees the title character fall off the straight and narrow, often getting himself involved in hapless schemes on the wrong side of the law. One of the best episodes comes in the second half of the first season where we start to see Jimmy McGill, prior to when he becomes Saul Goodman, start to stray from the straight and narrow.
A scene in the episode called ‘Bingo’, episode seven of the first series, sees Jimmy become a bingo caller at a retirement home somewhere in Albuquerque. We know that the series is set in the past, possibly in the days before online bingo sites when bingo clubs were all the rage and handled by bingo callers. Jimmy becomes one-such bingo caller, shouting out bingo numbers to an elderly audience. The scene finally sees Jimmy snap, annoyed that life keeps on repeating, very much like the bingo line in front of him. It’s a great scene, constructed with great writing and a superb performance by Odenkirk.
The Simpsons
Believe it or not, The Simpsons is a spin-off show. One of the longest-running in television history and definitely one of the most successful of all time. The show in which The Simpsons derived from was The Tracey Ullman Show on which it was featured starting all the way back in 1987. The Simpsons was originally a series of shorts featured on the aforementioned show but they eventually got their own outing on 17th December, 1989. Since then, 662 episodes have found their way onto the small screen and there are even more still to come with a 31st and 32nd season already commissioned.
The Simpsons has also enjoyed spin-offs of its own, including a video game and a huge animated feature film that was released back in 2007 grossing a whopping $527 million. It has won 31 Primetime Emmy awards and has been voted the 20th century’s best television series by Time magazine.
They don’t come much bigger than The Simpsons, and long may its success to carry on as it continues to be the best spin-off TV show ever.
