The 19 Best Spin-Off TV Shows Of All Time

Spin-off of: "The Daily Show" (1996-)

Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" paved the way for the fake news program's former character, phony correspondent Stephen Colbert, to get his very own show on the network.

Stewart explained the difference between the two shows, saying, "In the way 'The Daily Show' is kind of a goof on the structure of news, this is more of a goof on the cult of personality-type shows."

In September, "The Colbert Report" picked up an Emmy for Outstanding Variety Series, ending "The Daily Show's" decade-long winning streak.

Spin-off of: "Star Trek" (1966-1969)

"Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" is a spin-off of a spin-off.

The adventures of Captain Benjamin Sisko on a space station as opposed to a spaceship was a spin-off of "Star Trek: The Next Generation," a spin-off of original series, "Star Trek."

While the original "Star Trek" only lasted three seasons, both spin-offs went on to have seven seasons each.

Spin-off of: "The Practice" (1997-2004)

Starring William Shatner and James Spader, "Boston Legal" followed former "The Practice" character and attorney Alan Shore (Spader), his wealthy Boston law firm, and the civil cases he undertook.

After four seasons, and several awards for Spader and Shatner's roles, the ABC series came to an end in 2008.

Spin-off of: "Stargate SG-1" (1997-2007)

Mid-way through the 10-year run of "Stargate SG-1," "Stargate: Atlantis" started. The spin-off's story starts off where "Stargate SG-1" concluded its seventh season, with the characters' discovery of an alien-created Antarctic outpost.

The military science fiction series received four Emmy nominations through its run, while the original "Stargate SG-1" had eight nominations.

Spin-off of: "Grey's Anatomy" (2005-)

While the adventures of Meredith Grey and Seattle Grace Hospital are still playing out on ABC in season 10, the show gave life to another popular medical series.

"Private Practice" followed the ex-wife of "Grey's Anatomy" stud Derek Shephard (Patrick Dempsey), Dr. Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh). For six seasons, the show followed the neonatal surgeon and her co-workers at Seaside Wellness Center as they balanced their hospital and personal lives.

Though "Private Practice" wasn't as successful as its predecessor, it still picked up a host of awards and nominations.

Golden Globe award winning medical drama "Grey's Anatomy" is still going strong in its 10th season, and in 2007,

Spin-offs of: "CSI" (2000-)

One of television's most lucrative properties paved the way for not one, but two spin-offs.

"CSI: Miami" followed members of the Miami-Dade Police Department while its indirect spin-off "CSI: NY" followed NYPD forensic scientists and police officers. The series featured many characters from "CSI: Miami."

Spin-off of: "JAG" (1995-2005)

"JAG" (Judge Advocate General) was a legal drama show that aired on CBS. Though it saw a fairly successful ten-season run, with a few Emmys to its name, its spinoff, "NCIS" was the country's most-watched television series in the 2012–'13 season.

An acronym for Naval Criminal Investigate Service, "NCIS" follows a team of special agents (Leroy, Anthony, Timothy) at the Washington Navy Yard as they conduct investigations around the U.S. Marines and Navy Corp.

Spin-off of: "The Cosby Show" (1984-1992)

"The Cosby Show" earned three Golden Globe awards, introduced us to the lovable Bill Cosby, and made The Huxtables one of the most iconic TV families of all time.

In 1987, Bill Cosby created the spin-off, "A Different World," which originally centered on Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) and her time at Hillman College. When Bonet left the show, focus switched to other students, predominately Whitley and Dwayne.

"A Different World" was known for its depcition of race and class issues, and objective approach to AIDS, date rape, and affirmative action.

Spin-off of: "Happy Days" (1974-1984)

"Happy Days" is without a doubt one of the most iconic TV sitcoms of all time. In its 11-season run, we watched the Cunningham family and lovable greaser Fonzie navigate life in 1950s Milwaukee.

The sitcom led to three spin-offs, though the most successful was "Laverne & Shirley." Named after two characters who appeared on the series, the show tells the story of two young single, working girls who navigate friendship, dating, and careers in the 1950s.

The sitcom lasted eight seasons on NBC.

Spin-off of: "The Golden Girls" (1985-1992)

Started in 1988 as a spin-off from television classic "The Golden Girls," "Empty Nest" followed Harry, a widowed pediatrician, and his two adult, love-seeking daughters.

Harry's neighbors just so happen to include the women of "Golden Girls," who periodically stop by to lend advice.

The Miami-set show ran on NBC for seven seasons, but even Gary Jacobs, the show's executive producer admitted that many viewers didn't know the show by its actual name.

"You know, the show that's on Saturday nights, after 'The Golden Girls'?" he told the Los Angeles Times.

Spin-off of: "Beverly Hills, 90210" (1990-2000)

The first two seasons of "Melrose Place" were broadcast in the time slot following the high-school drama.

Another Aaron Spelling soap opera, Heather Locklear and Marcia Cross starred on the sex-filled series following adults living in an apartment complex at Melrose Place in Los Angeles.

Spin-off of: "The Danny Thomas Show" (1953-1964)

"The Andy Griffith Show" followed a widowed sheriff and the small town happenings of Mayberry, North Carolina.

The show got its inspiration and its comedy writer, Arthur Stander, from "The Danny Thomas Show," originally called "Make Room for Daddy," which aired on ABC for four years (1953-1957) and CBS from 1957 to 1964.

At the end of its first season, "The Andy Griffith Show" was the fourth most popular show in the country, according to the Nielsen ratings.

Spin-off of: "Perfect Strangers" (1986-1993)

"Did I do that?"

Steve Urkel's infamous quote from "Family Matters" was just one of the many funny moments that occurred between the Winslows and their annoying but lovable next-door neighbor, Steve Urkel on the show's nine-season run.

Spin-off of: "Diff'rent Strokes" (1978-1986)

"The Facts of Life" — the longest running sitcom of the 1980s — revolves around Edna, a housemother at a female boarding school in New York, and the former housekeeper for the Druthers in "Diff'rent Strokes."

"Diff'rent Strokes," which began airing a year before "The Facts of Life," told the story of two African American boys, Arnold (Gary Coleman) and Willis (Todd Bridges) from Harlem who are taken in by a wealthy, white businessman.

"Diff'rent Strokes" aired from 1978 to 1985 on NBC, and coined the Coleman catchphrase, "What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?"

Spin-off of: "All in the Family" (1971-1979)

"All in the Family," which took the top spot in annual Nielsen ratings every year from 1971 to 1976, introduced us to Archie Bunker, a prejudiced blue-collar worker, his wife, college-aged daughter, and her hippie husband.

It was during the show's eight-year run that we also met the Bunkers' neighbors, the Jeffersons, who in 1975, earned their very own show. The CBS sitcom following affluent African-American couple George and Louise Jefferson living in a luxury apartment building in New York City aired for 11 seasons.

Spin-off of: "Law & Order" (1990-2010)

"Law & Order," a police procedural and legal drama series loosely based on real life crime stories, had two decades of on-air success (it's the third longest running show on television) and paved way for two closely related spin-offs.

"Law & Order: Criminal Intent" followed the New York City-based Major Case Squad in its 2001 to 2011 run, while "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," which is still going strong since its 1999 premiere, focuses on sexually-related crimes in New York City.

Spin-off of: "Cheers" (1982-1993)

When "Cheers" ended in May 1993, the show's main character Dr. Frasier Crane's (Kelsey Grammer) spin-off "Frasier" was just a few months away from its own premiere.

Broadcast on NBC from 1993 to 2004, "Frasier" followed the psychiatrist as he relocated to Seattle after a dissolved marriage in Boston. Once in Washington, Crane has to take care of his injured father, Martin, and navigate his romantic feelings for Martin's caregiver, Daphne.

"Frasier" received 31 Emmys over its 11-year run, beating "Cheers," which had 28 wins.

Spin-off of: "The Tracey Ullman Show" (1987-1990)

"The Simpsons" just started its 25th season, making it the longest running sitcom of all time.

The animated series first got attention in 1987 as a series of shorts on variety series "The Tracy Ullman Show."

The shorts were conceived by Matt Groening, who modeled the Simpsons after his own family, referring to himself as Bart, and the other members as Homer, Marge, Lisa, and Maggie.

"The Tracey Ullman Show" only ran for three years on Fox, but "The Simpsons" — a satirical parody of a middle-class American family — is one of the most successful spin-offs of all time.

The Simpsons even have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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