The best TV spinoffs from movies

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Lizard1977

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#311352 9-Jan-2024 10:09

As I was driving to work this morning, a random thought popped into my head - is there a better TV show spinoff from a movie than Stargate SG-1? This got me to thinking about other TV shows which have spun-off from their movie sources - Buffy the Vampire Slayer, M*A*S*H - and I began to wonder if there are any others which are worthy of watching? Or has the phenomenon of spinning off TV shows from movies gone the way of the dodo? I know Marvel have a large slate of TV shows that feature characters from their movies, but when you compare them to the ones I've mentioned, they would struggle to match the cultural impact and endurance (M*A*S*H ran for 11 years).

So - what do you consider the be the best TV spinoffs from a movie?

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#3179297 9-Jan-2024 10:16

Mandalorian is a pretty good Star Wars spin off (if you like Star Wars).

Lizard1977

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#3179300 9-Jan-2024 10:27

Yep, I'll agree with the Mandalorian. They took the right approach by creating a new character (when I first heard about it, I thought it was going to be about Boba Fett) and building the story around him.

I'll also acknowledge that trends in current TV shows is away from the lengthy 22-24 episode seasons in favour of shorter seasons with fewer "filler" episodes. It simultaneously makes the achievements of older shows both more impressive (for being able to sustain the interest over hundreds of episodes) and less impressive (really don't miss those "clip" shows we used to get once a season).

wellygary

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#3179305 9-Jan-2024 10:42

Lizard1977:

Yep, I'll agree with the Mandalorian. They took the right approach by creating a new character (when I first heard about it, I thought it was going to be about Boba Fett) and building the story around him.

Staying in the Star wars Universe.

Andor has to be one of the better shows to be spun out...

Another recent show that I think was better than the Movie was Westworld-( until it got stuck in the "W T F do we do now" rut in season 4)

nzkc

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#3179314 9-Jan-2024 11:13

Does the Westworld series count? More of a remake/reimagining as a TV series than a spin off of the movie.

Also found this list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_television_programs_based_on_films

tecnam2003

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#3179315 9-Jan-2024 11:16

It has to be the great FARGO series after the award winning motion Picture

😁

Senecio

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#3179316 9-Jan-2024 11:25

Firefly was a good spinoff from the Serenity movie.

Lizard1977

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#3179317 9-Jan-2024 11:26

That's an interesting list. Not to dismiss animated series (fully acknowledge that animation is equally as legitimate as live action), if you limit the list to just live action, then there really aren't many "high quality" TV spinoffs from movies. Though one person's "high quality" is another person's trash - I guess I've been assuming longevity as a proxy for quality; in general terms, if you can keep going for several seasons, you've got some kind of following/quality to point to. Going through that list it reminded me of a few I had forgotten - the Highlander TV series which lasted for several seasons, which I watched some of, and recently tried re-watching (and discovered how "90s" it was); the Weird Science TV series spinoff was another I forgot about, and was similarly "90s". And the Fame TV show, which I had forgotten was adapted from the movie.

It also draws a distinction between a prequel/sequel/continuation of the source movie (e.g. Buffy, Stargate) and an adaptation/remake in TV format (e.g. M*A*S*H). So I guess Westworld would fall into the latter group. I enjoyed season 1 but got lost in season 2 and never kept up with it.

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nzkc

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#3179324 9-Jan-2024 11:27

Senecio: Firefly was a good spinoff from the Serenity movie.

The movie came from the series in this instance. To tie up some of the tv series they didnt get to finish

Lizard1977

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#3179325 9-Jan-2024 11:27

Senecio: Firefly was a good spinoff from the Serenity movie.

I think that was the other way around. Firefly came first, and then they made Serenity to try and "wrap things up" after the show was cancelled (and traumatised fans for life).

Senecio

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#3179334 9-Jan-2024 11:44

Thanks for the correction. I watched them so long ago I couldn’t remember which was first.

SirHumphreyAppleby

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#3179335 9-Jan-2024 11:56

I don't have any 'bests', but at the other end of the scale, Chucky is terrible. I'm a long-time Child's Play fan, but the TV show is extremely disappointing.

I watch for Chucky and the occasional appearance of Andy (Alex Vincent). Season two featured one likable character, Nadine (Bella Higginbotham), but she was killed off pretty quickly and predictably by defenestration. The rest of the cast somehow manages to be consistently annoying.

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#3179339 9-Jan-2024 12:07

nzkc:

Senecio: Firefly was a good spinoff from the Serenity movie.

The movie came from the series in this instance. To tie up some of the tv series they didnt get to finish

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CYaBro

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#3179341 9-Jan-2024 12:17

Reacher, while it was books first the movies did come out before the series. 😁

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wellygary

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#3179344 9-Jan-2024 12:33

CYaBro:

Reacher, while it was books first the movies did come out before the series. 😁

And in that vein, pretty sure there is a Jack Ryan Tv series kicking about too...

Also "Treadstone" was spun out of the Bourne Films, [but was cancelled after only 1 season]

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#3179359 9-Jan-2024 13:31

Do a few Superman things count ? Superman & Lois, Pennyworth, two+ more I can't remember the names of...

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