24 TV Spinoffs That Barely Saw The Light Of Day Before They Were Canceled

Was no one going to tell me there was a Dawson's Creek spinoff with Ian Somerhalder??

1. Ravenswood — spinoff of Pretty Little Liars:

Freeform / Everett Collection

The premise: Ravenswood followed Caleb as he tries to help a girl named Miranda and gets roped into a town of supernatural secrets and deadly curses.

How long it lasted: One season of 10 episodes. Caleb then returned to PLL. Seeing as PLL wasn't a supernatural show, things got...a little weird.

2. The Perfectionists — spinoff of Pretty Little Liars:

Allyson Riggs / Freeform / courtesy Everett Collection, Freeform / Everett Collection

The premise: In this post–Pretty Little Liars series much more true to the spirit of PLL, Ali and Mona teach at a college fraught with murder and secrets.

How long it lasted: One season of 10 episodes.

3. Joey — spinoff of Friends:

NBC

The premise: The series followed Joey post-Friends as he tries to make it as an actor in LA as well as reconnect with his sister Gina and her son Michael, but it never achieved anywhere near the success or humor of Friends.

How long it lasted: The show was canceled after two seasons of heavily declining views.

4. Young Americans — spinoff of Dawson's Creek:

The WB / Courtesy Everett Collection, The WB

The premise: The show followed Will, a friend of Pacey's, as he attends a prestigious boarding school. Other characters included Scout and Bella, who are together but possibly siblings(?); Jacqueline, who disguises herself as a boy (Jake); and the dean's son Hamilton, who believes he's gay after falling for Jake.

How long it lasted: One season of eight episodes and an unaired pilot.

5. Models Inc. — spinoff of Melrose Place, which itself was a spinoff of Beverly Hills, 90210:

Spelling Entertainment / Courtesy Everett Collection, Fox

The premise: The show followed an LA modeling agency and the woman who runs it, Hillary Michaels.

How long it lasted: One season of 29 episodes.

6. Clarissa Now — spinoff of Clarissa Explains It All:

Nickelodeon

The premise: In the series, Clarissa moves to New York City for an internship at a newspaper.

How long it lasted: One unaired pilot.

7. The Finder — spinoff of Bones:

Jordin Althaus / Fox / Courtesy: Everett Collection, Fox

The premise: After appearing on Bones, Walter, who was shown to have a strange ability to "find" things after a brain injury, was given his own series. The show followed Walter and his legal adviser, Leo, as they find people and things that the police can't.

How long it lasted: One 13-episode season.

8. Joanie Loves Chachi — spinoff of Happy Days:

Paramount Television / Courtesy Everett Collection, ABC

The premise: The show followed Joanie and Chachi on their move to Chicago to pursue a career in music, featuring a bunch of performances from their rock band.

How long it lasted: Two seasons, but only 17 episodes in total. Low ratings after a change in writers and time slots caused the cancellation.

9. The Golden Palace — spinoff of The Golden Girls:

Ron Tom / Touchstone Television / courtesy Everett Collection, NBC

The premise: After Dorothy got married, the remaining Golden Girls decide to buy a Miami hotel and end up basically having the run of the whole hotel.

How long it lasted: One 24-episode season. It was the least successful of the three Golden Girls spinoffs (the others being Empty Nest and its spinoff, Nurses).

10. Once Upon a Time in Wonderland — spinoff of Once Upon a Time:

Jack Rowand / ABC / Courtesy Everett Collection, ABC

The premise: The series followed new character Alice and her quest to find her presumed-dead love Cyrus while dealing with the Red Queen, the Jabberwocky, and, inexplicably, Jafar.

How long it lasted: One season of 13 episodes.

11. Scrubs: Med School — spinoff of Scrubs:

Adam Taylor / ABC / Courtesy Everett Collection, ABC

The premise: J.D. and Turk begin to teach at a med school at Sacred Heart. The series mostly focused on the new med students, with J.D. and Turk appearing only sporadically.

How long it lasted: The show was meant as a spinoff of Scrubs, but ABC would not allow this and instead changed it to the show's ninth season (though Med School was added to the title). Most of the writers, producers, and original cast members left, and the series changed locations. The season lasted 13 episodes, and Scrubs was not renewed.

12. AfterMASH — spinoff of M*A*S*H:

CBS

The premise: The series followed Colonel Potter, Maxwell Klinger, Soon-Lee Klinger, and Father Mulcahy as they work at a veterans hospital immediately after the war/the events of M*A*S*H.

How long it lasted: Two seasons.

13. W*A*L*T*E*R — spinoff of M*A*S*H:

CBS

The premise: After the war (and being left by his wife on their honeymoon), Walter/Radar moves to Missouri, contemplates suicide, and becomes a cop.

How long it lasted: Just the pilot.

14. Queer Eye for the Straight Girl — spinoff of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy:

Byron Cohen/ Bravo / Courtesy Everett Collection, Chris Cuffaro/ Bravo / Courtesy Everett Collection

The premise: It was the same as the original show, except women receive makeovers instead of men, it takes place in Los Angeles, and the hosts include a lesbian.

How long it lasted: One season of 13 episodes.

15. Checking In — spinoff of The Jeffersons, which itself was a spinoff of All in the Family:

CBS

The premise: Following the success of Good Times, which starred Maude's maid, Florida, the Jeffersons' maid, Florence, was given her own series. In the show, she moves to New York to City to become the executive housekeeper of a hotel.

How long it lasted: Four episodes.

16. The Lone Gunmen — spinoff of The X-Files:

20th Century Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection, Fox

The premise: The series followed conspiracy magazine writers Melvin Frohike, John Fitzgerald Byers, and Richard Langly (who had also appeared on The X-Files) as they unravel and investigate conspiracies and secret activity.

How long it lasted: One season of 13 episodes.

17. Heroes Reborn — spinoff of Heroes:

NBC

The premise: In the series, after being blamed for a terrorist attack, superpowered individuals are hunted by vigilantes. Meanwhile, around the world, a bunch of others start to develop powers and eventually must team up to stop an apocalyptic event.

How long it lasted: One season of 13 episodes.

18. Booker — spinoff of 21 Jump Street:

Fox

The premise: The series followed 21 Jump Street recurring character Dennis Booker, a rebellious cop, as he is hired at a Japanese company to investigate insurance claims.

How long it lasted: One season of 22 episodes.

19. Aquaman — spinoff of Smallville:

Warner Bros. Television / Courtesy Everett Collection, The WB

The premise: The series followed Arthur Curry (after an appearance on Smallville, though he was played by another actor) as he discovers he's the prince of Atlantis.

How long it lasted: Just the pilot — the show was a casualty of the UPN-WB merger.

20. The Tortellis — spinoff of Cheers:

NBC / Courtesy Everett Collection, NBC

The premise: The show followed Cheers characters Nick and Loretta as Loretta moves to Vegas to live with her sister and Nick follows her to try to win her back.

How long it lasted: One season of 13 episodes.

21. K-9 and Company — spinoff of Doctor Who:

BBC1

The premise: The series followed Doctor Who characters Sarah Jane (who would later get her own series) and robotic dog K-9 as they solve mysteries. 

How long it lasted: One episode, but there was a later series just called K-9 that lasted for a whole season, starring K-9.

22. The Ropers — spinoff of Three's Company:

ABC / Courtesy Everett Collection, ABC

The premise: The series followed Stanley and Helen, the landlords from Three's Company, as they move to the more upscale Cheviot Hills.

How long it lasted: Two seasons.

23. Planet Sheen — spinoff of The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius:

Nickelodeon

The premise: The series followed Sheen as he accidentally launches himself into space on Jimmy's rocket and ends up on a strange planet, where an evil sorcerer keeps trying to kill him.

How long it lasted: One season of 26 episodes/50 segments.

24. And finally, Gibby — spinoff of iCarly:

Nickelodeon

The premise: According to the iCarly wiki, the show was about Gibby getting a job at a rec center and mentoring middle school teens.

How long it lasted: One unaired pilot. (You can read the script here.)