Solo, a canceled story: 19 TV spin-offs for breakout characters that no one wanted

For all its reputation as the crassly opportunistic refuge of the creatively bankrupt, the spin-off actually holds an esteemed place in TV history. Many shows now considered classics in their own right—The Simpsons, Laverne & Shirley, Frasier, The Colbert Report, etc.—began life on other shows, until producers recognized that a breakout character was popular enough to sustain their own series, then set about creating one that was… well, crassly opportunistic, but also pretty good.

In fact, the failed spin-off is somewhat rarer than you’d expect: Even the Barney Miller satellite Fish—so often used as a punchline in discussions like these—might have run for several seasons had Abe Vigoda not demanded more money, while the Alice spin-off, Flo (where Polly Holliday’s sassy waitress took over a roadhouse), was actually a Top 20 hit in the less-discerning ’80s. But the below shows are the exceptions. All of them took beloved characters who’d already endeared themselves on their parent series, then shuttled them off into their own stories that, whoops, it turns out no one was interested in. Let us remember some of these misbegotten orphans.

2. Beverly Hills Buntz (1987)

With his loud ties and even louder mouth, Dennis Franz’s Lt. Norman Buntz was brought in to shake up Hill Street Blues in its final two seasons, adding a dose of bullying, but-he-gets-results antics to the increasingly staid cop dramedy. Franz, who’d already played the much less likable Bad Sal Benedetto in the third season, quickly became a fan favorite even as the show itself was waning, enough so that NBC quickly gave him his own spin-off. This time, Buntz’s pugnaciousness was played for straighter, half-hour comedy laughs, picking up with him after he’d decked his Hill Street commanding officer and quit the force to move to L.A., where he started a private eye business with his old consort, Sid The Snitch (Peter Jurasik). Of the 13 episodes filmed—including a pilot by director Hal Ashby, of all people—only nine would air, but Franz would eventually hit more lasting pay-dirt as another hard-assed (and occasionally bare-assed) detective on NYPD Blue. [Sean O’Neal]