13 Most Successful Spinoffs, Ranked

The long-running medical drama Grey’s Anatomy used Season 14 to introduce audiences to the characters of Station 19, a spinoff which would follow the Seattle Fire Department as they fight fires, save lives, and bond with each other. The series would go on to run for six seasons, recently airing the finale in May of 2024 after being canceled. Although it never aired close to the longevity of Grey’s, its 93% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes compared to Grey’s 72% proves that it had a loyal fanbase.

After the death of Avatar: The Last Airbender’s protagonist, Aang, The Legend of Korra follows his Avatar successor, Korra, as she masters all four elements and attempts to restore balance to both the physical and spiritual worlds she has been tasked to protect. Serving as both a sequel and a spinoff, The Legend of Korra was able to last four seasons, unlike The Last Airbender which was only able to make it to three. As not only a successful traditionally animated spinoff, but as one which tackled difficult themes, The Legend of Korra is known for pushing the boundaries of children’s television.

A spinoff of The Good Wife, Christine Baranski continues to be a force to be reckoned with as Diane Lockhart, an attorney who loses her retirement money in a Ponzi scheme, and, along with her young goddaughter (Rose Leslie), must rebuild her reputation. It was praised by critics for not only tackling current American politics (with the pilot showing Diane watching the Trump inauguration), but for Baranski’s performance, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination.

Premiering on the same day as what would later become The Big Bang Theory’s penultimate season premiere, Young Sheldon followed The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper  (Jim Parsons) as a child prodigy in Texas. Notably different from Big Bang, however, was that the show’s creators chose to not use a live audience, instead opting to utilize a single camera format. With a Young Sheldon spinoff on the way, it’s clear that after seven seasons, and a reference to The Big Bang Theory in its series finale, Young Sheldon has left its mark on television as a successful spinoff.

The Jeffersons was one of the seven spinoffs which came out of All in the Family, making it the sitcom with the most spinoffs ever. Combined with its good viewership numbers, this 1970s sitcom is “movin’ on up” the rankings of this list, even without a definitive Rotten Tomatoes score. While All in the Family followed the working class Bunker family in Queens, the spinoff followed their neighbors, the Jeffersons, a black family who move into a luxury apartment building in Manhattan, as they deal with their neighbors, and their family’s successful dry-cleaning franchise. Receiving 14 Emmy nominations over the course of the series, the show left a lasting legacy of challenging issues like institutionalized racism, as well as being the first show to depict an upper middle class black family, as well as an interracial couple.

Starting out as short bumpers before and after commercials on The Tracey Ullman Show, the Simpsons were only a crudely drawn family that was dependent upon short comedic gags, rather than actual storytelling. The Simpsons premiered after only three seasons on The Tracey Ullman Show, and would go on to churn out 35 seasons. Although the series has not yet ended, both ratings and Rotten Tomatoes scores for recent seasons are much lower than they were when the show first premiered. 

With over 10 spinoffs (and a new one in the making) in the past 50 years, Star Trek: The Next Generation stands out as both the highest rated and longest running spinoff of Star Trek: The Original Series. Featuring a new starship, crew, and Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Sir Patrick Stewart), the series continued the mission of the Original Series to go “where no man has gone before.” With considerably better writing, it devoted more screen time to longer character arcs, compared to the more episodic nature of the Original Series.

Star Wars’ first live action television series came right when fans needed it most, with the pilot premiering a month before the commercial successful (yet critically mixed) final Star Wars film. The premiere was part of Disney+’s initial launch, and, more importantly, introduced audiences to Baby Yoda — sorry — Grogu. Touted as serialized space Western (emphasis on the “western”), The Mandalorian follows a religious bounty hunter (Pedro Pascal) who adopts one of his bounties: Grogu, the green alien toddler. Praised by critics for being able to traverse genres with ease — from crime dramas to stories of family bonding — the show drew the interest of the internet for the adorable antics of Grogu. After three seasons, Lucasfilm currently has a Mandalorian movie in the works, although it is unsure whether the film will serve as a replacement for season 4. 

NCIS might have four spinoffs of its own (as well as at least one confirmed prequel spinoff) which see characters solving cases all over the United States from Los Angeles, to Hawai’i, to New Orleans, and even “down under” in Sydney, but it is actually a spinoff itself! JAG, which originally premiered in 1995 and ran for ten seasons, followed two judge advocates who investigated military-related crimes around the world. NCIS, which was introduced in JAG’s eighth season, has been on the air for 21 seasons, and has already been renewed for Season 22.  NCIS differs, however, in that it focuses more on the criminal aspects of each case, rather than on the fight for justice. 

With a whopping 25 seasons (so far), Law & Order: SVU easily takes the award for the most successful crime spinoff show of all time, beating even its predecessor, Law & Order, which lasted an impressive 23 seasons. SVU, starring Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T, has the formula for success down, and with the high value of the Law & Order franchise, NBC has found a way to make a killing from a show that doesn’t focus on murder cases.

The worldwide phenomenon that dominated television in the 2010s has returned, with weekly releases causing buzz and earning a fiery 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. The Game of Thrones prequel follows the reign of House Targaryen and the conflict that emerges when it comes to who will take over the throne. Currently airing the second season, the first season found success with audiences and critics alike, receiving nominations for best drama series from both the Emmys and the Critics Choice Awards. With 7.8 million viewers for its Season 2 premiere, it’s clear House of the Dragon is not only one of the top shows of the year but one of the most successful spinoffs on this list.

Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammar) finds himself outside of the bar “where everybody knows your name” when he moves to Seattle in this spinoff where his titular character works as a radio psychiatrist. The show, which ran for 11 seasons, was praised for its strong ensemble cast, strong writing, and witty humor. The recent Frasier reboot, however, has been met with less enthusiasm, although it has been renewed for a second season.

Breaking Bad introduced audiences to Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk), a scam artist-turned-lawyer who helps guide Walter White (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), who make and sell meth. The spinoff focuses on Saul’s law career both before and after the events of Breaking Bad. Better Call Saul blew up in popularity late in its run, after many fans of Breaking Bad were said to have been disappointed that the show was too different from the story of the rise of a drug kingpin they had loved. With a respectable six seasons under its belt, it was nominated for a total of 53 Emmys and made history by not winning a single one. With a near-perfect 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, the characters and writing are what place Better Call Saul as one of television’s most successful spinoffs.