3 TV Spinoffs That Were Better Than Their Original Series

Sometimes, when a television show is popular enough it gets a spinoff. Often created by networks as a way to expand on the success of one hit show, spinoffs serve as a way to capitalize on the premise and characters of one show by digging into other characters and opportunities with connections to the main series. But while spinoffs are frequently less popular than their original series, with some being seen as little more than a cash grab, every so often a spinoff ends up being better — and lasts longer — than the series that gave it its start. From iconic ‘90s comedies to superhero fare, to even an animated series you probably forgot is technically a spinoff, here are three television spinoffs that ended up being better than the series that inspired them.

Saved By the Bell

Debuting on NBC in 1989, it’s sometimes easy to forget that Saved By the Bell was actually a spinoff. The series was actually a spinoff of Disney Channel’s short-lived Good Morning, Miss Bliss. The original series followed the life of junior high teacher Miss Carrie Bliss at a high school in Indianapolis and her eight grade students. After just one season, however, the series got something of a reboot with Saved By the Bell that instead of Miss Bliss ended up centering around one of the students — Zack Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselaar). Saved By the Bell brought Lisa Turtle (Lark Voorhies) and Samuel “Screech” Powers (Dustin Diamond) along, changed the setting from Indiana to California, and added some new cast as well, functionally retooling the Good Morning, Miss Bliss idea into something similar but new.

Saved By the Bell initially debuted as a prime-time series on Sunday nights but ended up being moved to Saturday morning as part of NBC’s Teen NBC (or TNBC) programming block. The series ended up running for four seasons, spawning two additional spinoffs — Saved By the Bell: The College Years and Saved By the Bell: The New Class — two television movies and, decades later, a reboot series. While Good Morning, Miss Bliss has gone on to be largely forgotten, Saved By the Bell remains a pop cultural icon, one that was a bigger success than its parent series.

Saved By the Bell (the ‘90s version) is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. (Fun note: Prime Video treats Good Morning, Miss Bliss as “season 1” of the series.)

The Flash

Yes, The CW’s Arrowverse was ultimately a multi-series franchise but it all started with Arrow — and The Flash was its first spinoff. Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen first appeared in Season 2 of Arrow, specifically the episode “The Scientist” which somewhat served as a backdoor pilot of sorts for The Flash. The Flash would ultimately get its own proper pilot with the series debuting almost one year after Barry Allen’s introduction on Arrow.

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The series debuted as the second-most watched pilot in The CW’s history after The Vampire Diaries — eclipsing Arrow’s own debut. The Flash would go on to have a consistently higher average viewership across most seasons as well as have more positive reviews, thanks in part to the series’ lighter tone. While one could argue that the shows were of equal quality — and Arrowverse fans definitely enjoyed both — The Flash ultimately outlasted Arrow airing for nine seasons and technically being the last Arrowverse series on the air as Superman & Lois was only “Arrowverse adjacent).

All seasons of The Flash (and Arrow) are now streaming on Netflix.

The Simpsons

Yes, friends, The Simpsons may be one of the longest running shows of all time and has had a huge impact on culture, but it is in fact a spinoff. The Simpsons originally made their debut in shorts featured on The Tracey Ullman Show. These shorts were featured on The Tracey Ullman Show for three seasons before being developed into their own half hour primetime series that debuted December 17, 1981. Nearly 800 episodes and over 35 years later, the series has long outlasted its parent series, gotten its own feature length film, and more. The Simpsons has also had significant influence on adult-oriented animated television and continues to impact culture, turning into entertainment doesn’t just respond to society but influences it as well.

The Simpsons is currently in its 36th season on Fox. You can also watch The Simpsons on Disney+.