Did You Know These 3 Beloved Series Are Actually Spinoffs?
Throughout television history, there have been a ton of spinoff series. Simply put, a spinoff series is a show that utilizes an established character or characters from one show to create another. Frasier, for example, is one of history’s most successful spinoff series. Most people know that Dr. Frasier Crane first appeared on Cheers. There are several spinoffs, however, that are a lot harder to spot. Did you know these three beloved series are actually spinoffs?
Daria was a spinoff of Bevis and Butthead
Daria Morgendorffer never seemed to fit in with the people around her. Living in the suburban sprawl of Lawndale, Daria approached life with a cynical, but anthropological bent. She might not have fit in with her peers at Lawndale High School because she belonged in another fictional suburban town.
Daria was actually a spinoff of the MTV hit, Bevis and Butthead. According to The Los Angeles Times, Daria was introduced as Bevis and Butthead’s brainy pal before getting her own show in 1997. The series followed Daria as she navigated high school and ended with her graduation and acceptance into college.
Private Practice was a spinoff of Grey’s Anatomy
The medical drama, Grey’s Anatomy, has had an incredibly successful run. In fact, it’s one of the most successful medical dramas of all time. The show’s success was used to launch a spinoff series. Private Practice began with a backdoor pilot in May 2007. The series officially began airing in September 2007.
The show followed Addison Montgomery, Derek Shepard’s first wife, as she navigated life after leaving a busy hospital in favor of a quieter life at a private, boutique medical practice owned by her best friend, Naomi Bennet and Naomi’s husband, Sam Bennet. The series ran for six seasons and was largely considered a success.
The Facts of Life was actually a spinoff of Different Strokes
The Facts of Life, a series about four girls at an upstate New York boarding school and their housemother, proved to be an unlikely success back in the 1980s. The show was so successful that NBC, the network that carried the series, moved the show around as needed to bolster other shows.
The comedy series got a bit of help from its predecessor, though. The Facts of Life was a spinoff of Different Strokes. Edna Garret, the main character, was the housekeeper for the Drummond family in Different Strokes and happened upon the housemother job at the Eastland School because of Kimberley Drummond. Kimberley was a student at the school, but strangely enough, never appeared in The Facts of Life.
