Among the most famous examples of the spin-off are those from the work of producer  Norman  Lear and works by producers working at MTM Productions during the 1970s. A list of the originating programs with their spin-offs reads like a genealogy of popular television comedy. Thus, All in the Family begat Maude, which begat Good Times, and The Jef­ Jersons, which begat Checking In. All in the Family also begat Gloria, which lasted only one season and begat nothing.

     The Mary Tyler Moore Show begat Phyllis, Rhoda, and Lou Grant, and though none of these "offspring" engendered specific shows of their own, their producers went on to create numerous programs with the distinctive style of these earlier works.

     Other prolific sources of spin-offs were The Danny Thomas Show, the source of The Andy Griffith Show, which led to Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. and Mayberry, R.F.D. From Happy Days the list includes Laverne and Shirley, Joannie Loves Chachi, Mork and Mindy, and Out of the Blue. As should be clear from these lists, a spin-off is no guarantee of success. For every Wanted: Dead or Alive (from Trackdown), there is a Beverly Hill Buntz (from Hill Street Blues).

     The existence of spin-offs can lead to puzzling problems when one considers the relations among programs across the schedule. The long-running prime-time serial Knots Landing, for example, was a spin-off of Dallas, the most famous example of that genre. During the famous 1985-86 season of Dallas, the season that was "dreamt" by Pamela Ewing (Victoria Principal), various events on Knots Landing occurred in response to Bobby Ewing's (Patrick Duffy) "death." Yet no one on Knots Landing bothered to explain how the history of their own fictional world might be altered by the fact that a "year in the life of Dallas" never occurred.

     In any instance, spin-offs attest to television's constant demand for new, if not always different, material. This demand often leads to mindless repetition and the most meager attempts to cash in on previous success. While spin-offs may lead to new sources of creativity in their own right, the result of applying this strategy is often no more than a program that temporarily fills a time slot.

     Indeed, it should be noted that spin-offs often result from producers' financial arrangements or from deals made with actors portraying popular characters within an ensemble. Successful producers or popular actors frequently contract for future commitments from studios or networks. New shows constructed around proven, popular characters offer obvious advantages in these arrangements. One of the most successful U.S. television series in recent history, Frasier, was developed for performer Kelsey Grammer. The WB television network capitalized on the success of Buffy the Vampire Slayer by creating Angel for David Boreanaz. And as the final season of Friends began, word came that the National Broadcasting Company  (NBC) would develop a series for Matt LeBlanc who portrayed the popular character. Joey. The example is interesting because NBC executives acknowledged that the Joey character was not intended to be the most prominent character when the series began. Yet no other actors were offered series developed around their star, and the network a ready-made billboard for advertising new work.

     A final version of the spin-off is related to variations on a program franchise or formula, variations that often cross national boundaries. It is important to remember that All in the Family and Sanford and Son, two of the most highly acclaimed shows produced by Norman Lear, were copies of British productions, Till Death Us Do Part and Steptoe and Son, respectively. Currently, the most prominent examples in the United States are the international versions of Wheel of Fortune. Licensed by the parent company Merv Griffin Productions to producers in other countries, some form of Wheel is popular from France to Taiwan, from Norway to Peru. In each country, small variations are created to express particular cultural expectations and attitudes. Because game shows are cheaply and easily produced, this type of the spin-off concept is likely to expand.

     Similarly, producers and programmers take advantage of highly successful program "franchises," the total style and format of a production that can be copied or slightly modified to create new programs. The best example in recent U.S. television history is the Law and Order franchise. Though not initially a "hit," the first Law and Order series became staple viewing, a firmly "episodic" program in the midst of more serialized series. It satisfied viewers with its contained episodes, which also made it an outstanding and financially successful product for syndication. Producer Dick Wolf subsequently developed Law and Order:SVU (Special Victims Unit), which dealt with sex crimes, and Law and Order: CJ (Criminal Intent), which presented stories exploring the criminals' point of view. On occasion, characters from one or more of these series would "cross over" into action in another. These programs, like all other instances of spin-offs, attest to both television's unceasing demand for new content and narrative structures able to generate new stories.