29 Spin-Offs that Almost Happened - mental_floss List Show Ep. 441

TL;DR

Numerous spin-offs from popular TV shows almost happened but were eventually scrapped.

Transcript

hey there I'm Mike Renetta welcome to the salon this is Mental Floss video and did you know that there was almost a spinoff of the show friends starring Lisa Kudrow as her character Phoebe you probably know that Joey got his own not very successful show but in 2003 it was announced that NBC was developing a show about Phoebe it would've started Kud... Read More

Key Insights

• 🥺 Spin-offs from TV shows are common but many factors can lead to their cancellation, such as budget constraints and network decisions.
• 🧑‍✈️ Some shows had pilots filmed or scripts written, like The Simpsons' Krusty spin-off and Mad Men's Peggy spin-off.
• 🤩 Despite initial interest, projects like the Catwoman movie starring Michelle Pfeiffer and the spin-off from The Wire never got past the planning stages.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why did the potential spin-off show about Phoebe from Friends never happen?

The show was supposed to star Lisa Kudrow and Aisha Tyler as well, but due to unknown reasons, the project fell through before it could get off the ground.

Q: Which popular cable TV show was almost spun off into a political drama?

The Wire almost had a spin-off focusing on the character of politician Tommy Carcetti, but HBO decided against it, citing the desire to focus on one show at a time.

Q: Which iconic sitcom character nearly got a show of his own but it was denied by the network?

Dwight from The Office had a spin-off planned called The Farm, but even though an episode aired as a backdoor pilot, NBC decided not to move forward with the series.

Q: Why did a potential spin-off show about Peggy from Mad Men not come to fruition?

Despite interest from networks like AMC in a modern Mad Men spin-off focusing on Peggy, creator Matthew Weiner was not ready to commit, and the idea eventually faded away.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• A number of potential spin-offs from popular TV shows like Friends, The Simpsons, Mad Men, The Office, and Star Trek were in the works but never materialized.

• Some shows had pilots filmed and scripts written, such as a spin-off from The Wire about politician Tommy Carcetti and a live-action Simpsons spin-off about Krusty the Klown.

• Various reasons led to the cancellation of these spin-offs, including budget constraints, scheduling conflicts, lack of interest, and network decisions.