15 TV Spin-Offs You Won’t Believe Actually Happened (But They Did)

Full disclosure: I haven't seen Better Call Saul, which returns to AMC for a second season February 15. And don’t get me wrong — I’m looking forward to diving in for a binge when the timing feels right. But when the spin-off first premiered on the heels of Breaking Bad's epic final season, my brain was still too full of Walter White to stay in his world and follow a different story.

It's this kind of strong attachment to beloved characters and their fictional backdrops that producers hope to capitalize on with the old spin-off maneuver. But they do not always succeed. For every Fraiser or Private Practice, there’s a Ravenswood or a Baywatch Nights. The formula for success is tricky, but often includes a stand-alone great idea for a new show — one that leans less heavily on the original than, say, The Brady Brides.

Ill-advised spin-offs often get swept under the rug so fast that even devoted fans of the original series either blink and miss them or block them out entirely. We revisit 15 you may not believe actually happened, but oh, did they ever.