15 Side Characters So Good They Earned Their Own Shows

[@dranet47]

Laverne & Shirley was also a successful spinoff of Happy Days. Happy Days was essentially a spinoff too - from an episode of Love, American Style.

[@tvshowpilotcom]

Great suggestion!

[@angmut43]

As was joanie loves chaichi

[@dangerousdavescott]

Happy Days was not really a spinoff. Love, American Style was a sitcom anthology show that often used rejected stand-alone TV pilots to fill its episodes. Love and the TV Set, later renamed Love and the Happy Days, was not created by Love American Style. It was created by the same guys that produced the actual Happy Days series after the success of the movie American Graffiti, also starring Ron Howard, caused ABC to rethink its rejection of the Happy Days pilot. So, Love American Style really had nothing to do with creating Happy Days as a spinoff aside from airing the pilot episode under its banner.

[@rony41165]

Esther rolle who appeared as Florida on maude got her own show good times

[@JaDav40]

Cloris "Phyllis" Leachman, Polly "Flo" Holliday, and Abe "Fish" Vigoda all got eponymous sitcoms of their own.

[@Scottlp2]

Torchwood/Capt Jack was wonderful.

[@tvshowpilotcom]

YEES!!!

[@glennrenna2491]

Laverne & Shirley, The Facts of Life

[@throatwobblermangrove8510]

How could you miss the Soap spinoff, Benson? Soap was one of the best sitcoms ever, and Benson was one of the most popular characters. Corinne also had a spinoff from it, but I think it lasted maybe three episodes as opposed to Benson's eight seasons.

[@tvshowpilotcom]

Sorry for missing it. Great suggestion, though! 😊

[@JaDav40]

If you count failed spinoffs, Florence from the Jeffersons had "Checking In". Alice spun off another Flo that lasted a bit longer. And then there was The Ropers for a while.

[@southernoregoncatmom6519]

I love Benson. Great show.

[@JaDav40]

Others that had as long of a run as their parent show: Edna Garrett: Diff'rent Strokes ---> Facts Of Life Dr. Harry Weston: Golden Girls ---> Empty Nest

[@tvshowpilotcom]

Love the suggestions!

[@russellahrens7807]

If you have Capt. Jack, what about Sara Jane Smith or K-9?

[@tvshowpilotcom]

The Sarah Jane Adventures! Yes! That's another great one!

[@dangerousdavescott]

Since you credit multiple characters in some cases, I would also credit the character of Cordelia Chase for the Angel spinoff. Cordelia was also a fan favorite scene stealing side character due to her comedic timing with a straight forward sarcastic sense of humor and her bad girl to helpful, willing ally story arc which would continue to transform her into a truly heroic secondary lead when she was likewise spun off onto the Angel series as the soulful vampire's right hand woman. Cordelia really served as the heart and soul of the Angel spinoff, supporting its larger than life lead character. Angel probably doesn't succeed as well without Cordelia, a second dynamic Buffy side character that the viewers also loved with a passion.

[@linadurello7261]

Young Sheldon and George e Mandy’s first marriage from The Big Bang Theory!

[@tvshowpilotcom]

Great suggestions, Lina! 👍

[@chazarcola7639]

A more intriguing list would be : SIDE CHARACTERS WHO BECAME THE CENTRAL FOCUS OF THEIR SHOWS. That would be a very interesting topic.

[@chazarcola7639]

1. The Fonz in Happy Days. 2. J.R. Ewing in Dallas. 3. Alex Keaton in Family Ties. 4. Steve Urkel in Family Matters. 5. Dr. Zachary Smith from Lost In Space.

[@JaDav40]

@@chazarcola7639 JJ Evans in Good Times

[@tvshowpilotcom]

Ooh, that's a good one! I might just have to take your idea and make that into a video! 😉

[@chazarcola7639]

​@@JaDav40Thank you. 😊

[@danielgcantua253]

You mentioned Alan Shore & Denny Crane (The Practice to Boston Legal) But forgot Bobby Donnell (Ally McBeal to The Practice)

[@JaDav40]

Sitcoms that spun off dramas: Mary Tyler Moore ---> Lou Grant M*A*S*H ---> Trapper John MD (with a casting change)

[@kathyhuse9743]

Knotts Landing is from Dallas

[@SeptemberMeadows]

This, person I never heard of, from, this show I never heard of, too, this show I never heard of.

[@spenefexz]

You left out Florida Evans: Maude

[@tvshowpilotcom]

Sorry! Good suggestion, though!

[@HariSeldon913]

Fish from Barney Miller Enos from Dukes of Hazard Jaime Sommers (The Bionic Woman) from The Six Million Dollar Man And a movie side character (yes, I know it says TV): Phil Coulson went from the MCU to Agents of SHIELD

[@tvshowpilotcom]

All great suggestions! 🙃

[@jenniferneuensmorgan9272]

So, I’ll do you one better. I’m invested in a tv show right now where the main character was not a side character on the show(s), but was a guest star. She appeared 14 times in seven seasons on the Good Wife, five times in six seasons of the Good Fight. Has her own show now. Elsbeth. Played by Carrie Preston.

[@tvshowpilotcom]

Elsbeth! Yes! That's another good one! 👍

[@pinklady4772]

I think you should make another list.😂

[@tvshowpilotcom]

With all these suggestions, I think so too 😅

[@rony41165]

Gomer pyle was a character on andy griffith show

[@tvshowpilotcom]

Great suggestions, Ronald! Thank you!

[@rony41165]

You forgot phyllis from mary tyler moore.

[@rony41165]

Before joining law and order as lennie briscoe jerry orbach made guest appearances on murder she wrote as harry mcgraw a private eye. They gave him his own show

[@rony41165]

Good fight and boston legal were not spinoffs that were created for the side characters but because the parent show was ending.

[@rony41165]

The ropers on threes company got their own show

[@adamhinshaw1747]

How could you exclude Gomer Pyle?

[@tvshowpilotcom]

Sorry, can't include every show and character 🤷‍♀

[@Oddballkane]

Wounder if Cleveland will be here

[@tvshowpilotcom]

Unfortunately, no, I only did live-action series for this one, but that's a good suggestion for fans of animated shows!

[@hairydadder1168]

Rodney McKay, SG-1 to Atlantis?

[@tvshowpilotcom]

That's a good one!

[@JaDav40]

Colm Meaney (and later Michael Dorn) both moved over to Deep Space Nine.

[@DarrenMatthews-d9k]

how can you forget Dick Dastardly/Muttley who were in the Wacky Races and then Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines or even Penelope Pitstop/Anthill mob - also Wacky Races and the Perils of PP

[@jamesknight3992]

No, no ,no... Dick Dastardly and Mutley transitioned to "Catch that Pidgeon." 😂

[@DarrenMatthews-d9k]

@@jamesknight3992 I think that catch the pigeon was just the intro song but the title is D and M in their flying machines - guessing something to do with those magnificent men in their flying machines film which was in cinemas around the same time

[@LoyaFrostwind]

Obi-Wan Kenobi Bad Batch Angel

[@tvshowpilotcom]

Angel is on this list 😉

[@TomSweetser]

..Daria

[@tvshowpilotcom]

I was focusing on live-action shows for this list, but that's a good one for fans of animated series. 🙂

[@rony41165]

The first star trek spinoff ds9 center on next gen crew member obrien.

[@rony41165]

Benson began asa character on soap

[@ownyourcrazy8734]

Anyone not have a dark past?

[@daveofyorkshire301]

I don't understand this idea that every character has a story or every side character is relevant. Hollywood is lost in this philosophy right now. They have maybe a dozen noteworthy stories and characters in the MCU but they think any character mentioned has a story or is relevant. They're NOT! Side characters are there purely to support the main character. You don't read the wizard of Oz and then wonder how the scarecrow got on afterwards, or before the story, or you shouldn't. Jack Harkness was created as a primary character introduced in Dr Who. He was never a side character and it was obvious they expected a spin-off. Xena was just a Female Hercules, typical political pandering to balance gender roles. Hercules based upon ancient Greek mythology centuries old, Xena written in the 90s to fit a feminist agenda about balance. It's no different to Superman and Captain Marvel... The same character gender swapped. Buffy was a dying show - long played out, seeking a revitalisation of the embers, it did it in a tried and true character extraction and Cordelia went with him... Her career would have died, but someone's behind her and got her into a key role in Angel, a show that ran for 5 unquestioned seasons and left open at the end without closure, rare for a show that ran its course and had a proper fanale. Killing her off at the end signalled Angels swansong. When you think about it she cut her acting teeth on Buffy and then Angel with a much bigger role and character arc.