Editing Spin-off

A '''spin-off''' is a buzzword for an officially-recognized continuation series utilizing either some or all of the original cast of a series and/or using the same premise and/or set in the same town / country / universe as television series already (or recently) on-air.

Spin-offs are frequently financially driven by the success of a parent series, and extend the marketable life of the series to the point of becoming a [[w:List of sagas|saga]] that spawns a series [[w:franchise|franchise]].

Spin-offs are commonly produced by the same production company / team responsible for the originating series. Spin-offs can generate spin-offs of their own.

Spin-offs can be set in contemporary time relative to its parent, or occur before or after the events of the parent show.

While spin-offs on TV in recent history are commonly science-fiction related, writers such as [[w:Norman Lear|Norman Lear]], [[w:Aaron Spelling|Aaron Spelling]] and [[w:Garry Marshall|Garry Marshall]] dominated spin-off efforts in the 1970s and 1980s of American television.

==Examples==
*''The Jeffersons'', spun from ''[[w:All in the Family|All in the Family]]''
*''Stargate Atlantis'', spun from ''[[w:Stargate SG-1|Stargate SG-1]]'', spun from the motion picture, ''[[w:Stargate (film)|Stargate]]''
*''Star Trek: Voyager'', spun from ''Star Trek Deep Space Nine'', spun from ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', spun from  the original ''[[w:Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' series, which spun ''[[w:Star Trek: Enterprise|Star Trek: Enterprise]]'', set 100 years prior to the parent show
*''[[w:Crusade (TV series)|Crusade]]'', spun from ''[[w:Babylon 5|Babylon 5]]''
*''[[w:Torchwood|Torchwood]]'', ''[[w:The Sarah Jane Adventures|The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'', and ''[[w:K-9 and Company|K-9 and Company]]'' are spin-offs from the long-running ''[[w:Doctor Who|Doctor Who]]''.
*''[[Caprica (series)|Caprica]]'' a proposed spin-off of the [[Re-imagined Series]], depicts life over 52 years prior to the Re-imagined Series
*''[[Galactica 1980]]'', spun from [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|the 1978 ''Battlestar Galactica'']]

The [[Re-imagined Series]] is, as its name suggests, not a spin-off but a [[re-imagining]] that draws elements from a previous show but does not continue the original show's characterizations  or storylines.

In contrast, a [[continuation]] is a form of spin-off that occurs after a series has ceased production for some time, which usually resumes the original storylines and characters.  A fictional example of this would be in the film [[w:Galaxy Quest|Galaxy Quest]].

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[[Category:Hollywood Buzzwords]]