This New Sitcom Will Set the Record for the Most Time Between An Original Series Ending and Its Spin-Off Debuting
The remarkable thing about Varnell Hill, the just-announced sitcom starring Tommy Davidson, isn’t that it’s a spin-off of Martin Lawrence’s hit comedy Martin. The crazy part is that it took nearly 30 years to bring Davidson’s character back, almost assuredly setting a record for the most time passed between an original sitcom and its spin-off. That’s not how it usually works — networks strike while the iron is hot, using the popularity of Happy Days to launch Laverne & Shirley, for example. That makes Varnell Hill a rare phenomenon, although a few other comedy spin-offs come close…
The Conners
Okay, this one shouldn’t really count. The Conners is actually a rebranding of a Roseanne-free Roseanne, which was a reboot, not a spin-off, of the original. It’s like saying Fuller House is a spin-off because it focuses on the Tanner kids, even though any reasonable viewer would call it a continuation. It’s not called Kimmy Gibler’s House, for Uncle Jessie’s sake.
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But if we want to play fast and loose, The Conners focuses on Darlene, a character made popular on Roseanne, which ended its run in 1997. The “new” series began in 2018, 21 years after the original said goodbye. Even if we count The Conners, though, Varnell Hill still gets the record.
704 Hauser
Does it count as a spin-off if the sitcom character is a house? All in the Family went off the air in 1979, and 15 years later, Norman Lear set another sitcom in Archie Bunker’s old abode in Queens. The Cumberbatches, a Black family, moved in, bringing that Lear sensibility into the ‘90s. A long time between shows, yes, but another way to stretch our definition of “spin-off.”
Girl Meets World
Yet another entry in the “reboot or spin-off?” category, as Boy Meets World star Ben Savage returns as Corey, only this time as a supporting character. We’ll count it as Girl Meets World focuses on the adventures of Corey and Topanga’s daughter, Riley. The show premiered on Disney Channel in 2014, 14 years after Savage’s original sitcom left the air.
The Bradys
This one belongs in the Fuller House box, a “spin-off” featuring many of the original characters of The Brady Bunch but with a focus on the kids and their families. Further complicating matters: The Bradys was a Thirtysomething-style dramedy, although its attempts at social commentary were often funnier than the jokes on the original sitcom. The Bradys’ 1990 debut came 16 years after The Brady Bunch left the air.
How I Met Your Father
Another curiosity: How I Met Your Father was set in the same universe as How I Met Your Mother — some of the original characters appeared in both shows — but the premise itself was the spin-off property. HIMYF never gathered the steam of HIMYM, debuting seven years after the original ended its run in 2014.