30 best TV spinoffs ever, ranked, including ‘The Simpsons,’ ‘The Jeffersons,’ ‘Frasier,’ ‘Better Call Saul’ [PHOTOS]

If there had never been “The Tracey Ullman Show,” there likely would never have been “The Simpsons.” Too, without “Happy Days,” then “Laverne and Shirley” and “Mork and Mindy” would never have seen the light of primetime. Television series spinoffs have been a thing going back to some the earliest days of the medium itself, when “The Honeymooners” premiered in 1955 after beginning life as a series of sketches on “The Jackie Gleason Show” a few years earlier. Thus was born the concept of introducing a character or characters on a show that prove so popular it’s decided they deserve their own series.

SEEHappy 30th anniversary! 30 greatest ‘Frasier’ episodes, ranked worst to best [PHOTOS]

Sometimes, the strategy hasn’t worked out so brilliantly, such as when “Cheers” gave birth to “The Tortellis,” “M*A*S*H” to “AfterMASH” and “The Brady Bunch” to “The Brady Brides” (we’ll save the rest of those for our forthcoming all-time worst spinoffs list.) But other times, gold is struck and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” spawns “Rhoda” and “Lou Grant,” and more recently “Breaking Bad” beget “Better Call Saul.” There have even been instances when a successful spinoff produced another successful spinoff, such as when “The Andy Griffith Show” (a spinoff of “The Danny Thomas Show”) gave rise in the 1960s to “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.” and, later, when “Maude” (an “All in the Family” spinoff) spun out “Good Times.”

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There have also been cases where the spun show exceeded the quality and popularity of its parent. I’m looking at you, “NCIS” (spun out of “JAG”) and at you, “The Simpsons” – which is now passing an astonishing 750 episodes, or roughly 670 episodes more than its mother “The Tracey Ullman Show.”

Any time is a good time to do a qualitative assessment of TV’s finest spinoffs, but it’s especially appropriate now with the reboot of “Frasier,” the already successful spinoff from “Cheers.” So let’s do it right here and right now, shall we? Tour our photo gallery above for the 30 greatest television spinoffs, ranked worst to best.

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Launch Gallery: 30 best TV spinoffs ever, ranked

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