Sitcom Spin-Offs and Their Place in Prime Time Television History

The situation comedy, or sitcom, has been one of the most popular forms of television programming since its inception. According to William T. Bielby, Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, "Since the late 1950s the television industry has recognized two basic genres for prime-time network series: the half-hour situation comedy ('sitcom') and the one-hour drama... Over the past several years the 'reality' series has become recognized as a third basic prime-time genre,"[1] but for the purposes of this argument, discussion will be limited to the sitcom only.

The Dictionary of Film and Broadcast Terms defines a sitcom as "a series in which the main characters are pre-established and plots are developed to involve these characters in an almost-believable situation; one that creates a problem that must be resolved in about 22 minutes (the TV 'half-hour')."[2] Although this definition does not distinguish the sitcom as part of the genre of comedy rather than drama, this is understood.

Of course, the genre of the sitcom is far too broad a topic to adequately discuss in such a limited space. Therefore I would like to further narrow my focus so as to consider the sub-genre, of sorts, of the "spin-off" of prime-time network television sitcoms, including its history as well as its supposed purpose.

The spin-off is succinctly defined as follows:

"A spin-off occurred when one or more characters from a series, usually supporting characters, subsequently appeared on another series. In most, but not all, cases the supporting characters from the original series became the stars of the spin-off series, and ceased to appear in the original series (assuming that the original series was still in production)."[3]

From TV's earliest example, Jackie Gleason's Ralph Kramden and The Honeymooners (a spin-off of the character's sketch appearances on the variety show Cavalcade of Stars), to today's slew of Law and Order and CSI clones, the spin-off has remained a fixture in prime-time lineups for over 50 years.