Spin-offs are nothing new in and of themselves. Currently, however, a striking number of offshoots of large brands are coming onto the series market – too many, according to our TECHBOOK editor Marlene Polywka.
Series fans really can’t complain about new fodder. The big streaming services release a whole bunch of new content every month, as well as various TV productions. It feels like there are more and more spin-offs of well-known series or films on the lists. If you put the number in relation to all new productions, the offshoots still make up a very small part. Especially when it comes to big names, the density has increased in the recent past. More and more often, this leaves me with the impression that the ideas or the courage for new large series universes are missing.
(Too) many spin-offs of big brands
If you look at the big providers such as the streaming giant Netflix, you will find a striking number of spin-offs in their program. In May 2023, for example, the offshoot of the successful series “Bridgerton” – “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” will start. A spin-off is also being knitted from the popular film series “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before”. With its competitor Disney+, you can see the spin-off euphoria almost taken to the extreme. Evidence of this is the now quite considerable number of series on the two major brands of the service: Marvel and Star Wars. A spin-off of “Pretty Little Liars” is currently running on RTL+, while Paramount+ is particularly interested in the spin-offs of “Grease” and “Teen Wolf”.
In addition, Warner has just introduced its “new” streaming service Max, a merger of the existing providers HBO Max and Discovery +. At the same time, a whole series of planned originals for the new platform were presented. If you look at the line-up, you will quickly be astonished – and also enthusiastic. Among other things, a series adaptation of the “Harry Potter” books is planned. In addition, there will be spin-offs for “The Big Bang Theory”, “The Conjuring” and “Game of Thrones”. Incidentally, there are already several offshoots of all the brands mentioned.
A few completely new originals were also announced, but they are not reported on as prominently. And that’s probably part of the problem. Of course, it is easier for makers and audience alike to orientate themselves on the radiance of a big brand that is already well-known. I don’t want to exclude the press and therefore myself. When it comes to keeping track of the large number of new products, you need beacons that stand out from the crowd.
Spin-offs have their right to exist
There are also various positive examples of spin-offs in recent years. “House of the Dragon” from 2022, for example, is very present. This is also an offshoot of “Game of Thrones”, the all-determining fantasy series of the past few years. Speaking of fantasy: Amazon’s “The Rings of Power” is also a spin-off in many respects, and for me personally it’s also a positive example.
Some of the series that have been celebrated by critics and the public in recent years are also spin-offs. Just think of The Good Fight, an offshoot of the legal series The Good Wife. Or of course “Better Call Saul”, an offshoot of “Breaking Bad”. And if you go further back, you’ll come across highly recommended spin-offs of big shows like Private Practice, which continues the story of a popular character from Grey’s Anatomy. Or “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” – a series that now has an incredible 24 seasons. That speaks for itself.
The Crossover Fatigue Factor
Despite these positive examples, I’m increasingly observing a certain fatigue factor in spin-offs. The question also arises for me: Do I really have to have seen all of this to know my way around a series universe?
This is actually the case with some offshoots, for example when there are so-called crossovers, i.e. when the characters of the different series meet. Again, “Grey’s Anatomy” is a prime example. In order to understand the crossover episodes with the firefighters of “Station 19”, you have to know both series. Also, important plot elements for later episodes take place within the episode.
Another example is the aforementioned MCU, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In order to understand the development of the character Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlett Witch in the film “Doctor Strange 2”, it is essential to have seen the series “WandaVision”. To be honest, I find that almost cheeky as the volume increases. Of course, everything can have a backstory, which one should know in order to understand the content of a film or series. But there are emotional and also simply time limits for me.
Spin-offs seem like the easy solution
That’s one aspect why the flood of spin-offs is slowly getting too big for me. On the other hand, it increasingly feels like well-known and popular brands are being taken advantage of. True to the motto: We milk the cow until nothing works anymore. This does not do justice to the originals and the offshoots.
And more and more often when I look, I find myself asking the question: Can’t the creators come up with anything new? As I said, there are of course fantastic offshoots of great series and films. Nevertheless, I have more and more the feeling that the big names are simply intended to tap into the viewers of the originals. And sometimes the same story is simply told again in a slightly different setting. Do I really need to see the same types of characters being killed by zombies in Fear the Waking Dead as in The Walking Dead? And while it all feels like a natural and entertaining hymn to the iconic era on That ’80s Show, that same concept just seems effortless on That 80s Show.
Sure, nobody’s forcing me to watch the spin-offs, you can say now. But then somehow.