Every once in a while, a supporting or background character does such a good job of stealing scenes from the stars of a show or movie that Hollywood has no choice but to take notice. And sometimes they are given the chance to shine in their own spin-off. We know the success stories (Frasier Crane and Saul Goodman come to mind) and the failures (Joey, we had high hopes), but bit players have been proving themselves at the top of the marquee for decades, often shining brighter than their original incarnations.
Here, then, are eight shows and movies based on characters who began life in someone else’s story before spreading their wings on their own. They range from hit shows to cult curiosities.
1
Mork and Mindy
Nanu nanu. Shazbot.
It’s strange and entirely fitting that the first time many people saw Robin Williams was on television as the strange and hysterically funny alien Mork in “My Favorite Orkan,” a 1978 episode of the iconic sitcom. happy dayswhere he appeared in a dream that The Fonz (Henry Winkler) had. However, creator Gary Marshall knew exactly what he had in Williams and immediately turned the character into Mork and Mindywith Williams playing the playful Ork alien and Pam Dwyer as the sweet Boulder, Colorado grad student who takes him in. Mork and Mindy It lasted four seasons, was nominated for two Emmy Awards, and literally launched Williams into the stratosphere.
It is worth noting that happy days is the undisputed champion of spin-offs, and many of its supporting characters spawn more shows than any other, including Laverne and Shirley, Joanie Loves Chachi, The Blansky Beautiesand Unexpectedly.
Mork and Mindy
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1978 – 1982-00-00
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alphabet
- Directors
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Howard Storm, Frank Buxton, Bob Claver, Joel Zwick, Garry Marshall, Harvey Medlinsky
2
Pinky and the brain
Narf!
I loved the adventures of Yakko, Wakko and Dot in the brilliant 90s cartoon. animaniacs which ran from 1993 to 1998. But I admit I watched it largely for the recurring segment about a diabolical lab mouse with an enormous head named Brain and his crazy, naïve companion, Pinky, who were hell-bent on taking over the world. Pinky and the brain It came out on its own in 1995 and had four seasons and 65 episodes. It was so fun and creative that it surpassed The Simpsons to the Emmy for Best Animated Program in 1996. Narf!
Pinky and the brain
- Release date
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1995 – 1998-00-00
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The World Bank
- Directors
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Kirk Tingblad, Charles Visser, Russell Calabrese, Al Zegler, Mike Milo, Audu Paden, Michael Gerard, Alfred Gimeno
3
The Colbert Report
The crown prince of truthfulness rose like an eagle
While Stephen Colbert, unfortunately, concludes his time as host of The late show In May, let’s take a second to pay tribute to his conservative cable news-savvy alter ego, Stephen Colbert, whom the brilliant comedic actor spent eight years honing. The daily showfirst with Craig Kilborn and mainly with Jon Stewart. It was a no-brainer for Comedy Central to turn the character into The Colbert Report (pronounced “Rapore”), where, for nine seasons, Colbert would absolutely thrive, winning Emmys, a Peabody, and coining the word “truthfulness.”
4
Pacifier
John Cena shines as the chrome airhead
James Gunn’s Excellent 2022 HBO Max Spinoff Pacifier It was easily one of my favorite series of the pandemic, as it delivered the perfect over-the-top violence and ridiculousness that I needed. John Cena’s timid, white tights-wearing, eagle-carrying head apparently died in late 2021. The Suicide Squad. Luckily for us, Gunn resurrected him and the show has so far enjoyed two spectacular seasons, each of which achieved ratings of 93% and 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively.
5
The Lone Gunmen
Taken from the dimly lit rooms of The X-Files
The trio of paranoid conspiracy theorists: John Byers (Bruce Harwood), Melvin Frohike (Tom Braidwood), and Richard “Ringo” Langly (Dean Haglund), who were featured in a 1994 book. X-Files episode, became such favorites that Fox gave them their own series in 2001. Co-created by Chris Carter and a pre-Breaking Bad Vince Gilligan The Lone Gunmen He erred a little more on the comedic side and only lasted 13 episodes before getting the axe.
The pilot episode of The Lone Gunmen which aired on March 4, 2001, featured a plot involving rogue government agents hijacking a plane to crash into the World Trade Center. Six months later, 9/11 happened.
6
deadpool
The Mercenary with a Mouth breaks the silence
Ryan Reynolds was born to play Wade Wilson. But when the character appeared in 2009’s Terribly Bad X-Men Origins: WolverineThe Merc with a Mouth infamously had his lips sewn shut and fans were furious. For years, Reynolds fought Fox to get it made (he even leaked some footage to prove that fans would love it, and they loved it), and when the raunchy, fourth-wall-breaking deadpool It finally arrived, hitting 85% on Rotten Tomatoes and grossing $782 million, then the highest R-rated gross in history. Well, it’s more of a redemption story than a spin-off, but lineage counts.
7
annabelle
The porcelain mascot of the Conjuring Universe
I don’t really like dolls in general, but even the three minutes of total screen time that Annabelle, the creepy, blushing doll from the 2013 horror movie the spellappeared in that film and made a big enough impression on Warner Bros. to warrant a franchise. annabelle It appeared a year later, and while its story of a malevolent entity terrorizing a small family through an antique doll was universally criticized, audiences loved it and it grossed $257 million at the global box office. He annabelle The franchise spans three dedicated films and the doll has appeared in almost every other film in the series. Prestidigitation Universe and, curiously, in the DCEU Aquaman and both Shazam! Movies, courtesy of directors James Wan and David F. Sandberg – she’s a cameo queen!
8
this is 40
The Knocked Up couple who had an entire movie to themselves
Judd Apatow called 2012 this is 40 a “sequel of sorts” to Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl’s 2007 romantic comedy pregnant, but it’s actually more of a spin-off, since none of those characters appear. Instead, it brings back Pete (Paul Rudd) and Debbie (Leslie Mann), the sister and brother-in-law characters of Heigl’s Allison, five years later, as the couple struggles with the grind of marriage, parenthood and midlife crises. Is it the strongest entry on this list? Maybe not. Did critics like the film? Not so much (it has a 52% on Rotten Tomatoes). However, Rudd is delightfully Rudd-y.
These eight spinoffs share a simple lesson: sometimes the best character in the scene isn’t the lead. From strange but memorable cameos to one-off supporting roles, don’t count out background actors; They could just be the start of something special.
- Operating system
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RkuOS
- Connectivity
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Bluetooth, Ethernet, HDMI, USB, Wi-Fi
The impressive Roku Ultra has everything you want in a streaming device, with Dolby Vision and Atmos delivering quality 4K picture and sound.
