In this era of endless sequels, reboots, and reunions, no successful screen property is
ever really complete.
With television in particular, a big finale doesn't necessarily spell the end anymore.
Sometimes, it's a no-brainer that an ultra-popular original series will get a spinoff, and once
it does, the follow-up becomes beloved in its own right.
But other times, audiences fall in love with a promised spinoff, only to see it fizzle
out before it even debuts.
Here are some of the TV spinoffs that never quite made it to air.
How I Met Your Dad
How I Met Your Mother attracted millions of faithful viewers who stuck around for nine
seasons to find out the full story of how Ted Mosby fell in love with his kids' mystery
mom.
The finale ended up disappointing plenty of fans, but there was a chance to wash that
bad taste away with a spinoff that CBS ordered in 2014.
How I Met Your Dad was to star Greta Gerwig, but CBS was unhappy with the first pilot and
unable to agree on conditions for a second.
Casting and rights ownership issues were also later cited as reasons the network preemptively
pulled the plug.
The Farm
In 2012, as The Office's final season loomed, NBC execs worked with Rainn Wilson to develop
a potential spin off centered around his character Dwight Schrute.
Entitled The Farm, it would focus on Dwight's vegetable farm and bed and breakfast, and
all the strange figures in his personal life.
"Growing up with Dwight and Mose, was not easy, Dwight was obviously the cool one, and
Mose was the visionary, which left me to be the comedian"
Unfortunately, the network was unimpressed.
Most of the scenes shot for the would-be backdoor pilot made it into an episode of The Office's
last season, but NBC had already decided that they wouldn't turn The Farm into a series.
The Office may eventually return in some form, however.
In late 2017, reports surfaced that NBC was again considering a way to revive the cult
favorite comedy with a new series featuring a mix of returning stars and newcomers.
Valley Girls
The CW's Gossip Girl was a very successful teen soap opera, brimming with bonkers storylines
while also being tongue in cheek.
At the height of its popularity during the second season, the wheels started turning
on a potential spinoff called Valley Girls.
The series would have launched with the second season episode of the same name, which flashed
back to the teen years of Serena van der Woodsen's mother Lily, as played by Brittany Snow.
It was set in 1980s Los Angeles, instead of Gossip Girl's cushy digs on Manhattan's Upper
East Side.
The cast also featured Krysten Ritter as Lily's sister, along with guest appearances from
No Doubt and '80s icon Andrew McCarthy.
But shortly before the season 2 episode aired, the CW quietly backed away from the spin-off
project.
Aquaman
The long-running superhero series Smallville followed Clark Kent's life in the title town
before he became Superman.
It enjoyed strong viewership and featured a cavalcade of supporting characters whose
lives and adventures could potentially be explored further.
A season 5 episode featuring Alan Ritchson as A.C. Curry, a.k.a.
Aquaman, inspired a potential standalone series for the character, with actor Justin Hartley
taking over the role.
The CW ultimately declined to pick up the series, instead releasing the pilot as a standalone
feature.
But it didn't work out so bad for Hartley, as he later joined Smallville as Oliver Queen,
a.k.a.
the Green Arrow.
In 2018, Hartley revealed that there had also been plans for a spinoff featuring himself
as Oliver and Erica Durance as Lois Lane.
Instead, those characters remained on Smallville, while a separate Green Arrow series later
premiered on The CW in 2012.
The Chatterbox
With the possible exception of Steve Urkel, no sitcom star's voice has ever been quite
as iconic as Fran Drescher's on The Nanny.
She was at once charming and annoying, trashy but still sophisticated.
As the show became a hit and introduced several characters from Fran's past, CBS was ready
to consider a spinoff.
A backdoor pilot, entitled "The Chatterbox," aired late in The Nanny's second season.
It took place at Fran's favorite hair salon and introduced viewers to the new characters
who worked there.
But despite some earnest efforts by the would-be spinoff's cast members, The Chatterbox never
made it onto CBS's schedule.
Assignment: Earth
There have been numerous versions of Star Trek over the years.
In fact, one of the earliest attempted spinoffs happened near the beginning of the original
series' run.
In the second season episode "Assignment: Earth," actor Gary Lansing was introduced
as Gary Seven, a time-hopping alien on a mission to save humanity with his trusty cat by his
side.
"Computer, record the following.
Unless agents are found immediately, must undertake their mission"
The episode was meant to serve as a backdoor pilot, but the original series itself was
in danger of cancellation, so Assignment: Earth was never picked up.
But since then, there has been a seemingly endless number of Star Trek remixes on the
silver, small, and now streaming screens.
So despite this early setback, the franchise has indeed gone on to "live long and prosper."