I Spawned a Spin-Off Trivia Quiz

Answer: NCIS

"NCIS" was the first spin-off of the CBS show "JAG". In 2003, the series aired its introductory episodes with a two-parter titled "Ice Queen" and "Meltdown" introducing Mark Harmon as Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Patrick Labyorteaux would later guest star in three episodes of "NCIS" as his character Bud Roberts and one as a Russian bookie.

Mark Harmon's character Leroy Jethro Gibbs was a nod to creator Donald Bellisario's father, Leroy Jethro Bellasario. Sean Murray, who officially joined the second season of "NCIS" as Agent Timothy McGee, is Donald Bellasario's stepson. McGee's sister on "NCIS" is played by his real stepsister, Troian, while his stepbrother played Mikey Roberts on "JAG".

"NCIS" went on to spawn several spin-offs of its own, including "NCIS: Los Angeles", "NCIS: New York", "NCIS: New Orleans" and "NCIS: Sydney". David James Elliott and Catherine Bell guest-starred in three episodes of "NCIS: Los Angeles" as Harmon Rabb, Jr. and Sarah Mackenzie, respectively.

Answer: Private Practice

Addison Montgomery-Shepherd joined "Grey's Anatomy" at the end of season one and stayed on the series until 2007. She joined the Oceanside Wellness Group which was owned by her two best college friends and the series was called "Private Practice".

"Private Practice" was a spin-off for Kate Walsh's character, Addison Montgomery-Shepherd. Caterina Scorsone starred on the series as Amelia Shepherd. In the two-episode introduction to "Private Practice", Naomi Bennett was played by Merrin Dungey. When the series was picked up by ABC, Audra MacDonald played Naomi Bennett. When "Private Practice" ended in 2013, Caterina Scorsone brought her character Amelia Shepherd back to "Grey's Anatomy".

In 2018, "Grey's Anatomy" had a second spin-off on ABC titled "Station 19". Ben Warren went from being a doctor at Grey Sloan to being a firefighter on the ABC series. When "Station 19" ended, Ben Warren went back to being a doctor at Grey Sloan.

Answer: 1883

Faith Hill and Tim McGraw headlined the first spin-off which was also a prequel to the Paramount series "Yellowstone" simply titled "1883". James and Margaret Dutton, along with their children, join a wagon train to settle in a new state. When the limited series ended, James and Margaret Dutton had made their home in Montana where they buried their oldest child. This would be the land where their great-grandson, John Dutton, of "Yellowstone," would live with his family.

Faith and Tim spent fourteen-hour days working on the series. They had to endure three weeks of cowboy camp to get them ready for the series and Faith had to learn how to drive a Conestoga wagon.

After the success of "1883", a second prequel was created with Harrison Ford playing the oldest brother of James Dutton (Tim McGraw), titled "1923". The series lasted two seasons with Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren playing Jacob and Cara Dutton.

The original series spawned two more spin-offs. Luke Grimes joined CBS in "Marshalls" while Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly joined Paramount+ in "Dutton Ranch".

Answer: Boston Blue

"Boston Blue" is a spin-off of the CBS hit TV series, "Blue Bloods". Sean Reagan joins the Boston Police Department after the NYPD hiring freeze and his father, Danny Reagan, joins him as a detective on the force after Sean is injured in a fire while working as a patrol officer in the BPD.

Andrew Terraciano, who originally played Sean Reagan on "Blue Bloods," was replaced for "Boston Blue" with Mike Amonsen for creative reasons. Because the cost of filming is so high in Boston, the series is filmed in Toronto despite Donnie Wahlberg doing everything in his power to get them to film in his home state.

The family dinners that made "Blue Bloods" so popular are continued in "Boston Blue" with Shabbat dinners.

Answer: Girl Meets World

Corey and Topanga Matthews from "Boy Meets World" were living in New York and raising their two children, Riley and Auggie. The new Disney series revolved around their daughter, Riley Matthews, and her group of school friends. The series was given the name "Girl Meets World".

Maya Hart, best friend of Riley Matthews, was played by Sabrina Carpenter before she began her music career. Every single character on "Boy Meets World" was offered the opportunity to be in "Girl Meets World".

Answer: The Cleveland Show

"The Cleveland Show" was announced as the first spin-off for Fox's "Family Guy" in 2009. Cleveland Brown married his high school sweetheart, Donna Tubbs, when he moved to Stoolbend, Virginia, with his son, Cleveland, Jr. The series lasted four seasons on FOX. When "The Cleveland Show" ended, Cleveland Brown and his family moved back to Quahog.

When Cleveland returned to "Family Guy", Peter Griffin informed Cleveland that "Family Guy" numbers didn't change when Cleveland moved to "The Cleveland Show". Joe Swanson was considered to be too eccentric and Glenn Quagmire wasn't considered a good character for his own spin-off.

"Family Guy" would spoof the "Star Wars" series while "The Cleveland Show" spoofed "Die Hard". Arianna Huffington, founder of HuffPost, would portray herself in "Family Guy" and Arianna the Bear on four seasons of "The Cleveland Show".

In 2027, FOX gave Stewie Griffin his own spin-off.

Answer: Young Sheldon

In 2017, "Young Sheldon" was the first spin-off of "The Big Bang Theory". The series chronicled the life of nine-year-old Sheldon Cooper, his grandmother Constance (Connie), his father George, his brother Georgie, his mother Mary, and his twin sister Missy.

Jim Parsons first had the idea to spin off Sheldon Cooper as a prequel. Laurie Metcalf played Sheldon's mother, Mary, on "The Big Bang Theory," while her daughter Zoe Perry played a younger version of Mary on "Young Sheldon".

Several of the stories Sheldon would tell on "The Big Bang Theory" were shown on episodes of "Young Sheldon".

In 2026, comic book store owner Stuart Bloom would get a spin-off on HBO titled "Stuart Fails To Save The Universe". In 2024, Montana Jordan would get his own spin-off from "Young Sheldon" on CBS called "Georgie and Mandy's First Marriage".

Answer: Law & Order: SVU

"Law & Order" joined the NBC line-up in 1990. The hour-long show covers the crime, the arrest, and the courtroom. In 1999, Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni headlined the first spin-off, "Law & Order: SVU". The series covered sexual crimes against adults and children in New York City.

Because of her work on the series, Mariska began a foundation to help survivors and to bring attention to the number of untested rape kits in the American legal system. She also became a trained rape crisis counselor because of the series.

Richard Belzer came from NBC's "Homicide: Life on the Streets" to portray the same character, John Munch, on "Law & Order: SVU". He portrayed the character until he left the series in 2015. Richard Belzer made two returns to "Law & Order: SVU" as an investigator for the DA's office before his death in 2023.

"Law & Order: SVU" was the most successful of the spin-offs in the "Law & Order" TV franchise.

Answer: Fuller House

"Full House" was an ABC staple for TGIF on Friday nights for four years before moving to Tuesday nights for the rest of the series. The series began with a dad, his best friend, and brother-in-law taking care of three girls while all living in the same house. The series jump-started careers for Candace Cameron Bure, Mary-Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen, and Jodie Sweetin.

When "Fuller House" began, widowed veterinarian DJ Fuller was living in her childhood home raising her three sons. Along the way, her best friend Kimmie moved in with her daughter and DJ's sister Stephanie moved in as well. All of the former cast made cameos in the Netflix series except twins, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.

The exterior of the original house had to be built on the Warner Brothers lot because the owners of the original house would not let the series film the outside of their house due to problems with fans of the series. "Full House" creator Jeff Franklin bought the house from the original owners, but sold it after the series ended.

Answer: The Tortellis

"Cheers" was a hit on must-see NBC Thursday nights. The premise of the show was a bar in Boston owned by former relief pitcher Sam Malone. A wacky set of characters made their way in and out of the bar. The only waitress was a multi-married woman named Carla Tortelli. When the series began, Carla was married to Nick Tortelli and had four kids with him. She and Nick divorced when Nick met a younger woman.

The first spin-off of "Cheers" centered around Carla's ex-husband Nick and his new wife. The series was simply called "The Tortellis". It lasted thirteen episodes in 1987.

"Cheers" went on to have two more successful spin-offs on NBC. "Wings" starred Tim Daly and Steven Weber as brothers and pilots. "Frasier" starred "Cheers" alum Frasier Crane as he moved from Boston, Massachusetts, to his hometown of Seattle, Washington, to become a radio psychiatrist.