“Girl Meets World” premieres tomorrow on the Disney Channel, a spinoff of the 1990s favorite “Boy Meets World.” This show, which stars Ben Savage and Danielle Fishel, joins a long list of sitcom spinoffs that ran for years on prime time television.
Here’s a walk down memory lane.
‘Gomer Pyle, USMC’ (1964-69) and ‘Mayberry R.F.D.’ (1968-71)
These two homespun comedies were launched by the iconic “Andy Griffith Show,” winning loyal viewers with their simple evocation of small-town life.
“Pyle” starred Jim Nabors as a US Marine. “Mayberry” starred Ken Berry and was a sequel to “Andy Griffith.”
‘Maude’ (1972-78), ‘The Jeffersons’ (1975-85) and ‘Archie Bunker’s Place’ (1979-83)
The first two wildly successful comedies were the socially conscious, groundbreaking children of Norman Lear’s pioneering “All in the Family.”
Maude Findlay (Bea Arthur) was the liberal cousin of Edith Bunker (Jean Stapleton), wife of neo-con Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor).
Bunker’s neighbors, George and Louise Jefferson (Sherman Hemsley and Isobel Sanford), were the subjects of “The Jeffersons,” which was more of a mainstream sitcom than its predecessors.
“Archie Bunker’s Place” was more a continuation of “All in the Family,” and set primarily in a tavern that Archie bought in Astoria, Queens.
‘Rhoda’ (1974-78) and ‘Lou Grant’ (1977-82)
The enduring popularity of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” is easy to understand when you think that three of its characters — Rhoda Morgenstern (Valerie Harper), Lou Grant (Edward Asner) and Phyllis Lindstrom (Cloris Leachman) — all got shows of their own. The Harper comedy was about Rhoda, a New Yawk girl who was living in Minneapolis when Mary Richards moved there.
In the spinoff, Rhoda moved back to New York and briefly married. “Lou Grant” switched gears entirely — from comedy to drama, as Grant headed up a Los Angeles newspaper.
“MTM” produced a third spinoff, the much less successful “Phyllis,” starring Richards’ other neighbor, Leachman, who played weird and wonderful Phyllis Lindstrom.
‘Laverne & Shirley’ (1976-83)
The ABC comedy about two bottlecappers at a Milwaukee brewery was a spinoff from the megahit “Happy Days.” Laverne De Fazio (Penny Marshall) and Shirley Feeney (Cindy Williams) were acquaintances of Fonzie (Henry Winkler). Both shows were created by Marshall’s brother, Garry.
‘The Facts of Life’ (1979-88)
A spinoff of NBC’s “Diff’rent Strokes,” this series told the story of an all-female boarding school, with Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae) as den mother.
‘A Different World’ (1987-93)
The Lisa Bonet spinoff of “The Cosby Show” initially focused on the college years of Denise Huxtable, who attended the fictitious Hillman College.
‘Frasier’ (1993-2004)
One of the most successful sitcoms in the history of television, “Frasier” was actually a spinoff of “Cheers,” where Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) was a regular at Sam Malone’s (Ted Danson) bar.