Spinoffs that never happened!

[JamesG]

Michael Kelly recently discussed the "House of Cards" spin-off that was going to feature Doug Stamper.

"I had very real conversations with people about a spinoff that was actually fricking brilliant, and I would've loved to have done it before everything went away. It was a brilliant, brilliant idea for one and it was just like, Oh my god,' and then it didn't happen."



Kelly's not sure if his character's death was the nail in the coffin for the series, but the spin-off didn't happen "for whatever reason."

"I would've loved it 'cause it was a really very, very clever way to spin the show off," Kelly continued. "They wanted to do it kind of like in a Better Call Saul way where it had a little bit of comedic, a little bit funnier beats. It was gonna start with me trying to kill myself, I think, if I remember correctly, in prison and the pipe breaks. And he goes back to his cell to find a new cellmate and he's like, 'Huh' ... it was really cool, It was really great idea."

https://ew.com/michael-kelly-reveals...in-off-8732585

[JamesG]

Shonda Rhimes recently revealed she had ideas for "Grey's Anatomy" spin-offs, and one for "Scandal", that never happened.



Grey's Anatomy

“I felt like we could have done Chicago Anatomy, Boston. We could have done that. It just didn’t appeal to me to rebuild the same world. And then we thought about a lot of things.”

“I thought that there could be a spinoff with Amelia that was the Shepherd sisters. They’re all doctors. It could have been a Shepherd sisters show, which would’ve been very interesting.”




Scandal

“We wanted to do a B613 spinoff on Scandal. Yeah, there was a bunch. But we really tried to look for shows that could stand on their own two feet, that were their own thing.”

https://deadline.com/2025/03/shonda-...fs-1236352432/

[JamesG]

CBS has decided to not move forward with its planned spin-offs of "The Neighborhood" and "The Equalizer".

"The Neighborhood" spin-off was to focus on Malcolm (Sheaun McKinney) and Marty Butler (Marcel Spears), the adult sons of Calvin and Tina starting a new chapter of their lives in Venice Beach.

Also announced in its cast were Justin Long, Kara Royster, Angelique Cabral and Hunter King.



"The Equalizer" spin-off was to star Titus Welliver and Juani Feliz.

Queen Latifah’s Robyn McCall is contacted by Samantha Reed (Feliz) to help track down her father, missing ex-CIA agent Elijah Reed (Welliver).

[JamesG]

I was looking back on "Nip/Tuck" since Julian McMahon has died and saw that a spin-off never happened.

Rosie O'Donnell was going to lead the spin-off as her recurring character Dawn as she was a hit with fans. She confirmed back in 2006 that she was in talks with Ryan Murphy, but nothing ever came of it.

[JamesG]

Both scrapped spin-off pilots featured Selena Gomez:


- What’s Stevie Thinking?, a 2005 pilot featuring Gomez as Stephanie “Stevie” Sanchez, the younger sister of Lalaine's Miranda from "Lizzie McGuire".


- Arwin!, a 2007 pilot which would have focused on “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody's” lovable janitor, played by Brian Stepanek, and his kids.

https://deadline.com/2025/08/selena-...ts-1236481835/

[JamesG]

It was announced in May 2024 that Disney ordered a pilot for "Alice in the Palace", a spin-off of "Raven's Home". Raven-Symoné was an EP and directed the pilot.

The series was to star Mykal-Michelle Harris as Alice Baxter, Raven Baxter's young cousin, who returns to England and reunites with Duchess Clementine (also portrayed by Harris), a young royal who looks exactly like her.

In the process, Clementine gets a taste of the fun side of “normal” life, while Alice gets a taste of the finer side of “regal” life.




Mykal-Michelle Harris announced on her Instagram in July 2025 that "Alice in the Palace" was not picked up.

Everyone has been asking soooo… I want to say thank you so very much to EVERY SINGLE PERSON on the cast and crew who worked on my very own pilot that I not only played the titular character on… but also played opposite myself as another character (Alice and Clementine) AND was a PRODUCER on.

It was for sure a dream come true to make #AliceInThePalace. Ultimately, #disneychannel decided to take the strategy in a different direction that did not include our show. #thatsTheBusiness.

But I am so blessed to have accomplished this. To my new family that served as the lead cast…LOVE U FOREVER. To every member of the crew and production office… you were amazing !!!

[JamesG]

While not officially scrapped, the "Dexter" prequel on the Trinity Killer seems unlikely. It was originally announced in early 2023 w/ Clyde Phillips and Scott Reynolds as co-creators and EPs.

While out promoting "Dexter: Original Sin" in December 2024, Phillips had said, "We wrote the entire Trinity Killer series. At the moment, it is on the back burner. John Lithgow has agreed to be the voice of his younger self the way Michael C. Hall is doing [Original Sin]. There’s that and we’re doing another show with Michael C. Hall, [Resurrection]…

We were writing that while shooting Original Sin, so that’s fairly busy. We begin shooting [Resurrection] in January and it will air in June 2025."




In Sept. 2025, Phillips said on the Dissecting Dexter podcast that the Trinity Killer prequel seems unlikely.

"It's backburned. And I honestly don't think they're going to go for it. I just think they're interested in Resurrection. I mean, if they cancelled Original Sin, which is a built-in hit, how are they going to pick up Trinity?

If they do, I'd be delighted, but I don't see them doing it."

[TMC]

TV Series Finales That Teased Spin-Offs We Never Got

In TV land, there's no easy way to say goodbye. Some shows choose to extend their farewells via sequel series and backdoor pilots, but only a handful of programs have ended their runs by trying to spin their characters off into new situations. Unfortunately, while some of these shows — like "Cheers" and "The Practice" — managed to serve as successful launching pads for great new TV spin-offs ("Frasier" is one case, "Boston Legal" is another), many programs have sacrificed their final episodes to pitch concepts that did not lead to a fresh tomorrow for its world.

This bundle of attempted pilots and series continuations includes episodes where minor characters were elevated to prominence, shows where supporting characters were given a chance at helming a series, and outings where major characters broke away from their home shows and left to make fresh starts in new cities. Sadly, they all have one thing in common — none of them went to series.

[JamesG]

"Major Crimes", a spin-off of "The Closer", was supposed to get its own spin-off titled "S.O.B." (Special Operations Bureau) starring Jon Tenney and Laurie Holden.

TNT boss Kevin Reilly said back in 2015, “We’re not doing that. We’ve moved on.”

[JamesG]

Xena: Warrior Princess actress Renee O'Connor said that she almost had her own spinoff, but ultimately turned it down.

Speaking with CBR, O'Connor explained that, following the end of Xena, that they wanted to do a spinoff starring her character Gabrielle.

She turned down the show because she couldn't imagine doing it without Lucy Lawless (Xena) as they had great chemistry.