The Hypothetical Spin-off

Bea Arthur famously appeared in two episodes of All in the Family as Maude Findlay before starring in a spin-off that was developed for her ratings-friendly character. Maude ran for six years on CBS. Flavorwire has a great post today about minor/supporting television characters who deserve their own shows. Some of Flavorwire’s choices are no-brainers. Who wouldn’t love to see Mad Men‘s Carla as the lead character of a show? With retro TV shows becoming a trend (see the upcoming Pan Am and The Playboy Club), a show that explores the 60s from the perspective of a working class black character would be a welcome addition. True Blood’s Godric also seems a natural choice; how could he not? The character has literally millennia of history to explore.

Other choices are less convincing. Pepper Saltzman is a joy to watch on Modern Family, but part of the reason he’s such an entertaining presence is precisely because he only appears occasionally. In larger doses, the effect of the character would become diluted. Did you ever think that Jack & Karen might have been a much funnier show than Will & Grace? Maybe, but part of what kept those two funny was their supporting status, which allowed their hilarity to be measured out evenly across episodes as they played off the leads.

So, Crassholes, which minor/supporting TV characters do you think deserve their own shows? Flavorwire limited their choices to shows currently on the air, but let’s broaden the possibilities to all TV shows.

Gale Boetticher from Breaking Bad would be an amazing central character for a weirdo spin-off. Gale is endlessly fascinating, and the few things we learn about him only serve to make the unknowns potentially more bizarre and–more importantly–necessary to the total understanding his character.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeyxaWtmvD4

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