10 TV Show Spin-Offs That Are Practically Flawless
9. Lou Grant
From: The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Like Mork & Mindy, Lou Grant is a spinoff oddity, because whilst it made sense to centre a show on Ed Asner's boozy workaholic news director from The Mary Tyler Moore Show, throwing the character into a new genre seemed a bad move.
Luckily for everyone, though, it proved to be a stroke of genius moving Grant from a classic sitcom to a heavy drama rife with astute social commentary, mainly because the late Ed Asner was so willing to rise to the challenge, and because showrunner James L. Brooks infused the drama with such brute force and intelligence.
Though there're times when it doesn't feel connected to The Mary Tyler Moore Show - never mentioning its characters during its five-season run - its dramatic take on an otherwise amusing character made it a critical darling. It could have failed miserably, but - in the words of the man himself - it ended up being damn sweet.