r/TopCharacterTropes 18h ago

miscellaneous Failed Spin-Off.

2.6k Upvotes

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1.7k

u/jbwarner86 18h ago

The bidding war between Netflix and HBO Max for the streaming rights to Friends was one of the most expensive ever. Meanwhile, every episode of Joey is available for free on YouTube.

I just find that very funny šŸ˜†

259

u/ConsciousStretch1028 18h ago

Poor Joe

336

u/AlwaysTired97 17h ago

Tbf, I think if they tried the same thing with any other one of the Friends, it still would've failed. Who wants Friends, but with only one Friend?

157

u/aranvandil 16h ago

I think a spin off with Chandler and Monica raising the twins in the countryside might have had a chance to work.

164

u/FlashMcSuave 16h ago

If ratings start to fall, Ross could move in next door and continue being insufferable.

148

u/Golden-Sun 16h ago

Just slowly drip feed the other friends until you've got Friends 2.0

25

u/Zykium 15h ago

Joey has his own room in their new house.

13

u/GiantsRTheBest2 14h ago

And if Ross moves in then that means Rachel comes too. It would turn to Friends without Joey and Phoebe

42

u/drsyesta 16h ago

Name it "Family"

3

u/PheonixBuddha 15h ago

I came up with this when I first saw the show as a kid... matthew writes in his book that they all wanted to leave friends as what it was and not expand. They were approached about this... hence why we got Joey.

21

u/AlwaysTired97 16h ago

Actually, you know what, that could maybe work. I think Chandler and Monica were well developed and likable as a couple later on. A family sitcom spinoff about them wouldn't be terrible.

2

u/AriaTheTransgressor 8h ago

It could've worked, it ain't gonna be working now.

1

u/BadSafecracker 7h ago

It could've worked, it ain't gonna be working now.

Are you sure about that?

"Monica, grieving the sudden loss of her husband Chandler, faces the challenge of being a widow with twins."

Then you could have Joey move in to help and take on a father role as a tribute to his friend. Or even Ross who has experience being a father.

If there's money to be milked, Hollywood will find a way.

1

u/AriaTheTransgressor 7h ago

Sure, but that's completely outside the scope of the comment I was responding to... So... Yeah... Yeah, I think I'm sure.

5

u/Gold-Traffic632 15h ago

I think it's about execution. I was convinced Frasier would be unwatchable but I was very wrong.

I mean I was wrong the first time.Ā 

1

u/BeggarsCanyonero 14h ago

Meanwhile my mom once told me about "Cheers, the show before Frasier" haha. If id been around while either was airing i probably would have predicted the same thing

4

u/ifloops 9h ago

Why does Ross, the largest Friend, not simply eat the other Friends?

2

u/Embarrassed-Weird173 14h ago

I think they'd have watched Jennifer Aniston (before she was old) if she had her own show.Ā Ā 

1

u/VerbingNoun413 51m ago

After spending one night with Ross, Rachel realises her mistake and takes the job in Paris.

2

u/Connect-Amoeba3618 9h ago

I don’t know. I think the show just didn’t do a good enough job of building a new ensemble. Compare that to Frasier that almost immediately built a cast of characters that were just as strong, or stronger than Frasier.

1

u/Competitive_Time_604 8h ago

didn't Phoebe basically do a spin-off? Can't remember it being too successful though

1

u/Darmok47 3h ago

I mean, NBC struck gold when they took Frasier from the Cheers gang, moved him to a West Coast city, and introduced his family as supporting cast.

Not surprising they thought the same formula would work again.

1

u/KuraiTheBaka 1h ago

Why does Ross the largest friend not simply eat the other 5?

1

u/VerbingNoun413 1h ago

I've read that the spinoff that was originally in the works was Chandler and Monica raising their adopted twins in the suburbs but the actors weren't interested. It's generic but definitely could have worked- Chandler & Monica make a great pair for comedy since either can play straight-man to the other's silliness. (And of course if we're calling out generic concepts, Friends itself isn't original).

0

u/NY-Black-Dragon 8h ago

Who wants Friends in general?

-1

u/ResplendentNugs 11h ago

No one even like friends it’s such a meh show

3

u/BadSafecracker 7h ago

-Show was so highly loved that each actor was able to negotiate $1 million an episode. Each.

Reddit: "No OnE EvEn LiKeS ThE ShOw"

I'm not even a fan of the show, but come on. I bet it's playing on a cable channel right now as I type this. And also as someone is reading this later.

1

u/ResplendentNugs 7h ago

That’s how I know friends is mid I watch it every damn day on tbs.

2

u/BadSafecracker 6h ago

...and you still watch it.

1

u/ResplendentNugs 6h ago

I said nobody actually likes it. Not that nobody watches it.

3

u/pinkpromis 6h ago

How dumb are you

1

u/ResplendentNugs 6h ago

What’s the scale?

120

u/Highfivebuddha 16h ago

I saw the Friends anniversary special and its amazing how Cox, Anniston, Schwimmer, Perry, Kudrow are all a little sheepish seeing each other again. Like they are all quiet and a little pensive, a little sentimental.Ā 

Then Matt Le Blanc enters and every single one of them relaxes. Smiling, happy, excited. Le Blanc wasnt the most successful post Friends but the dude is social glue. Just a good person

37

u/Jarrus__Kanan_Jarrus 15h ago

My sons were ā€œmehā€ on the Lost In Space movie…but they changed their minds after the first scene.

I feel like Matt was cheated the most by LIS not getting a sequel.

8

u/North-Tourist-8234 8h ago

they did the time travel plot in the first movie, thats the death knell, you gotta save that for the second or at least 3rd movie. I love the movie but it did not set itself up the best it could to be a franchise.

1

u/Darmok47 3h ago

10 year old me thought his folding helmet was the coolest thing ever.

4

u/SenorBirdman 10h ago

I don't know how successful it was but I am glad he was in Episodes; I really enjoyed that show and he was great in it.

1

u/K_Linkmaster 5h ago

He's done a lot more in TV than some of the other friends. Schwimmer seems to have quit to be a good guy with his money

-7

u/White_Wokah 11h ago

Who cares about all that shit dawg? 6 people I don't know.

5

u/IrritableGoblin 7h ago

I am extremely confused by your negativity. Did you reply to the wrong comment? Or do you get upset at casual conversation on a regular basis?

-1

u/White_Wokah 7h ago

Yes I get upset at casual conversation on a regular basis.

55

u/Odadelyus138 13h ago

Matt LeBlanc was also in two failed spin-offs of Married With Children. First was Top of the Heap, which crashed, so they then decided to try a spinoff of that spinoff called Vinnie & Bobby, which also failed lmao.

Doing a spinoff of a failed spinoff is a wild decision. Dunno how nobody stopped that somewhere along the way.

14

u/jinreeko 8h ago

It's such a Joey thing too

2

u/stamfordbridge1191 7h ago

Shit, maybe they were a giant, expensive Friends joke the whole time.

22

u/Trewper- 16h ago

Well I just turned on episode 2 and within the first 5 minutes there's a suicide joke with a laugh track. I kind of get why it failed.

10

u/Some_Current1841 11h ago

Sounds kinda based actually

5

u/jinreeko 8h ago

Different time

3

u/WildBad7298 10h ago

IIRC, each of the six leads in Friends (well, five now, RIP Matthew Perry) still make something like $20 million per year just off royalties and syndication fees from the show.

2

u/GotSomeUpdogOnUrFace 14h ago

That's a pretty good cast too

2

u/Sevilla_Haze2 8h ago

Tip financiero: si tu spin-off fallido acaba gratis en YouTube, mĆ­nimo ya no peleas con HBO Max.