[JamesG.]

Here we can list what never came to be. Many shows had proposed offshoots that never got passed the planning stages or did film but never aired.

What do you think of these cancelled ideas?




"Buffy the Vampire Slayer"

- Joss Whedon was considered spinning off Eliza Dushku's Faith, but she passed on the idea.

- There were talks for years on a series centered on Anthony Stuart Head's Giles. Joss Whedon mentioned in various interviews and Comic-Con appearances that it was going to be a mini-series on BBC and then a tv-movie instead.

- Buffy the Animated Series was originally greenlit by Fox in 2002 for Fox Kids. However, the darker tones and elements of the cartoon made it difficult for other networks to fit it in with their regular children's programming. Joss Whedon officially declared the series dead in 2005.

(The main cast did come back to film about 4 minutes of test footage to sample the series w/ the exception of Sarah Michelle Gellar. Giselle Loren filled in who voiced Buffy on the video games)




"Andromeda"

During the filming of the final season the surviving cast members (who weren't going to be killed off) were attempting to pitch their own show as a continuation of the series.





"Smallville"

The Aquaman pilot was made, but it never made it to airing. However, the studio made it available for purchase on the iTunes store and Best Buy had it available in specially marked Smallville DVD sets as an exclusive bonus disc.





"Heroes"

Heroes: Origins was scrapped due to the 2007-08 writers' strike, however Heroes: Reborn eventually came out.





"Prison Break"

Prison Break was supposed to get a spin-off series that was to take place in a female prison.

The characters that were due to appear were in a few episodes of the final season and the direct-to-DVD The Final Break. Lori Petty who appeared would go on another female prison show with Orange is the New Black.





"Gossip Girl"

The spin-off was to feature a young "Lily van der Woodsen" (Kelly Rutherford's role) played by Brittany Snow.





"Tiny Toon Adventures"

Elmyra Duff was due to get her own show spun-off that focused on her and her family The Duffs. A couple of Tiny Toon episodes only focused on Elmyra and her family to "test the waters" on centering around Elmyra.

However, Elmyra Duff later joined Pinky and the Brain in a re-tooled version of their show called Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain.





"Charmed"

The WB's Charmed was due to get a Mermaid spin-off. The idea came from a two-part Season 5 episode where Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) transforms into a mermaid in an attempt to "swim away" from her problems.

The Mermaid plot was to feature a mermaid named Nikki who is saved by a young man after drifting ashore. She tries to live a normal life as a human while avoiding the capture of those who want her back in the sea.

When WB and UPN merged into The CW the new network passed on the series.





"Will & Grace"

Way before the new revival, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally were rumored to reprise their roles for a Jack & Karen series. Mullally said that the failure of Joey put the kibosh on the idea.

She described it similar to Upstairs, Downstairs with Karen and all of her servants. She wanted Martin Short to play the butler, who was secretly in love with Karen but she didn't know, and Alec Baldwin as a playboy love interest.





"Stargate SG-1"

There were plans for a spin-off to Stargate SG-1 that would feature a young SG crew but the idea never panned out. One of those who were set to star in it was Grace Park.

The spin-off that did happen was Stargate: Atlantis.





"Californication"

Showtime scrapped their plans for a Californication spin-off starring Maggie Grace as a Catholic school girl-turned-groupie who befriended Hank Moody.





"Power Rangers"

The buffoon duo Bulk & Skull were going to star in their own show. The general idea was to have them operating a hotel in Angel Grove, California.

Paul Schrier (Bulk) said at the Power Morphicon Convention in 2007, "The show never happened due to some poor demographic testing. I mean face it, you would think today 'Wow, that would have been really cool...' and it would have been.

Ultimately the Ranger show is an action-adventure show. The comic stuff that Bulk and Skull brought to the show, as wonderful as it was, really wouldn't stand alone and it would not garner the same amount of viewership as a show with a lot of butt-kicking."





"Lost"

Terry O'Quinn wanted to do a spin-off featuring himself and co-star Michael Emerson. The plot was to feature John Locke and Ben Linus as suburban teachers moonlighting as hitmen.

Terry O'Quinn tried to get J.J. Abrams on board with the proposed spin-off, but it ultimately never happened.





"The Office"

NBC passed on The Office spin-off The Farm that was to star Rainn Wilson.





"NCIS"

Kim Raver and John Corbett were to star as members of a mobile investigation team who work and live together as they travel the country solving crimes in "NCIS: Red".

This idea was scrapped and then NCIS: New Orleans was launched instead.





"Married... with Children"

David Faustino (Bud Bundy) was pitching a series around Sept. 2014 on Bud moving back in the old house and his ex-wife moves in along with his best friend and they’re struggling.

Meanwhile, after winning the lottery, Al and Peg are living in Vegas.





"How I Met Your Mother"

CBS passed on both How I Met Your Father and How I Met Your Dad.

The unaired pilot for How I Met Your Dad starred Greta Gerwig and was narrated by Meg Ryan.





"The Middle"

Sue Heck (Eden Sher) was due to get her own show, titled Sue Sue in the City, that would feature her working at a hotel in Chicago.

ABC decided not to pick it up.





"Supernatural"

The long-running series had a few attempts at a spin-off with Supernatural Bloodlines and Wayward Sisters.





"Grimm"

Shortly after NBC cancelled Grimm, the network was looking into doing an offshoot centered around a female Grimm.