There were two full spin-off shows which were derived from the FOX sitcom Married with Children, though neither was successful. The first attempt succeeded with the Married... with Children episode "Top of the Heap" as a pilot for a series with the same name. The regular series episode premiered on Fox on April 14, 1991, but only six regular episodes were produced (plus the pilot). Top of the Heap had its own spin-off/sequel called Vinnie & Bobby a year later, which was also cancelled after 7 episodes.
MWC Spinoffs[]
- Top of the Heap, starring Matt LeBlanc and Joseph Bologna, as Vinnie and Charlie Verducci, a father and son constantly attempting get-rich quick schemes. They have also appeared in previous Married... with Children episodes and a few characters of MWC appeared on the show as well.
- Vinnie & Bobby was an attempted revival of and continuation of the failed Top of the Heap series; premiering a year after the failed parent series in late spring of 1992, but that, as its parent series, lasted only seven episodes.
Proposed series that never made it[]
- Radio Free Trumaine was a proposed series pitched to FOX by producers Michael G. Moye and Ron Leavitt and writers Richard Gurman and Stacie Lipp, which was based on the Season 9 episode Radio Free Trumaine", with the storyline centering around Bud Bundy's time in college with the campus radio station, with Steve Rhoades as the antagonistic Dean and a then 19-year old Keri Russell as Bud's fellow student and object of desire April Adams.
- Enemies, was a warped version of the NBC-TV series Friends, featuring Alan Thicke, based around Kelly Bundy's social circle. Needless to say, it did not impress the FOX network executives into shooting a pilot for it.
In addition to those three spin-off ideas, another proposed spin-off about Kelly Bundy was planned but never made for two reasons: Christina Applegate turned it down, and Fox's contract stated that the two Bundy children couldn't get spin-offs. Also, series co-creator Michael G. Moye proposed a NO MA'AM spin-off, but got turned down mainly due to Fox's fears of alienating much of the female demographic.
On September 11, 2014, it was announced that a spin-off was in the works, centered on the character of Bud Bundy, however it is not certain that the series will actually happen as there are problems with the rights.