Has anyone else noticed how TV shows have pivoted from spinoffs to prequels?
Usually when a show was popular, it would expand with a series based in the same time period. Now, networks and streaming services have instead decided to turn back time with prequels of your favorite programs.
Bridgerton is a perfect example with Netflix originally adapting each season on Julia Quinn’s book season. The hit series, which debuted in 2020, is expected to have eight seasons based on the eight novels written by Quinn about each Bridgerton sibling and their attempt to find love in 19th-century London.
After Golda Rosheuvel‘s portrayal of Queen Charlotte captivated audiences, the fan-favorite character received a prequel series of her own. Queen Charlotte premiered in 2022 and introduced the young Queen Charlotte’s (India Amarteifio) rise to prominence and power after she exchanged vows with King George III (Corey Mylchreest).
In addition to exploring the characters originally brought to life by Rosheuvel and James Fleet, who played present-day King George, Queen Charlotte also focused on young Lady Danbury (Arsema Thomas) and Violet Bridgerton (Connie Jenkins-Greig).
Meanwhile on CBS, The Big Bang Theory aired from 2007 to 2019 and starred Jim Parsons, Kaley Cuoco, Johnny Galecki, Simon Helberg, Kunal Nayyar, Mayim Bialik and Melissa Rauch as a group of friends made up of scientists and their significant others. The Big Bang Theory spawned a prequel series, Young Sheldon, which inspired a spinoff Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage.
Keep scrolling for a guide to other recent — and past — prequel shows over the years:
‘Andor’
The Disney+ series serves as a prequel to the 2016 film Rogue One, which introduced Diego Luna as thief-turned-rebel spy Cassian Andor. (Rogue One was actually a prequel to the original Star Wars from 1977.) Andor followed the five years that led to him being radicalized against the Galactic Empire while the wider Rebel Alliance was formed.
‘Bates Motel’
The A&E series, which ran from 2013 to 2017, worked as a prequel to Alfred Hitchcock‘s 1960 film Psycho. Based on Robert Bloch‘s 1959 novel of the same name, both the show and the movie focused on Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) and the motel that later serves as the backdrop for his murders.
Bates Motel, however, sets up the story by introducing Norman as a teenager who makes the move to Oregon with his mother, Norma (Vera Farmiga). The duo attempt to start fresh after his father’s sudden death but Norman’s deteriorating mental health causes complications.
‘Better Call Saul’
The AMC series was part of the Breaking Bad franchise but took place several years before Breaking Bad while following an aspiring lawyer and former con artist Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) who subsequently becomes criminal-defense attorney Saul Goodman.
‘The Carrie Diaries’
The CW series, which premiered in 2013, served as a prequel for Sarah Jessica Parker‘s character Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City. The HBO hit ran for six seasons and was based on Candace Bushnell‘s bestselling Sex and the City anthology book series that took inspiration from her column in the New York Observer.
The Carrie Diaries followed Carrie as she balanced her suburban life in high school with her first internship in the city.
‘Dexter: Original Sin’
The role of Dexter was originally brought to life by Michael C. Hall in Showtime’s series, which ran from 2006 to 2013. After the original show came to an end, Hall returned to TV screens as Dexter in a 2021 spinoff titled New Blood.
Original Sin is set in 1991 and is focused on Dexter’s (Patrick Gibson) transition from student to avenging serial killer and member of the Miami Metro Police Department. With help from his father, Harry (Christian Slater), Dexter slowly begins his search to find and kill people who he believes deserves to be eliminated from society.
‘Dune: Prophecy’
The prequel takes place 10,000 years before Denis Villeneuve‘s films Dune and Dune: Part Two. It draws upon — but is set after — the Great Schools of Dune novel trilogy by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.
‘Fear the Walking Dead’
While The Walking Dead dropped Us in the middle of the zombie apocalypse, Fear the Walking Dead took viewers back to when society started to collapse.
‘Gotham’
The Fox show follows Jim Gordon’s (Ben McKenzie) early days at the Gotham City Police Department following the murder of Bruce Wayne’s (David Mazouz) parents. Gotham served as an origin story before Bruce became Batman. It also paved the way for Pennyworth, which was a prequel focused on a younger version of Alfred Pennyworth (Jack Bannon).
‘Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies’
Set four years before the events of Grease, the Paramount+ prequel followed misfit students who band together to become the founding mothers of the first female high school gang a.k.a the Pink Ladies.
‘House of the Dragon’
House of the Dragon is a prequel that took inspiration from George R. R. Martin‘s 2018 novel Fire & Blood. The series is set hundreds of years before the events of Game of Thrones and focuses on the ancestors of Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke).
Meanwhile, Game of Thrones aired from 2011 to 2019 and was an adaptation of a series of Martin’s fantasy novel series, A Song of Ice and Fire.
‘It: Welcome to Derry’
Pennywise the Dancing Clown was originally introduced in Stephen King‘s 1986 novel It, which followed seven children who get terrorized by an evil entity in the form of a dancing clown. Throughout the book, readers were offered a glimpse into Pennywise’s multiple reigns of terror since the monster only appears every 27 years before disappearing again.
The source material was recreated in It and It Chapter Two, with Bill Skarsgård in the role of Pennywise. After the film franchise came to an end, Max announced plans to tell Pennywise’s origin story in prequel form.
‘Kildare’
Outer Banks creator Jonas Pate revealed in December 2024 that he was writing a prequel titled Kildare. The series would feature a whole new set of young actors and focus on the founding of each group in the show’s fictional Figure 8 town.
The conflict was initially introduced in Outer Banks, which premiered in 2020. The hit Netflix series followed the conflict between two groups of teenagers in a coastal North Carolina town. The social divide was focused on the Kooks, a.k.a. the wealthy residents, and the working-class crew known as the Pogues.
‘Mixed-ish’
Black-ish introduced Us to Rainbow Johnson (Tracee Ellis Ross) while Mixed-ish took viewers back in time to her childhood. The prequel was a second series based off Black-ish with Grown-ish airing on Freeform.
‘NCIS: Origins’
NCIS: Origins, which premiered in 2024, follows a young Gibbs — a role originated by Mark Harmon — years prior to the events of NCIS. The new series picks up less than one year after Gibbs’ (Austin Stowell) wife and daughter were killed.
Harmon, meanwhile, made his NCIS debut as Gibbs in 2003 and played the lead role for 18 years. His final appearance aired in late 2021, and Harmon hasn’t returned to the flagship show since. He does, however, narrate and produce the prequel.
‘Queen Charlotte’
Bridgerton‘s success inspired a prequel series titled Queen Charlotte, which introduced the young Queen Charlotte’s rise to prominence and power after she exchanged vows with King George III.
‘Ratched’
Ryan Murphy‘s psychological thriller served as a prequel to Miloš Forman’s 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, which was based on Ken Kesey‘s 1962 novel of the same title. Ratched told the origin story of asylum nurse Mildred Ratched (Sarah Paulson).
‘Smallville’
The hit superhero series, which premiered in 2001 and ran for 10 seasons on the WB and later the CW, followed a teenage Clark Kent (Tom Welling) in his early days as a kid living on a farm with his adoptive parents Martha (Annette O’Toole) and Jonathan Kent (John Schneider). Smallville served as a prequel that built up to Clark’s eventual stint as Superman, which has been the focus of multiple movie franchises.
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’
Rings of Power is set thousands of years before The Lord of the Rings novels from J. R. R. Tolkien. The Prime Video series specifically depicts the major events of Middle-earth’s Second Age.
‘Walker: Independence’
The initial Walker series on The CW was a reboot of the 1990s western drama television series Walker, Texas Ranger, with Jared Padalecki in the lead role. The short-lived Walker: Independence expanded on the universe as a prequel set in the late 1800s which served as an origin story for the Walker family.
‘The Witcher: Blood Origin’
Set 1,200 years before the events of The Witcher television series, Blood Origin depicted the creation of the first Witcher and the events leading to the Conjunction of the Spheres. The ancient Elven civilization Xin’trea is explored as well before their eventual demise.
The World of ‘Yellowstone’
Yellowstone, which premiered in 2018, introduced viewers to the fictional Dutton family, who own the largest ranch in Montana. While some viewers came for Kevin Costner’s portrayal of family patriarch John Dutton — and stayed for the show’s other leads including Kelly Reilly, Wes Bentley, Gil Birmingham, Cole Hauser and Kelsey Asbille – others were drawn to the dramatic story lines and surprising twists.
Since Yellowstone became a hit series, spinoffs such as 1883, 1923 and The Madison were picked up by the network.
‘The Big Bang Theory’ Universe
The Big Bang Theory created a franchise when it branched out with a prequel titled Young Sheldon. The universe got even bigger with Sheldon’s older brother, Georgie (Montana Jordan), scoring a spinoff with Mandy (Emily Osment) on CBS titled Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage.
