Unlikely 'The Simpsons' Spin-Offs We Deserve

Photos via Frinkiac

By now, any The Simpsons fan worth his weight in donuts has seen the Season 8 episode “The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase,” which highlighted what spin-offs featuring Moe the bartender, Chief Wiggum and Principal Skinner (Skinny Boy), and, well, The Simpsons might look like. However, did you know that at one point in time, an actual spin-off for the series was proposed by creator Matt Groening, which would have seen a live-action version of The Krusty the Clown Show hitting the airwaves? It’s true. And that was just one of several that have never seen the light of day.

But why is that? After all, with such a bevy of notable characters at the show’s disposal — especially when characters like Cleveland from Family Guy have received the solo treatment — couldn’t they take a chance on one of the lesser knowns? Obviously the show has been around for so long now that characters like Moe and Principal Skinner have been overexplored to death, but we have a feeling that our choices (and potential plots) for a spin-off series would be so out of left field that they’d practically feel brand new.

Unlikely The Simpsons Characters Who Deserve A Spin-Off

Make the transition from hypothetical to plain old pathetical: The 5 Moe’st (And Least) Spectacular Moe Episodes Of The Simpsons

Simpsons Characters Who Deserve Spin-Off

Professor Frink

Potential Spin-Off Plot: It was already toyed with in short form, and the results were actually pretty funny. Think Rick from Rick and Morty meets Futurama's Professor Farnsworth and that's essentially the kind of show you'd be looking at here. And with an endless array of inventions at his disposal (hamburger earmuffs, anyone?), there's no telling which other Simpsons characters could get caught in the crossfire. HOYVIN-MAYVIN!
The Itchy & Scratchy Show

Potential Spin-Off Plot: Surely we've all caught ourselves embarking down the YouTube wormhole that is The Itchy & Scratchy Show compilations. With the duo clearly modeled after Tom and Jerry, what's stopping them from taking it to the next logical step? It wouldn't even have to be a half hour series. They could do short segments that occupy an 11-minute time slot a la Regular Show. You'd be surprised how much content you can pack into such a brief amount of time, especially when the average I&S ep is only about 30 seconds. And if things get too derivative, they can always bring Poochie back to spice things up, right? NOT!
Kang and Kodos

Potential Spin-Off Plot: What are these guys doing when it's not Halloween? It's become painfully clear that the two shouldn't appear in regular episodes of The Simpsons. Or, at least it will after you watch "Gump Roast" or "The Man Who Came To Be Dinner." But put them in a fantastical outer space setting (hell, just transfer them to Matt Groening's other flagship series) and there is plenty more comedy to be wrung from the pair of aliens from Rigel 7.
Hans Moleman

Potential Spin-Off Plot: Football in the groin! FOOTBALL IN THE GROIN! It works on so many levels. But mostly, it's just fun watching this guy get hurt. And possibly dying. So what's keeping this 31-year-old man alive? Is it just a resilience that knows no bounds? Is he merely saved at the last minute offscreen every time (or not)? Does his apparent immortality lie with being an actual mole person? That's getting into superhero territory, but the point is, we need answers that will never come without a spotlight on the character. We'd say maybe he's just unlucky, but that trait seems to fall on another obscure Simpsons side character.
Charlie

Potential Spin-Off Plot: There seems to be no one in the town of Springfield more unlucky than Charlie, the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant worker and fellow drinking buddy of Homer, Lenny and Carl. Some might even call him the unsung fourth of the SNPP crew. When he's not getting stuck delivering bad news to Mr. Burns and subsequently sucked through a tube to God knows where (see above), he's being taken down by the government or at home recovering from any number of unfortunate accidents. He's essentially the lead character in HBO's short-lived The Life & Times of Tim, and a series centering on his everyday life turning to complete hell through no fault of his own is one we'd tune into every week.
Bartman

Potential Spin-Off Plot: In a world consumed by comic book and geek culture, how is a series based around Bartman not a slam dunk? It could satirize the medium in any number of clever ways, and turn every heavy hitter in The Simpsons' universe into their own superhero alter-ego. 'Nuff said.
Judge Snyder / Judge Constance Harm

Potential Spin-Off Plot: Imagine a Judge Judy-esque cartoon series set in the town of Springfield, where familiar characters from the show come to settle their grievances in a court of law. People watch that crap when it's got a bunch of nobody's on it, so why in the hell wouldn't they watch this?
Future Simpsons

They'll never stop The Simpsons, but eventually they are going to run out of interesting things for them to do. So why not age them 20 years or so like the show does from time to time, only make it a permanent fixture. Let's explore a world where Lisa is married to Milhouse, Homer and Marge are now the dependent ones, and Bart is...well, the same old Bart. But older! After all, 30 years is a long time to be 10.