Netflix plans Wednesday, Extraction and Peaky Blinders spinoffs in its next big TV show push

If you’re getting fed up with sequels, prequels and threequels we’ve got some bad news for you

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For some years now, it’s felt like every second movie is a sequel, a prequel, a threequel, a reboot or a reimagining of something we’ve seen before – and it looks like the same is going to happen in TV. A new report inBloombergsays thatNetflix,Amazonand HBO are developing multiple spinoffs, prequels and sequels.

We’ve seen plenty of this already with Disney’sStar Wars spinoffs, Amazon’s expansion ofThe Boysto includeGen V, Better Call Saulcoming fromBreaking Bad, and many more shows. But there are considerably more either in consideration or in active development at thebest streaming service.

What spinoff shows can we expect to see?

Bloomberg says that Netflix is considering a spinoff fromWednesday, this time focusing on Uncle Fester. Netflix is “eager to establish a pipeline ofAddams Familyprograms” to build on that show’s success. While previously the show has focused on creating originals to bring in audiences, it’s now increasingly interested in Hollywood-style expansions such as a potential series set in the same world asExtractionand two spin-offs fromPeaky Blinders.

And it’s not just Netflix. HBO has itsGame of Thronesspinoffs including but not limited toHouse of the Dragon, a sequel toSex and the City, prequels toDuneandIt, and various shows based on DC comics. And Showtime is spinning offBillionsand Ray Donovan as well as making moreDexter. And then of course there’s Disney and its multiple cinematic universes.

What we’re seeing here is another consequence of increasing borrowing costs and slowing streaming growth. The formerly big-spending streamers are being much more cautious now, and like film studios increasingly prefer to stick with existing, bankable franchises – whether in-house ones or ones they can buy into, such asNetflix’s expandingOne Piece– than take risks on unproven content. And as Bloomberg points out, spinoffs don’t rely on existing talent, so they’re cheaper to make too.

The problem with safe bets is that, of course, they’re safe bets. For example, as much as I enjoyedThe Boys’spin-offGen V, I didn’t love it like I loved the show it came from. Watching it felt a bit like watching the TV equivalent of a famous band’s tribute act: it hit all the right notes, it wore the right clothes and it made the right moves but the magic was missing. It’s a shame that taking fewer financial risks likely means taking fewer creative ones too.

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Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than a dozen books. Her memoir,Carrie Kills A Man, is on sale now and her next book, about pop music, is out in 2025. She is the singer in Glaswegian rock bandUnquiet Mind.

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