Podcast #1259: Clever Spinoffs to Our Favorite TV Shows

On today's show we create alternate reality TV Spinoffs of some of our favorite TV shows. We also read your emails and take a look at the week's news.

News:

• What Fox's Roku Acquisition Signals For Local Broadcast
• Wurl Chief Warns FAST Business Model Is 'Fundamentally Flawed'
• Walmart in reported $1.4 billion deal to acquire connected TV ad platform
• Google Home will soon get better at recognizing you

Other:

• Pioneer SPHERA car stereo review

Clever Spinoffs to Our Favorite TV Shows

HBO Max is making a clever spinoff from "The Big Bang Theory" called "Stuart Fails to Save the Universe". The show follows comic book store owner Stuart Bloom from The Big Bang Theory in a new series where he attempts - and apparently fails - to save the universe, staying true to his unlucky nature. The spinoff consists of ten episodes, streaming every Thursday at 9 PM. It debuts July 23 on HBO Max .

So this got us thinking about some cool spinoffs with quirky characters from other shows we've watched over the years. Here are three clever spinoff concepts in the same spirit as Stuart Fails to Save the Universe:

Jack Bauer from 24

Title: 24/7

After finally retiring from CTU, Jack Bauer is forced to take a mundane job as head of security at a mid-sized suburban office park in Los Angeles — mostly to keep his health insurance.

Still operating with the intensity, paranoia, and zero-tolerance policy that once saved the world multiple times, Jack now applies his elite counter-terrorism skills to everyday annoyances: package thieves, passive-aggressive HR Manager, broken printers, and the HOA president who keeps violating noise ordinances.

Every episode plays out in real time (a 24-minute comedy format), following Jack as he tackles a new "crisis" — whether it's a missing office dog, a suspected mole in accounting, or an all-out war with the food truck that keeps getting his lunch order wrong.

Jack still does dramatic split-screen monologues, tortures (metaphorically) the vending machine, and keeps a "go bag" full of zip ties and protein bars in his desk. His long-suffering team includes a burnt-out millennial assistant, a retired cop who just wants to nap, and his daughter Kim, who keeps trying to get him into therapy.

Tagline: He saved the world 8 times. Now he has to survive the corporate retreat.

Chandler and Monica of Friends

Title: The One Where They're Spies

After years of marriage, Chandler Bing and Monica Geller have the perfect cover: a boring, stable suburban life in New Jersey. Chandler works as a "data analyst" for a vague government contractor, and Monica runs a high-end catering business.

In reality, they're a highly skilled CIA husband-and-wife operative team.

Chandler's deadpan sarcasm and quick wit make him an elite handler and master of undercover personas. Monica's terrifying organizational skills, attention to detail, and competitive nature make her an absolute weapon in logistics, interrogation, and hand-to-hand combat (she once took down three targets with a perfectly thrown fondue fork).

While they're out saving the world from international threats, they have to keep their double lives completely hidden from Ross, Rachel, Joey, and Phoebe — who still think Chandler hates his job and Monica is just an obsessive chef.

Every episode balances high-stakes spy action with classic Friends-style comedy as the couple frantically tries to explain away their suspicious behavior:

• "Why do you have a go-bag in the closet?"
• "Why does Chandler suddenly speak fluent Mandarin?"
• "Why was Monica gone for three days and came back with a new scar and a Russian accent?"

Tagline: They're saving the world… between coffee at Central Perk.

Charles Boyle from Brooklyn 99

Title: Boyle

After a high-profile case goes sideways, Detective Charles Boyle is transferred to the NYPD's newly formed Unsolved & Unusual Crimes Unit — a ragtag squad that handles cold cases too weird or embarrassing for anyone else.

Still the passionate, food-obsessed, emotionally open romantic we know and love, Boyle now channels his legendary enthusiasm into solving the city's strangest unsolved mysteries: everything from a serial killer who leaves gourmet meals at crime scenes to a black-market truffle smuggling ring. He attacks each case with the same intensity he once reserved for perfecting his coq au vin recipe.

Backed by a small team of misfits (a jaded ex-homicide detective, a tech genius who only communicates in food puns, and a rookie who idolizes him), Boyle brings both razor-sharp detective work and delightful chaos to every investigation. He still cries during interrogations, quotes obscure food history mid-stakeout, and maintains an emergency "comfort cassoulet" in the precinct fridge.

Tagline: He may cry at crime scenes… but he always gets his man.