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For example, to introduce ''[[A Different World]]'', built around ''[[The Cosby Show]]'' character Denise Huxtable ([[Lisa Bonet]]), the ''Cosby Show'' episode "[[Hillman (The Cosby Show episode)|Hillman]]" was devoted to the Huxtable family visiting Denise during her freshman year at Hillman College though no characters from the upcoming series were introduced. A 2018 episode of ABC's 1980s-set sitcom ''[[The Goldbergs (2013 TV series)|The Goldbergs]]'', titled "1990-Something", heavily featured teachers who were recurring characters on the series and served as the backdoor pilot to ''[[Schooled (TV series)|Schooled]]'', which debuted in early 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2018/05/the-goldbergs-series-gets-title-first-image-abc-adam-f-goldberg-1202389081/|title='The Goldbergs' Spinoff Series Gets Title & First Image|first=Denise|last=Petski|date=May 11, 2018}}</ref>
 
In other cases, an episode of the parent show may focus on one or more guest characters who have not previously appeared in the show. For example, the ''[[JAG (TV series)|JAG]]'' season eight episodes "[[NCIS backdoor pilot|"Ice Queen" and "Meltdown"]]" introduced the characters for what would become ''[[NCIS (TV series)|NCIS]]'', while the ''NCIS'' season six two-part episode "[[Legend (NCIS)|Legend]]" introduced the characters for what would become the ''NCIS'' spin-off series ''[[NCIS: Los Angeles]]'', and the NCIS season 11 two-part episode "[[Crescent City (NCIS)|Crescent City]]" introduced the characters for what would become ''[[NCIS: New Orleans]]''. ''NCIS: Los Angeles'' itself also included a backdoor pilot for a potential further spin-off – ''NCIS: Red'' – but the series was not picked up.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/ncis-failed-spinoff-ncis-new-orleans.html/|title = 'NCIS:' the Failed Spinoff That Eventually Gave Us 'NCIS: New Orleans'|date = 18 February 2019}}</ref>
 
Similarly, the backdoor pilot for the television sitcom ''[[Empty Nest]]'' was an episode of ''[[The Golden Girls]]'', which relegated that show's regular stars to supporting characters in an episode devoted to new characters who were introduced as their neighbors. Feedback on the episode resulted in ''Empty Nest'' being extensively reworked before its debut; while the concept and the "living next to the Golden Girls" setting was retained, the series ended up featuring different characters from those in the original ''Golden Girls'' episode.
 
A 1972 episode of [[All In The Family]], [[Maude (All in the Family episode)|Maude]], centered on the Bunkers visiting their cousin Maude Findlay at Maude's house in Tuckahoe. [[Norman Lear]] was so impressed he wanted to make Maude as a separate show. [[Maude (TV series)|Maude]] would debut 5 months after the episode aired, in September of 1972.
 
A 2011 episode of the [[TV Land]] original sitcom ''[[Hot in Cleveland]]'' focused on the wedding of the character Elka (played by [[Betty White]]). Boyce Ballentine ([[Cedric the Entertainer]]), an R&B singer-turned-preacher, was introduced as the pastor for the wedding, with the intention of Boyce eventually having his own series on the network. That came to fruition in 2012, when TV Land introduced ''[[The Soul Man]]''.<ref>{{cite web|author=Pavan -- SitcomsOnline.com |url=http://blog.sitcomsonline.com/2012/04/tv-land-brings-back-i-love-lucy-in-june.html |title=TV Land Brings Back I Love Lucy in June 2012; Good Morning America's TV Reunion Blowout: One Day at a Time, Laverne & Shirley, and More – SitcomsOnline.com News Blog |publisher=Blog.sitcomsonline.com |date=April 23, 2012 |access-date=June 7, 2012}}</ref>
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ABC attempted to create a spin-off of ''[[Charlie's Angels]]'' in 1980 called ''Toni's Boys''.<ref>Condon, Jack and David Hofstede, ''Charlie's Angels Casebook,'' Pomegranate Press, Ltd., 2000 pgs. 254=256</ref> The backdoor pilot that aired near the end of season four was simply titled "Toni's Boys" and guest starred [[Barbara Stanwyck]] as Antonia "Toni" Blake, a wealthy widow and friend of Charlie Townsend's who ran a detective agency she inherited from her late husband. The agency was staffed by three handsome male detectives: Cotton Harper ([[Stephen Shortridge]]), Bob Sorensen ([[Bob Seagren]]), and Matt Parrish (Bruce Bauer). The three took direction from Toni and solved crimes in a manner similar to the Angels. The show was not picked up as a regular series for the following season.<ref>Di Rocco, Gian-Luca. ''The Angel Factor: A Critical Appraisal of [[Charlie's Angels]] 1976-2019'', Independently published, 2021.</ref>
 
The series finale of ''[[One Day at a Time (1975 TV series)|One Day at a Time]]'' in May 1984 served as a backdoor pilot to a spin-off featuring [[Pat Harrington, Jr.]]'s character Dwayne Schneider in a new setting, but CBS ultimately passed on the potential series.<ref>[http://tvland.tumblr.com/post/21786131504/what-you-didnt-know-about-one-day-at-a-time "What you didn't know about One Day At A Time,"]''TV Land'', 25 April 2012.</ref> Similarly, the 1988 two-part series finale of ''[[The Facts of Life (TV series)|The Facts of Life]]'' ("The Beginning of the End" and "The Beginning of the Beginning") also served as a backdoor pilot that focused on the decision Blair Warner ([[Lisa Whelchel]]) made in using her trust fund to purchase the financially troubled Eastland Academy. Blair became headmistress and opened enrollment to male students for the first time in Eastland history. Up-and-coming actors [[Juliette Lewis]], [[Mayim Bialik]], [[Seth Green]], and [[Meredith Scott Lynn]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/bp/facts-of-life-dvd-box-set-trivia-202115869.html |title='The Facts of Life': 23 Things You Never Knew About the Classic Teen Sitcom |first1=Kimberly |last1=Potts |date=2015-01-13 |access-date=2020-04-08| website=yahoo.com}}</ref> were featured as some of Eastland's new students. NBC did not pick up the new series.
 
The ''[[The Dukes of Hazzard]]'' aired two episodes, named "Jude Emery" and "Mason Dixon's Girls", which served as a backdoor pilot complete with the Dukes cast interacting with the new characters. Ultimately, CBS passed on the two series in favor of a [[Enos (TV series)|series]] starring Hazzard County deputy [[Enos Strate]].
 
A pair of ''[[Married... with Children]]'' episodes aired as backdoor pilots that would not be picked up. The first, ''Radio Free Trumaine'', featured [[Keri Russell]] as a college student who winds up working at the campus radio station, with [[David Garrison]] set to reprise his role as Steve Rhoades. The other was ''Enemies'', which was intended as an antithesis to ''[[Friends]]'' in the same way the flagship ''Married... with Children'' was for ''[[The Cosby Show]]''. The pilot featured a guest appearance by [[Alan Thicke]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://splitsider.com/2011/06/the-lost-roles-of-married%E2%80%A6-with-children|title=The Lost Roles of Married… with Children - Splitsider|work=Splitsider|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214102028/http://splitsider.com/2011/06/the-lost-roles-of-married%E2%80%A6-with-children/|archive-date=2014-12-14}}</ref>
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* ''[[Summer Fun (TV series)|Summer Fun]]'' (ABC, 1966)
* ''[[Premiere (TV series)|Premiere]]'' (CBS, 1968)
* ''[[Comedy Playhouse (American TV series)|Comedy Playhouse]]'' (CBS, 1971)
* ''[[Just for Laughs (1974 TV series)|Just for Laughs]]'' (ABC, 1974)
* ''[[Comedy Theatre (TV series)|Comedy Theatre]]'' (NBC, 1976 and 1979)
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