Gen V, Shoresy, and the Anatomy of 2023’s Best TV Spinoffs

Spinoffs represent a foundational pillar propping up American television history, from The Jeffersons to The Walking Dead: Darryl Dixon, Mork & Mindy to Better Call Saul. Sometimes, they’re a unique subversion of the original property, but other times, they’re a cheap replication of what already exists. In an era of franchise exhaustion and repackaged studio products, the term “spinoff” is becoming a dirtier word with audiences, but two of the year’s best shows prove there’s nothing wrong with the formula. Prime Video’s Gen V and Hulu’s Shoresy are brilliant breakaways from their parent shows, demonstrating how spinoffs can benefit studios and audiences in their quest for entertainment domination.

On paper, Gen V feels like a cash-grab to give The Boys fans another electric-blue hit of darkly comedic superhero debauchery. Prime Video announced that Gen V’s first season would directly roll into The Boys Season 4, making it required watching—which can be seen as a cheap tactic to manufacture viewership. Instead, showrunner Michele Fazekas uses the opportunity to flesh out themes found in The Boys on a more granular scale. Godolkin University breeds deeper conversations about Compound V usage without consent, as super-powered students face the harsh realities of their forced-upon fates. It’s more hopeful than The Boys, and thrives without relying on cameos or callbacks to Butcher’s or Homelander’s bloody, diabolical antics.

In 2022, Letterkenny’s Wayne, Jared Keeso, shipped his foul-mouthed hockey lifer Shore (aka “Shoresy”) to Sudbury for his own self-titled spinoff. Only appearing faceless from behind (as to hide the fact that this character was also played by the star of the show), Shoresy’s status on Letterkenny was as nothing more than a vehicle for vulgar chirps about double-wheeling Reilly and Jonesy’s mothers. The question last year before Season 1 was simple: how can a rude and raunchy sidepiece become a focal protagonist? A year later, now with two seasons tucked away, that answer seems even simpler: development. Keeso treats Shoresy as an upside-down sports comedy with women and First Nations characters at the forefront, constantly skewering the athletic machismo that once made Shore’s zingers so memorable in Letterkenny.

Gen V and Shoresy excel as reinventions of their inspirations. Gen V follows young adults who haven’t yet been thoroughly corrupted by Vought or forever absorbed into Homelander’s #SupeLivesMatter agenda. Where Butcher and Homelander are willing to burn the entire world down for their causes, Jaz Sinclair’s hemokinetic Marie Moreau and her classmates fight for something brighter than the cynicism that The Boys emboldens. While there are glancing blows of heartbreak in The Boys, like when Erin Moriarty’s Starlight recalls her younger years as a pageant supe, Gen V tugs these dangling threads and unravels something miles more insidious. Fazekas and her writers attempt to show how the kids might be alright despite living in a world that wants them dead for countless reasons, but refuses to ignore the angsty teenage drama of growing up a supe without any choice.

Shoresy’s second season develops a complicated man who, at one time, could have been described as the most off-putting character in Letterkenny. He’s no longer splitting time between Reilly and Jonesy’s houses; he’s adorably chasing the love of his life like a giddy high schooler. Shoresy’s quips aren’t missiles fired at his teammates; he’s the dedicated captain who will do whatever it takes to motivate everyone toward a win. The Shore of Letterkenny is a caricature of misogynistic player cultures where Shoresy permits actual male ego dissections, expressive commentaries about “win at all costs” obsessions, and everything that comes along with the freedom of a spinoff. While audiences may expect a carbon copy of the original series in its offshoot, Shoresy never falters when pointedly separating itself from the original series; showrunners should strive to deliver the unexpected like Keeso.