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Spinoffs are a fact of television life. There are a dozen of them on the broadcast networks' schedules right now, and more are on the way.

Why? If a show works, TV execs want to clone that success. And sometimes it works extremely well — as documented here.

Which shows spawned the most spinoffs? A pair of sitcoms, a long-running drama and a sci-fi show.

"All in the Family" (1971-79), which centered on bigot Archie Bunker, spawned eight shows through spinoffs, spinoffs of spinoffs and a successor series:

1. Edith Bunker's cousin headlined "Maude" (1972-78). Maude's maid spun off into 2. "Good Times" (1974-79).

3. The neighbors became "The Jeffersons" (1975-85). Their maid headlined 4. "Checkin' In" (1981). George Jefferson's niece was in 5. "E/R" (1984-85) — a sitcom that predated the hit drama "ER" and also featured George Clooney.

6. Archie's daughter got her own show, "Gloria" (1982-83). "All in the Family" transitioned into 7. "Archie Bunker's Place" (1979-83).

And an African-American family moved into the Bunkers' old house in 8. "704 Hauser" (1993).

"Happy Days" (1974-84), the sitcom set in the 1950s, spawned seven spinoffs:

1. "Laverne & Shirley" (1976-83) dated Fonzie and Richie.

2. "Blansky's Beauties" (1977) featured Howard's cousin.

3. "Mork & Mindy" (1978-82) — an alien had an encounter with Fonzie and Richie.

4. "Out of the Blue" (1979) — about a guardian angel.

5. "Joannie Loves Chachi" (1982-83) spun off, then returned when their show got canceled.

There was also a pair of animated Saturday-morning series: 6. "The Fonz & the Happy Days Gang" (1980-82) and 7. "Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour" (1982-83).

"Law & Order" (1990-2010) begat a whopping 11 other shows:

1. "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999-present); 2. "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (2001-11); 3. "Deadline" (2000-01), which was set at the newspaper featured in "L&O."

4. "Crime & Punishment" (2002-04) was a reality show about real-life prosecutors.

5. "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" (2005-06); 6. "Conviction" (2006); 7. "Law & Order: L.A." (2010-11).

And that's not counting four foreign adaptations: 8. "Paris Criminal Investigations" (2007-08), 9. Law & Order: UK" (2009-14) and two Russian shows — 10. "Law & Order: Division of Field Investigation" (2007-08) and 11. "Law & Order: Criminal Mind" (2007-09).

"Star Trek" (1966-69) spawned five spinoffs — 1. "The Animated Series" (1973-74), 2. "The Next Generation" (1987-94), 3. "Deep Space Nine" (1993-99), 4. "Voyager" (1995-2001) and 5. "Enterprise" (2001-05).

That number will rise to six in 2017 when the as-yet-untitled new "Star Trek" begins streaming on CBS' online service.

Scott D. Pierce covers TV for The Salt Lake Tribune. Email him at spierce@sltrib.com; follow him on Twitter @ScottDPierce.