Television spin-off shows are a mixed bag. For every The Jeffersons, you get a Joey. For every Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, you get an After MASH. It's hard to figure out which one's going to be a hit and which one got created after taking a hit. On paper, That 80s Show should have been the former. All of the pieces were supposedly in play. The show came out in the 2000s, which means it was at the beginning of 80s nostalgia, and it had a great comedic leading man in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's Glen Howerton. The show should've been a runaway hit, but it became a curious footnote in television history. Now, That 80s Show resides next to the Geico Caveman sitcom in the cemetery of short-lived sitcoms.
In the video embedded above, the channel Nerdstalgic delves into the history and failings of That 80s Show.
