Published Jul 23, 2026, 11:36 AM EDT
Christine is a freelance writer for Collider with two decades of experience covering all types of TV shows and movies spanning every genre. With a particular affinity for dramas, true crime, sitcoms, and thrillers, if it’s a top TV show, Christine has likely watched it and is eager to share her thoughts. When she’s not furiously writing away, you can find her enjoying the next binge obsession with a glass of wine in front of the TV.
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There are valid complaints about how the modern TV landscape recycles old ideas instead of coming up with new ones, though there are outliers (think shows like Modern Family and Schitt’s Creek). The latest shows are often modern interpretations of classic shows or sequels, revivals, continuations, and prequels. Prequels, in particular, tend to do quite well. There’s some familiarity with the characters and story, but they usually feature entirely different casts.
The angle might be adjusted to fit a different narrative, even a different tone altogether, as has been the case with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, a prequel of Game of Thrones. With Dexter: Original Sin, we got to see a young Dexter (Patrick Gibson, narrated by Michael C. Hall) before he perfected his killing ritual, and moments play out we had only heard about in the original. With Vought Rising, the upcoming The Boys prequel, we’ll get a lot more of Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) and Stormfront (Aya Cash), putting the two characters on screen together for the first time. Some prequel series, however, work better than others.
Young Sheldon tells the childhood stories of Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory. Played by **Iain Armitage **while Jim Parsons returns to voice the character as an adult, the show is canon, depicting events that the older Sheldon talked about in the original series. But it also shows how his views may have been skewed, portraying his father George (Lance Barber) as a hard-working, loving father, for example, whereas Sheldon described him as a lazy man who watched football and drank beer.
Most importantly, Young Sheldon became an entertaining watch on its own as a ’80s and ‘90s-set sitcom you could watch and enjoy never having seen The Big Bang Theory. The prequel was so popular that not only did it air for seven seasons to become one of the longest-running TV spin-offs, it also spawned its own sequel, Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage.
Some fans would argue that Better Call Saul is not only a worthwhile prequel to Breaking Bad, but it might even be a better show. Airing for a season longer than Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul centers around the fan favorite character Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk), real name Jimmy McGill, in his early days as a lawyer before meeting Walter White (Bryan Cranston).
It provides important context about not only why Jimmy is the way he is, but also sheds light on his lost potential. It humanizes the character in a way Breaking Bad never allowed, as Saul was only ever a character designed to assist Walter, not someone who was developed beyond the moments of comic relief and dirty legal tactics. What was so great about Better Call Saul is that it wasn’t just a prequel, it also flash-forwarded to give Saul/Jimmy closure he never got in the original show.
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Now three seasons in, House of the Dragon was the first Game of Thrones spin-off. It serves as a prequel that follows the Targaryen family, Daenerys’ (Emilia Clarke) ancestors. It begins 100 years after the Seven Kingdoms have been united, and 200 years before the events in Game of Thrones. Daenerys won’t be born for another 172 years, but you get a sense of the familial bloodline and the Targaryen’s reign, and why she declared herself the Mother of Dragons.
House of the Dragon has its own set of compelling characters who portray the family through a period when their decline begins. There are some wild moments as the Dance of the Dragons threatens their place in power. Already renewed for a fourth season, which will be its final one, *House of the Dragon *is mandatory viewing for fans of the franchise, which now also includes, as mentioned, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms as well.
While it was only a single season, 1883, a prequel of Yellowstone, was followed up by 1923, which ran for another two seasons. The Western drama miniseries tells the backstory of the Dutton family during a time after the Civil War when they leave Tennessee and set out to plant roots in Fort Worth, Texas. But they end up in Montana, and it’s there that they establish the place that fans of Yellowstone know to be Yellowstone Ranch.
1883 has an incredible cast led by Sam Elliott,** Tim McGraw**, and Faith Hill. It paints a picture that helps fans see where the Duttons we know from Yellowstone got their level of grit and determination.
The show that claimed the most of your answers is the world you were built for. If two tied, both are shown — you’re complicated enough to straddle two Sheridan universes.
You are a Dutton — or you might as well be. You understand that some things are worth protecting at any cost, and that the modern world’s indifference to history, to land, to legacy, is not something you’re willing to accept quietly. You lead from the front, you carry your family’s weight without complaint, and when someone threatens what’s yours, you don’t escalate — you finish it. You’re not cruel. But you are absolute. In Yellowstone’s world, that combination of ferocity and loyalty doesn’t make you a villain. It makes you the only thing standing between everything that matters and everyone who wants to take it.
You thrive in the chaos of high-stakes negotiation, where the money is enormous, the margins are thin, and the wrong word in the wrong room can cost everyone everything. You’re a fixer — the person called when a situation is already on fire and needs someone with the nerve to walk into it. West Texas oil country rewards exactly what you are: sharp, adaptable, unsentimental, and absolutely clear-eyed about what people want and what they’ll do to get it. You’re not naive enough to think this world is fair. You’re smart enough to be the one deciding who it’s fair to.
You are a Dwight Manfredi — someone who has served their time, paid their dues, and arrived somewhere unexpected with nothing but their reputation and their wits. You adapt without losing yourself. You build loyalty through respect rather than fear, though you’re not above reminding people that the two aren’t mutually exclusive. Tulsa King is for people who are still standing when everyone assumed they’d be finished — who find, in an unfamiliar place, that they’re more capable than the world gave them credit for. You don’t need a throne. You build one, wherever you happen to land.
You carry the weight of a system that is broken by design, and you do it anyway — because someone has to, and because you’re the only one positioned to do it without the whole thing collapsing. Mike McLusky’s world is for people who are comfortable operating where there are no good options, only less catastrophic ones. You speak every language: law enforcement, criminal, political, human. That fluency makes you invaluable and it makes you a target. You’ve made your peace with both. Mayor of Kingstown belongs to people who understand that keeping the peace is not the same as being at peace — and who do the job regardless.
Just because Mark Harmon left ***NCIS ***doesn’t mean the character of Leroy Jethro Gibbs had to go with him. NCIS: Origins premiered not long after to tell his early story as an up-and-coming agent. Played by Austin Stowell, Harmon returns to narrate the show, which makes the story even more believable.
With a third season forthcoming, NCIS: Origins has been well received as the sixth installment in the growing franchise, but the only prequel. While fans of *NCIS *know of the tremendous loss Leroy endured with the murder of his wife and daughter, this police procedural shows the early days of him processing this trauma and grief while also trying to make it as a special agent on a ragtag team.
It’s a wonder it took so long for a prequel series to the Alien movie franchise to be made. Finally, it arrived in 2025, with Alien: Earth taking place just a few years prior to the events in the original 1979 film Alien. As the plot goes, humans are seeking mortality, experimenting with cyborgs, biomechanical body parts, synthetics, AI beings, and synthetic bodies housing human consciousnesses.
The story centers around Wendy (Sydney Chandler), who is the first hybrid being and leader of a group of prototypes created from terminally ill children. The unique story is bold and ambitious on its own, but also pays homage to and resurrects a beloved franchise. The show received rave reviews for its first season, with a second coming adding Peter Dinklage to the cast. While Sigourney Weaver, who played Ellen Ripley in the original, does not appear, she has praised the show. She told Collider that she loves the bigger scope and describes *Alien: Earth *as “fascinating.”
Yoda was great in Star Wars, but Baby Yoda, a.k.a. Grogu in The Mandalorian, took on a life of its own. The character alongside the title character, played by Pedro Pascal, attracted even those who weren’t Star Wars fans (do any really exist?) who appreciated the story even if they didn’t understand the context. The Mandalorian is technically both a sequel and a prequel, taking place five years after the events in ***Return of the Jedi ***but 25 years before The Force Awakens. The Galactic Empire has fallen, and Din Djarin (Pascal), one of the best bounty hunters, winds up becoming de facto carer for the child Grogu.
While “Baby Yoda” is still honing its powers, it becomes evident how powerful the Child can be. Djarin sets out on a journey to get Grogu back to its people before Moff Gideon (Giancarlo Esposito) gets his hands on the Child and tries to use his connection to the Force for his own evil purposes. The show is action-packed and exciting, features tons of Star Wars lore, has an emotional and sweet storyline, and was arguably a catalyst for America’s enduring love of Pascal.
Everyone knows the story of fictional serial killer Norman Bates from the Robert Bloch novel Psycho as well as the Alfred Hitchcock movie and other depictions. But Bates Motel sets out to tell the story of his younger years. The prequel series shows Bates (Freddie Highmore) living with his mother Norma (Vera Farmiga), but takes place in modern times. Norma buys a hotel to start anew with her son following the death of her husband. Though she recognizes Norman’s severe mental illness, she is hellbent on protecting him from both others and himself.
If you know the character’s story, you of course know how that ends. Bates Motel sets the stage for the horrors you know to come. It shows the desperation of a mother trying to do the best for her son while failing to realize, or at least initially refusing to accept, just how dangerous he can be.
Before Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) came into possession of the One Ring with plans to destroy it, desperate to keep it from Gollum (Andy Serkis) who sought out “my precious,” there were other events that led to this story. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is set thousands of years beforehand during the Second Age of Middle-earth. The Dark Lord Morgoth has been defeated but Sauron (Charlie Vickers) has taken over as the new villain. It’s during the time when the Rings of Power are forged and Elves and Men join forces to defeat Sauron.
With a $1 billion, five-season commitment*, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power*** is ranked among the most expensive TV shows ever made**. With the power of the books and movie franchise behind it, along with the loyal legion of fans, this is an investment that will probably pay off. So far, the show has received great reviews, one of the best fantasy shows of the last five years. Though some die-hard J.R.R. Tolkien fans have their criticisms. Either way, the fantasy series has people talking. A third season is on the way in November 2026 with filming having already wrapped. Filming begins in 2027 for Season 4.
Airing for five seasons, Star Trek: Discovery is set a decade prior to the events in Star Trek: The Original Series, taking you back even further for the massive franchise. This still happens to be in the future, the 23rd Century. By Season 2, it skips to the 32nd Century.
The story begins with science specialist and eventually captain Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) and her team as they try to navigate a war between the United Federation of Planets and the Klingon Empire that Michael caused. As the story progresses even further into the future, it explores the rebuilding of the Federation. It’s a perfect watch before you sit down to binge the entire original series again, or maybe even for the first time.
Star Trek: Discovery ](/tag/star-trek-discovery/)
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2017 - 2024-00-00
Olatunde Osunsanmi, Jonathan Frakes
Alex Kurtzman, Bryan Fuller