When a TV series gains an immense amount of popularity, producers are going to look for a way to find a new format to keep longtime viewers invested or bring new viewers in. One of the ways to do that is take the characters you love from the small screen and make a feature-length movie.
This idea isn't new by any means though. Taking beloved characters from a TV show and making a movie out of them has been something that's been done for more than half a century. From Doctor Who to Deadwood, making feature films with a bigger budget and longer runtime than a single episode is a way to tell larger, more important stories--at least more important to executives.
Scouring the history of cinema, we came across 24 notable moments where TV shows made that big screen jump. Now, not all of these movies are any good. Some of them are pretty big stinkers, but it's worth mentioning them in some fashion. How else will you know that there have been two dozen Pokemon movies? Check out 24 TV series that got movie sequels below. And while you're hanging out, why not read about horror movies with really bad sequels.
1. Entourage
How many movies: 1
Entourage's final season ended on a weird note for lots of viewers, but rumors of a movie to continue the story kept fans' hopes alive. That film arrived in 2015, continuing the story of Eric, Ari, and the rest of the gang as they try to get a feature film made. In other words, it was more Entourage.
2. Psych
How many movies: 3
This USA Network show about a detective who convinces those around him that he solves cases with psychic abilities has developed a cult following in the years since its series finale in 2014. Since then, two movies have been released, with a third, titled Psych 3: This Is Gus, on the way.
3. Star Trek
How many movies: 10
With so many iterations over the years, everyone has a different opinion about which Star Trek is best. But whether you're nostalgic for the original episodes or love TNG the best, you have to admit that some of the most iconic Trek moments come from the big screen side of the franchise. Who among us hasn't screamed "KHAAAAN!!" in a moment of darkness or frustration?
4. Batman: The Animated Series
How many movies: 3
Far from being just a cartoon for kids, Batman: The Animated Series has developed a cult following and is easily one of the most iconic portrayals of the Dark Knight. In 1993, the series got its own big screen entry, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. It was Warner Bros. Animation's first theatrically released movie. Critics and fans loved it, and it received two follow-ups: Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero in 1998 and Mystery of the Batwoman in 2003.
5. Teen Titans Go
How many movies: 2
There are six seasons and counting of the comedic spin-off show Teen Titans Go, and so far, the series has received the silver screen treatment three times: 2018's Teen Titans Go! To the Movies hit theaters, while Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go! See Space Jam aired directly on Cartoon Network.
6. Pokemon
How many movies: 24
Most '90s kids were introduced to Pokemon via the Game Boy games or the anime. From there, it was a logical leap to the big screen--given how lucrative the series had quickly become. The first film dealt with the psychic Pokemon Mewtwo's attempts to clone Pokemon and overthrow their trainers. Since then, there have been dozens more. To be honest, we haven't seen most of them, but we assume they're great.
7. Deadwood
How many movies: 1
Deadwood's original 3-season run famously had no real conclusion. That was rectified in 2019 when the story of Seth Bullock, Al Swearengen, and the other residents of the show's titular frontier town continued in Deadwood: The Movie. Fans had eagerly awaited the follow-up for over a decade, and their patience paid off, as the film proved to be a satisfying ending to the saga.
8. Futurama
How many movies: 4
Futurama had a roller coaster ride throughout its seven seasons. After Season 5, Fox canceled it in 2003. In 2010, Comedy Central revived it for two more seasons. However, between 2003 and 2010, four straight-to-DVD movies were released: Bender's Big Score, The Beast with a Billion Backs, Bender's Game, and Into the Wild Green Yonder. While "straight-to-DVD" seems like a bad move for these films--because of the stigma attached to non-theatrically-released movies--they are all a ton of fun.
9. Jackass
How many movies: 4
One of the most successful TV-to-the-big-screen conversions has to be Jackass. The original series only had 25 episodes that aired between 2000 and 2002. Now, two decades later, a fourth Jackass film is headed to movie theaters. It turns out that watching Johnny Knoxville and his band of chaos agents doing stunts and subjecting each other to humiliating experiences resonated with audiences and continues to do so, even though they're no longer in their 20s.
10. Police Squad!
How many movies: 3
You're probably familiar with the Naked Gun movies, but most people don't realize those are film adaptations of the TV series Police Squad! The show lasted for six episodes during 1982, and featured Leslie Nielsen as Detective Frank Drebin. It also featured numerous special guests who died in the opening credits. In 1988, the creators of Police Squad!--Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and David Zucker (ZAZ)--brought Drebin's story to the big screen with The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! The TV adaptation worked better on the big screen, and two sequels followed. And they're still funny, as long as you can get past OJ Simpson being in them.
11. Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers
How many movies: 3
The original Power Rangers series ran for three seasons and got one proper movie adaptation, with the cast at the time all reprising their roles to fight a new villain in purple slime demon Ivan Ooze. The visual effects in the film are laughable, the acting is about on par with what you saw on the TV series, and somehow some of the creature design is worse. What happened to Goldar?
The Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers movie remains an entertaining watch, though. What's more, it's a pretty perfect encapsulation of a time when Power Rangers were at the heights of pop culture. There is, however, another Power Rangers movie. Turbo: A Power Rangers movie introduced a new type of Power Ranger and featured what was left of the Zeo Rangers cast at the time. Unlike the Mighty Morphin' movie, Turbo looked exactly like the shows at the time--cheap. And that's not even mentioning the more recent adaptation, which wasn't half bad.
12. The Simpsons
How many movies: 1
The Simpsons is one of the most successful and long-running shows of all time, so it's only natural that it would make the jump to the big screen. What was unusual was just how long it took--almost two decades after the show's original debut, and--some would argue--long after its heyday, The Simpsons Movie premiered in 2007. It saw the EPA imprison Springfield in a dome thanks to Homer's pollution of the town's lake. The movie was generally well received.
13. South Park
How many movies: 1
Growing up in the '90s, The Simpsons was nightly viewing for many, despite its frequently mature themes. South Park, on the other hand, was outright banned for many kids. When the South Park movie was released, children all over the world were forced to try and rent it from Blockbuster during sleepovers with friends who had more lenient (or clueless) parents. The movie was a musical, with hits like "Kyle's Mom's A Big Fat B****" and "Blame Canada," which were heard around the schoolyard for years afterward. It also featured a gay relationship between Saddam Hussein and Satan, which was either extremely offensive or weirdly progressive for the time. Maybe a bit of both.
14. SpongeBob Squarepants
How many movies: 3
SpongeBob's 13th season recently finished airing, but the wearer of square trousers made the jump to the big screen long ago, with 2004's well-received The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. That was followed by The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water in 2015 and The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run in 2020.
15. The Transformers
How many movies: 7
The morphing aliens known as Transformers may have begun life as a cheesy series of cartoons and toys in the '80s, but with 2007's big screen adaptation from Michael Bay, it became a true transmedia juggernaut. Sure, the movies mostly suck, but boy do they print cash all over the world. As a result, they're unlikely to stop making them any time soon. And hey, Bumblebee was pretty enjoyable.
16. Veronica Mars
How many movies: 1
Long after Veronica Mars had been canceled following its third season on The CW, Warner Bros and series creator Rob Thomas used Kickstarter to fund a movie follow-up to the series that caught up with the cast of characters years later. A class reunion brought Veronica back to Neptune, but her old boyfriend and a murder to solve got her to stay. The movie was a treat for fans, even though it quickly dispatched of the Piz character for no apparent reason, and was miles better than the fourth season, which eventually debuted on Hulu.
17. The X-Files
How many movies: 2
In its first 9 seasons, there's no denying the impact The X-Files had on pop culture. So much so that when it came to the big screen in 1998's The X-Files: Fight the Future, it both felt like a major event and an extension of the TV series. For any X-Files fan, this was exactly the kind of movie that was needed as it dove deep into the show's mythology. The 2008 follow-up, which came six years after the series finale, though, doesn't really feel much like an X-Files story. Muller and Scully are front-and-center, but their mission to find out what happened to a group of missing women doesn't feel connected to the show at all.
18. Da Ali G Show
How many movies: 4
Da Ali G Show starred Sacha Baron Cohen as three different journalists--Ali G, Brüno, and Borat. The first season of the satirical interview series ran on the UK's Channel 4, while HBO picked it up for Seasons 2 and 3. Before a run on HBO though, Ali G Indahouse came out. Two years after the end of Da Ali G Show, Borat took the world by storm. In 2009, Brüno was released, and in 2020, Amazon released Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. All of these films featured Cohen's characters interviewing people. Most of the films were well-received.
19. Tales From The Crypt
How many movies: 2
Based on the comic book series from the 1950s, HBO's Tales From The Crypt ran for seven seasons on the network. A trilogy of horror films were planned during the latter years of the show. The first was 1995's Demon Knight, which was a hit. The next year, Bordello of Blood came out, and it did not fare well with critics or fans. The third movie was canceled, but it was allegedly called Body Count and was written by two The X-Files writers.
20. Mystery Science Theater 3000
How many movies: 1
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie was just a bigger-budget version of the beloved TV show. Opening in 1996--during the Michael J. Nelson years--the film featured the cast of one human and three robots watching and talking over the movie This Island Earth. Production was ramped up, and it looked good. And because it was in theaters, we all got to hear the cast swear once or twice.
21. Kids in the Hall
How many movies: 1
The Kids in the Hall is one of the best sketch shows to date, airing from 1988-1995. After the show wrapped up its finale with Season 5, the Kids in the Hall wasn't finished. In 1996, the group released Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy into theaters. While the film featured some familiar faces from the TV sketch show, it followed Gleemonex, an antidepressant that changes the world. However, it wasn't ready for market, and there are a few significant side effects. The film wasn't well received by critics and did not do well in the box office.
22. Doctor Who
How many movies: 3
Doctor Who is one of the greatest sci-fi TV shows of all time, and during the decades it's been on television, there have been three movies. Two of the movies were simply retellings of already existing Doctor Who stories, but they featured Peter Cushing as "Dr. Who." These two films came out in 1965 and '66. The original series came to an end in 1989, but in 1996, a made for TV movie was released by Universal Studios and BBC Worldwide. Simply titled Doctor Who, the film marked the end of the Seventh Doctor's journey, as The Doctor was shot to death in San Francisco. Paul McGann took over the title role for the movie, which follows the Doctor battling The Master (Eric Roberts) at the end of the millennium on December 31, 1999. It is not a good movie; however, McGann did a fine job as the iconic character, given the script.
23. Firefly
How many movies: 1
Only running one season, Firefly had a massive cult following. Fox canceled the show, even though it aired episodes out of order and didn't air three of the episodes from Season 1. Even a massive campaign to save the show didn't help. Luckily in 2005--three years after the last episode aired in the United States--Serenity was released. It wasn't a box office smash, but it was well-received by many fans, even though the film killed off some of their favorite characters.
24. Mr. Show
How many movies: 1
In the mid '90s, HBO introduced the world to David Cross and Bob Odenkirk with the Gen X sketch show Mr. Show. The series ran for four seasons before HBO canceled it in 1998. In 2002, Bob, David, and the rest of the Mr. Show crew--which includes Scott Aukerman, B.J. Porter, and Brian Posehn--reunited for the feature film Run Ronnie Run! The film expands on one of the Mr. Show sketches featuring Ronnie Dobbs, a criminal who gets arrested on Fuzz, a show like Cops. He becomes popular because of this, and gets his own weekly series where he gets arrested in different cities. He does not, however, get his own musical, like he did on Mr. Show.
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