Diff'rent Strokes. Perfect Strangers. Cheers. What do they have in common? Each of them took a cherished character and spun him or her off onto a new and successful sitcom vehicle. But for every Facts of Life, Family Matters, and Frasier that can stand on its own and attract a respectable audience, the TV graveyard has a dozen Women of the Houses (spun off from Designing Women), Glorias (spun off from All In The Family), and Living Dolls (spun off from Who's The Boss?) -- sitcom spinoffs that limp along for one season before being unceremoniously cancelled and being erased from viewers' memories altogether.

A few months back, the producers of Friends announced that, once Friends ended its run in the spring of 2004, it would spawn a spinoff built around the character of Joey (Matt LeBlanc). While it remains to be seen whether Joey will be another Maude or another Three's A Crowd, the fact that the show will happen has reinvigorated the whole sitcom spinoff genre -- and given the producers of other long-running sitcoms the idea of trying it themselves. Here, we at Fametracker use our clairvoyant powers to bring you a list of some of the sitcom spinoffs you'll be seeing just a few short TV seasons from now:

Just Jack, starring Sean Hayes, Thursdays at 8:30 on NBC

Jack McFarland (Sean Hayes) has lived too long in the shadow of Will and Grace: now, NBC is giving him a chance to come out...into the limelight! Just Jack finds Jack in an entirely new and exciting setting: New York cable public access! After years of plugging away at his self-titled cabaret show, Just Jack, Jack has attracted the notice of a local bookstore clerk-cum-cable-access late-night talk-show producer Seth (Stephen Root). Now Jack has realized his dream of entertaining the public...on a very tiny scale. But that's not all: in the pilot episode, Bonnie (Rosie O'Donnell) suddenly passes away, leaving Jack to raise their son Elliot (Michael Angarano) by himself. In later episodes, Jack sexually harasses his attractive but inept stage manager (Kip Pardue); botches a parent-teacher meeting with Elliot's chemistry teacher (Cloris Leachman); and goes to extreme lengths to book Liza Minnelli (as herself) for November sweeps, even though Seth has explained to him several times that there really is no such thing as "sweeps" in cable access. Can Jack balance the demands of being a full-time father and a full-time cable-access superstar?

Kitty And Red, starring Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith, Wednesdays at 9 on FOX

Who says that a popular sitcom can't spawn an equally popular drama series? Obviously, only people who've never heard of a little something called Lou Grant (1977-1982). And in the tradition of Lou Grant comes Kitty And Red, a new FOX drama series from the creators of That '70s Show. With their children grown and the nest empty, Red and Kitty Forman (Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp) feel a void that can only be filled...by solving mysteries! Never mind that neither Kitty nor Red has any experience in criminal investigation or law enforcement; after raising two kids (three, if you count Hyde), they've learned a thing or two about following their instincts and dishing out discipline to anyone who gives them any sassmouth. Each week, the Formans stumble across some mystery or other in their sleepy (or is it?) hometown of Point Place, Wisconsin, and manage to wrap it up -- and without any help from the cops. Turns out that Kitty's disarming, Marge Gundersonian cheer, paired with Red's reflexive mistrust of nearly anyone and his ability to rattle anyone enough to admit the truth, combine into an unbeatable investigative team. In the pilot, Red and Kitty find a disembodied head in the Pinciottis' trash bin, and eventually discover that it's one of Bob's (Don Stark) associates in an intricate heroin-smuggling operation. Later, Red and Kitty expose Pastor Dave (Kevin McDonald) as a degenerate child molester. The season ends with a tantalizing cliffhanger: can Point Place's only Chinese restaurant really be butchering alley cats and passing off their remains as sweet and sour pork? As far as Kitty and Red are concerned, there's not a thing to do...but get to the bottom of it!

Samantha Does NYC, starring Kim Cattrall, Sundays at 8:30 on HBO

Three years after the end of Sex & The City, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), and Charlotte (Kristin Davis) are all happily married, and have relocated to the Connecticut suburbs. But commitment-phobe Samantha (Kim Cattrall) is still living it up as a carefree (if rapidly aging) single gal in Manhattan. And with her mates off the market, it falls to Samantha to make up their sexual shortfall. That's right: Samantha's stepped up her efforts and is now fucking for four. In the pilot episode, Samantha finds herself in danger of losing one of her clients at her PR agency (Joe Rogan), and must take drastic measures to convince him not to fire her -- namely, she fucks him. In a subsequent episode, Samantha finds herself behind in her rent -- whoopsie! -- and has no choice but to fuck her landlord (Danny DeVito) into looking the other way. And in a very special two-part season finale, Samantha heads for Connecticut to spend the holidays with Carrie and her new husband Jeff (Robert Downey Jr.) -- only the visit gets a bit strained when Samantha can't stop herself fucking both Jeff, and his sister Elaine (Jane Adams), which leaves Carrie with a predicament on her hands: can this friendship be saved?

Nearly Everybody Loves Robert, starring Brad Garrett and Monica Horan, Mondays at 9:30 on CBS

Robert (Brad Garrett) always hoped he'd be able to make a life for himself where he wouldn't have to be compared unfavorably with his brother Raymond (Ray Romano)...but he never thought it would be like this! When Robert finds out that the rural county in Pennsylvania where Amy's (Monica Horan) parents live is in need of a sheriff, the couple strike out on their own to make a new life away from the rest of the Barones. There's just one little hitch: the town is so small, the only home for sale happens to be...right across the street from Amy's parents Hank and Pat McDougal (Fred Willard and Georgia Engel)! Finally, Robert will get to have a real appreciation for what Debra (Patricia Heaton) has lived with all these years: extremely close proximity to a spouse's annoying and disapproving parents. In the pilot, Robert and Amy move into their new home, and accidentally reveal to the McDougals what they paid. Pat and Hank are floored that they got taken for so much money, and go on and on about it until Robert blows up and yells at them to butt out. In the special Thanksgiving episode -- in which Amy prepares her first full Thanksgiving dinner -- Amy's brother Peter (Chris Elliott) drops the turkey on the kitchen floor and blames it on Robert; the McDougals side with Peter, and dinner is ruined. And in time for February sweeps, Amy thinks she may be pregnant, but fears giving birth to Robert's gigantic progeny; special guest stars Heaton and Romano come to town to calm Amy down, and the McDougals end up fawning all over Ray. Will Robert ever win?!

Towelie!, starring the voices of Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Sundays at 10 on Comedy Central

Over the course of its seven seasons, South Park has introduced dozens of memorable supporting characters, but none quite so beloved as Towelie. The gregarious Towelie (voice of Trey Parker) is a government-engineered walking and talking towel, with a natural inclination to give his friends advice about staying clean and dry, and just one small vice. Now, in his spinoff sitcom vehicle, Towelie leaves the limited confines of South Park to travel the country helping people with their problems, and getting high. In the pilot, Towelie says goodbye to his friends in South Park and hops a freight train to Albuquerque, where he meets a talented potter (voice of Sabrina Lloyd) trapped in an abusive relationship. Towelie helps her to escape to a shelter (making sure to advise her to bring her own towel!), and she thanks him with a dime bag. In a later episode, Towelie ventures to Canada, where he runs into Terrence and Phillip (voices of Parker and Matt Stone) on their world tour and helps to reunite them with their estranged fathers before smoking their whole stash and sneaking off under cover of darkness. Finally, in a very special Valentine's Day episode, Towelie finds himself at the top of the Empire State Buidling -- lonely, depressed, and contemplating suicide -- when he happens to spy a gorgeous pink towel also checking out the view. After some conversation with her, Towelie learns three things: Towelette (voice of Emily Mortimer) was created by the same government black ops division that created him; he has regained the will to live; and love is real! But can Towelette be trusted? Or will Towelie embroider "HIS" across her hem?