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"Avatar Aang accomplished many remarkable things in his life. But sadly, his time in this world came to an end, and like the cycle of the seasons, the cycle of the Avatar began anew."
Tenzin, The Legend of Korra

An entire series that follows on chronologically from the predecessor. Usually marked by a change in cast within the universe, while maintaining the same general rules.

Like anything having to do with TV production, this trope has a dark side. Under U.S law, and possibly a few other countries, if a television series runs over a certain number of episodes then the cast are entitled to a percentage of the show's take, in addition to their normal salaries. However, it doesn't take more than some minor rebranding to have a show's new season be legally considered a completely different property. Conversely, any Anime series that continues after concluding its initial premise usually changes its name in this manner when it gets Un-Cancelled.

Officially distinct fromnote  Spin-Off in that a Sequel Series occurs (somewhat) immediately after the prior series and in the same general area. When a show continues as normal but renames itself for the new season, it's New Season, New Name, though oftentimes the two overlap. Aftershow is a subtrope where at least one vital member of the cast is absent. When a series continuesnote  but several elements/rules are updated for modern tastes, you have a Revival. See also: Series Franchise, where the follow-up has the same series name but only a few of the same elements. Sequel Series could be taken as an converse of Canon Welding in that the Sequel Series is pre-welded to its predecessor yet is legally distinct. If a series cannot follow its inspiration legally yet does so in spirit, you have a Spiritual Successor.


Examples:

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  • The Pony POV Series started off as just the Discorded Ponies series, which was the point of views of characters as they're Discorded in canon (plus the alternate ending "Epilogue"). Then came the Reharmonized Ponies series, which is the bulk of the series, dealing with the fallout from Discorded Ponies and soon developing its own, very extensive, world, mythology, and timeline. "Epilogue" was eventually followed up on by the "Dark World Arc", which expanded until Word of God declared it it's own series running side-by-side with the "Reharmonized" timeline.
  • Calvin & Hobbes: The Series is a Sequel Series to both the original strip and Swing123 and garfieldodie's respective Calvin and Hobbes fanfic series.
  • Lost Relics is this to Riding the Waves.
  • Songs of Lost Children is one for the Blooming Moon Chronicles.
  • A sequel to School Idol Days titled School Idol Days S, based on Love Live!'s own Sequel Series Love Live! Sunshine!!, was released upon completion of the first story.
  • Shining and Sweet is the sequel to Ma Fille. It focuses on Katrina's high school years and Joe's last few years in the WVBA.

    Films — Live-Action 

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    Live-Action TV 
  • Star Trek:
  • Stargate SG-1 is a TV adaptation that acts as a direct sequel to the original Stargate movie.
  • 90210, the sequel to Beverly Hills, 90210.
  • Melrose Place had a new incarnation.
  • Power Rangers moved from Oddly Named Sequels to Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers (Mighty Morphin' Alien Rangers, Power Rangers Zeo, Turbo and In Space) to this in its seventh season, Lost Galaxy.
  • Rick Steves' Europe, to Travels in Europe.
  • Degrassi Junior High was immediately followed by Degrassi High, and then, ten years later, by Degrassi: The Next Generation.
  • In 1988, the original Mission: Impossible was revived with Jim Phelps leading a team of new agents—including the son of one of the original team members.
  • Technically speaking, all four series of Blackadder were separate shows. The 1983 original The Black Adder was followed by Blackadder II in 1986, then Blackadder the Third in 1987, then Blackadder Goes Forth in 1989.
  • GARO is followed by Garo: Makai Senki, which was later followed up by Garo: Makai no Hana. An alternate universe series, GARO: The One Who Shines in the Darkness, got its own sequels, with GARO: Gold Storm Sho and the movie GARO: Kami no Kiba, which was followed up by GARO: Kami no Kiba ~Jinga~.
  • AfterMASH shows the lives of the characters from M*A*S*H after they left Korea.
  • Girl Meets World takes place roughly 14-15 years after Boy Meets World and follows the adventures of Cory and Topanga's teen note  daughter Riley. The show also features several BMW characters return and how they turned out.
  • Fuller House takes place 20 years after the end of the original Full House, with DJ raising three boys with the help of her sister Stephanie and best friend Kimmy.
  • Raven's Home, likewise, starts about 15 years after That's So Raven, with Raven raising boy-and-girl twins and Chelsea raising a son.
  • Escape of the Artful Dodger follows on from Oliver Twist.
  • Ashes to Ashes (2008) is the sequel to Life on Mars (2006), keeping the same main cast but replacing Sam Tyler with Alex Drake, and moving from The '70s to The '80s.
  • Heroes was followed by a 13-episode miniseries titled Heroes Reborn.
  • The Munsters Today was originally this to The Munsters with the premise that the monster family from the original 1960's show had been in suspended animation for over 20 years and woke up in the late 80's, but started to become an Alternate Continuity by the time the second season began airing.
  • Archie Bunker's Place is this to All in the Family, with Archie now the owner of a bar and protector of Edith's niece Stephanie (introduced in the original show's final season).
  • Minority Report (2015) takes place eleven years after the film, and follows one of the Precogs (Dash) trying to help people after Pre-Crime's shutdown.
  • Toei Tokusatsu:
    • Although all Kamen Rider series from the Showa Era already shared the same continuity, only two are to be a direct sequels to their predecessor. The original series was followed by Kamen Rider V3, which had the eponymous hero being created by his predecessors to fight a new organization led by the old Big Bad, also retaining The Mentor. Uniquely, Kamen Rider BLACK RX stars the same protagonist taking on a new evil.
    • Similarly, Super Sentai also has only one direct sequel: Taiyou Sentai Sun Vulcan, a sequel to Denshi Sentai Denziman. Unlike Black RX, it's the lead villain of Denziman who returns, though now demoted to a lower, yet still very high position in a different organization fighting different heroes.
    • Metal Heroes: Space Sheriff Gavan was followed by Space Sheriff Sharivan, whose eponymous hero was introduced in the last episodes of Gavan. Sharivan, which retained characters from Gavan, was itself followed by Space Sheriff Shaider, the last of the Space Sheriff trilogy which saw the three Space Sheriffs unite in the finale. Similarly, Tokkei Winspector is followed by Tokkyuu Shirei Solbrain, the foundation of the eponymous team being set up in the final episodes of Winspector. Solbrain, which inherited characters from Winspector, was itself followed by the more standalone Tokusou Exceedraft, the last of the Rescue Police trilogy which saw The Mentor for Winspector and Solbrain come Back for the Finale. Juukou B-Fighter is followed by B-Fighter Kabuto, which takes place five years later.
    • Kikaider would receive a sequel series that began airing right after it ended, focusing on Kikaider's "older brother" / prototype 01.
    • Inazuman would receive a sequel series in the form of Inazuman Flash. It was originally going to just be Inazuman's third quarter, but the production team decided to retool it into a new show in an effort to boost ratings. This also led to a two-part finale for Inazuman that ended on a cliffhanger setting up the plot of Flash.
    • Akumaizer 3 would receive a sequel in the form of Choujin Bibyun. It was more a sequel In Name Only though, as it focused on a new set of heroes inheriting the Akumaizer 3's power and had a new supporting cast as well, with the Akumaizer 3 only appearing in the first episode to tip their hats off to their successors.
  • Ultra Series:
    • All Ultra series from the Showa era (Ultra Q, Ultraman, Ultraseven, Return of Ultraman, Ultraman Ace, Ultraman Taro, Ultraman Leo, Ultraman 80) share the same continuity, although the idea was not established until Return of Ultraman. Heisei entries Ultraman Mebius, Ultra Galaxy Mega Monster Battle, and the Ultraman Zero movies also share the same universe, but also feature monsters from other series. To make it more confusing, Ultraman Max and the Heisei Ultraseven series are set in alternate continuations of the universe where their respective Ultras are the only ones to visit Earth, while Word of God claims Ultraman Geed is also part of the same continuity.
    • Ultraman Dyna is set several years after Ultraman Tiga with the same attack team, but a totally new cast of characters.
    • Ultraman Ginga has its very simply titled followup Ultraman Ginga S, which switches from the former's story of childhood friends reencountering each other at their abandoned elementary school to the standard paramilitary formula, along with introducing a new Ultra called Ultraman Victory.
    • While already mentioned above, the Ultraman Zero movies are directly followed up by Ultraman Geed, which brings back Zero and his enemy Ultraman Belial, only now Zero is The Lancer supporting a new hero who is also opposing Belial. Ultraman Z also includes these elements, with Zero and Geed making a few guest appearances and Belial being an absent-yet-influential Greater-Scope Villain, but the connections are much smaller than they were in Geed.
  • Saved by the Bell had two concurrent sequel series. While most of the main cast went on to college (and met other new main characters) in Saved By The Bell: The College Years, Bayside High, Mr. Belding, and a new cast of students remained the focus of Saved By The Bell: The New Class. Saved by the Bell (2020) premiered in 2020 and follows several students at Bayside High, including Zack and Kelly's and Jessie's sons.
  • Legends of Tomorrow has effectively become this to the cancelled Constantine after John joins the team in Season 4, with his own previously incomplete storyline becoming the main season-long arc. Even before that, many elements and call backs from Constantine's own show were present in the third season.
  • The Vampire Diaries spawned The Originals which spawned Legacies.
  • The White Queen, focused on Elizabeth Woodville, is followed by The White Princess, focused on her daughter Elizabeth of York, in turn followed by The Spanish Princess, focused on her daughter-in-law Catherine of Aragon.
  • The Brady Bunch had two short-lived attempts to follow the bunch's further misadventures, the 1981 sitcom The Brady Brides and the 1990 drama The Bradys.
  • Cobra Kai follows Johnny Lawrence and Daniel LaRusso of the original The Karate Kid film 30 years after the original film and focuses on Johnny restarting the Cobra Kai dojo.
  • Watchmen (2019) is a live action sequel to the comic book.
  • The New Pope is the sequel to The Young Pope.
  • The Jim Davidson sitcom Up the Elephant and Round the Castle was followed by a series called Home James, which saw the protagonist Jim London lose the house he inherited and start a new job as a chauffeur for an aristocrat. Other than the character name, the two series are loosely connected.
  • Punky Brewster (2021) is a sequel to Punky Brewster, following the titular character as an adult, who is recently divorced and a mother of three. She fosters a girl who reminds her of herself.
  • Porridge was followed by the series Going Straight, which followed Fletcher's life after prison and his attempts to go straight. It lasted just one season due to the untimely death of Richard Beckinsale, who played Godber.
  • The L Word: Generation Q began in 2019, ten years after The L Word ended, picking up with Bette, Alice, Shane and Angelica, Bette's daughter (Tina is not seen at first, but later appears). Four new main characters were also introduced, along with several supporting.
  • The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder takes place several years after The Fairly OddParents!. The trailer shows Timmy (now a grown man) passing on his fairy godparents to his younger cousin Viv, who succeeds him as the show's main character.
  • Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin is set years after Pretty Little Liars in a shared continuity but now following a new generation of Liars and A in a different town.
  • Quantum Leap (2022) is a continuation of the original Quantum Leap, focusing on a new incarnation of Project Quantum Leap and a new lead character, Ben Song, who enters the Quantum Accelerator decades after Sam Beckett did and ends up in the same situation.
  • The Santa Clauses is a sequel miniseries to the Santa Clause films set near the end of Scott Calvin’s career as Santa Claus.
  • That '90s Show moves forward two decades after That '70s Show to tell the story of Eric Forman and Donna Pinciotti's daughter Leia and a new gang of teens from Point Place.
  • CSI: Vegas is set 6 years after CSI and picks up after Captain Brass has retired and all the other original characters have moved on from the Vegas Crime Lab. During at least the first two seasons, various ones of them return to help out with current cases and/or get help with situations of their own.
  • Willow: It's the sequel to the film, picking up some 20-30 years on with several of the film's characters returning plus new ones being introduced on another adventure. Willow himself is naturally one of them.
  • History of the World Part II is a sketch comedy follow up to Mel Brooks’ History of the World Part I.

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