The relationship between TV shows and audiences is ever-evolving. As a result, shows can be influenced based on which characters resonate with viewers most. Andy Dwyer wasn’t a regular in the first season of Parks and Recreation, but Chris Pratt played him in such a way that made audiences want more. Steve Harrington was just the jock on Stranger Things until Joe Keery made him one of the most lovable characters in the sci-fi drama.
Sometimes, a scene-stealer can become the main character over the course of a television series, while other times, secondary characters develop fiercely loyal followings regardless of what the showrunners have in mind. Being a star doesn’t automatically make a character the center of attention. Sometimes, the writing and performance come together so uniquely that a new favorite emerges who audiences can’t help but celebrate.
10
‘Star Trek’ (1966 – 1969)
Captain Kirk vs. Spock
The main character in Star Trek is unquestionably Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), who leads the starship USS Enterprise as it explores the far corners of space. He’s the ship’s leader, and he is front and center in every poster. He’s charming, capable, and has a strong screen presence. However, if you were to ask someone who isn’t overly familiar with the franchise to name a Star Trek character, that person would probably go with Spock (Leonard Nimoy).
While Kirk is the lead on Star Trek, Spock is the cultural icon most commonly associated with the series. Fans continue to connect with the reserved character, born to a human mother and Vulcan father who often struggled to fit in. The network originally wanted Spock to be a background character, but his popularity resulted in an expansion of the role. Nimoy’s performance remains beloved to this day and the actor received three Primetime Emmy nominations for his portrayal of Spock.
9
‘Happy Days’ (1974 – 1984)
Richie Cunningham vs. Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli
Happy Days
- Release Date
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1974 – 1983
- Directors
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Jerry Paris
Set in the 1950s, Happy Days is an ABC sitcom framed around the life of Wisconsin teenager Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard). Early episodes explore Richie’s relationships with family friends, but the focus of the show expanded with the popularity of Arthur “Fonzie” Fonzarelli (Henry Winkler). Fonzie is a smooth-talking mechanic in a leather jacket who becomes friends with Richie and eventually lives in the garage apartment above the Cunninghams’ house.
Fonzie is only a secondary recurring character in Season 1, but he became so popular with audiences that the subsequent seasons were written to give him more screen time. In fact, Winkler ended up staying on the show through all 11 seasons, while Howard left after Season 7 and only returned as a guest star in Season 11. Winkler received three Primetime Emmy Award nominations for playing Fonzie, and every single one of those nominations was in the Lead Actor category. In 1999, Fonzie was listed as number four on TV Guide’s list of “50 Greatest TV Characters of All Time.”
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8
‘Trailer Park Boys’ (2001 – 2026)
Julian and Ricky vs. Bubbles
Trailer Park Boys is a mockumentary comedy about a few low-level criminals living in Nova Scotia’s Sunnyvale Trailer Park. The series is based on the 1999 film of the same name. Written and directed by Mike Clattenburg (This Hour Has 22 Minutes), the movie focuses on petty felons Julian (John Paul Tremblay) and Ricky (Robb Wells). When developing the story as a sitcom, Clattenburg kept Julian and Ricky as the leads but added the character of Bubbles, played by Mike Smith (Lloyd the Conqueror).
Bubbles was originally a character that had been developed for a different short film project. In Season 1, Bubbles is introduced as a recurring character. The scene-stealer became a more critical character as the show continued. Today, he is seen as one of the show’s three leads. The first seven seasons ran on Showcase, while the last five seasons were released by Netflix. In 2016, Trailer Park Boys won the Canadian Comedy Award for Best TV Show.
7
‘How I Met Your Mother’ (2005 – 2014)
Ted Mosby vs. Barney Stinson
Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) is the “I” in the title of CBS’s How I Met Your Mother. The story is narrated by an older Ted (voiced by Bob Saget) telling his children about life in his late 20s and how he ultimately met their mother. Ted is the main character, and it is his pursuit of love that drives the narrative forward, but the show has a strong ensemble cast. The biggest scene-stealer is Neil Patrick Harris (Gone Girl) as Barney Stinson, a playboy and one of Ted’s closest friends.
Barney is over-the-top with enough vulnerability to make him resonate with audiences. Harris earned four Primetime Emmy Award nominations and two Golden Globe nominations in the Best Supporting Actor category for playing Barney over the show’s nine-season run. He was also nominated for Satellite Awards, Teen Choice Awards, a People’s Choice Award, a Prism Award, a Television Critics Association Award, and a TV Guide Award for the role.
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6
‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ (2005 – Present)
Charlie, Mac, Dennis, and Dee vs. Frank
Created by Rob McElhenney, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is a sitcom that’s been running on FX/FXX for 17 seasons and counting. Set at Paddy’s Pub in South Philadelphia, the series follows the shenanigans of Charlie Kelly (Charlie Day), Mac (Rob McElhenney), Dennis Reynolds (Glenn Howerton), and Dee Reynolds (Kaitlin Olson). The show has no one main character the way Friends had no one main character, instead working as a well-balanced ensemble. That said, Danny DeVito is still Danny DeVito.
DeVito was introduced as Dennis and Dee’s father, Frank, during Season 2. The network wanted a big movie actor to guest star and improve the show’s ratings. The cast were skeptical at first, because It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia was something of an underground show at the time, and they were worried a famous actor wouldn’t get the vibe. They were wrong. DeVito didn’t just fit the vibe, he excelled in the role. These days, it’s hard to believe there was ever a time when Frank wasn’t one of the gang.
Jeff Winger vs. Troy Barnes and Abed Nadir
Community, which ran for six seasons on NBC and one on Yahoo! Screen, is a sitcom that centers on a study group at Glendale Community College. The de facto leader of this study group is Jeff Winger (Joel McHale), a former lawyer who is now back in school because the bar found out he never actually received a bachelor’s degree. The cast has always functioned as an ensemble, but Jeff is clearly the face of the group — especially in the beginning. So, who are the scene-stealers that became favorites within the Community fandom?
Troy and Abed in the Morninggggggggg! The unlikely friendship formed between nerdy film student Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi) and former high school star quarterback Troy Barnes (Donald Glover) is absolute perfection. The two bond over shared interests, going so far as to pretend to host a talk show together in Group Study Room F called Troy and Abed in the Morning! Their friendship is part of what gives the show such heart, and they are two of the most frequently quoted characters from the series to this day.
4
‘The Vampire Diaries’ (2009 – 2017)
Elena Gilbert vs. Damon Salvatore
Developed by Kevin Williamson (Scream) and Julie Plec (We Were Liars), The Vampire Diaries is a supernatural teen drama that ran for eight seasons on The CW. Nina Dobrev (The Final Girls) stars as Elena Gilbert, a grieving teenage girl living in a small town who falls in love with Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley), whom she quickly learns is a century-old vampire. Eventually, a love triangle develops between Elena, Stefan, and Stefan’s older brother, Damon (Ian Somerhalder), who is also a vampire.
While Elena and her friends are at the center of the narrative, Somerhalder is incredibly charismatic as the bad boy with all the best lines. The Vampire Diaries was nominated for over 50 Teen Choice Awards between 2010 and 2017. Somerhalder received 12 of those nominations, winning six of them. Fans also loved the unexpected friendship formed between Damon and one of Elena’s best friends, a teenage witch named Bonnie Bennett (Kat Graham). Over time, Damon is revealed to be a complicated character who cares deeply about those who mean the most to him.
3
‘Game of Thrones’ (2011 – 2019)
Ned Stark vs. Literally Everyone Else
HBO’s Game of Thrones performed a phenomenal bait-and-switch with the epic fantasy drama’s first season. When the show premiered in 2011, Sean Bean was framed as the star. He was in all the promotional material and throughout the show’s first season, his character, Eddard “Ned” Stark, seemed to represent the audience’s POV. It probably helped that Bean was already a fantasy legend, having starred in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in 2001. Alas, fans of George R. R. Martin’s books knew better than to get attached, even if TV audiences had no clue.
Ned loses his head at the end of Season 1, thus ending his reign as the show’s star. The character’s death proved to be quite a shock for viewers who hadn’t read the books ahead of time. It also set up the show’s infamous precedent that no character was completely safe from being killed off. Game of Thrones continued with a large and ever-changing ensemble cast, with fan favorites including Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) and Arya Stark (Maisie Williams). When it comes to scale, Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) perhaps have the biggest arcs in the story.
2
‘The Walking Dead’ (2010 – 2022)
Rick Grimes vs. Daryl Dixon
The Walking Dead is a drama that ran for 11 seasons on AMC, following a group of survivors displaced by the zombie apocalypse. Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) is introduced as the main character in the show’s first season. He’s a former sheriff’s deputy who acts as leader for the group while also trying to protect his wife and son. Over time, however, The Walking Dead relied more on the ensemble cast and a clear fan favorite emerged.
Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus) started out as a recurring character in Season 1, though he went on to be a main character in all subsequent seasons. Daryl is a tracker and fearless hunter. Unlike other characters on the show, he is not based on a character in the original comic series that served as the program’s source material. Nonetheless, Daryl quickly became someone audiences loved. When Lincoln left the show in 2019, Reedus was the one who then got top billing. Daryl appeared in 175 episodes, more than any other character. Reedus scored seven People’s Choice Award nominations for Favorite TV star for his work as Daryl.
1
‘The Last of Us’ (2023 – Present)
Joel Miller vs. Ellie and Abby
HBO’s The Last of Us introduces Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones) as Joel Miller, a survivor of a zombie-like apocalypse who remains haunted by the death of his daughter. Joel keeps his guard up, but begins to care for the young girl he is tasked with protecting. That girl is Ellie, a teenager who is miraculously immune to the infection that has ravaged the world. Ellie is played by Pascal’s fellow Game of Thrones alum Bella Ramsey, though the two never shared any scenes together on Game of Thrones.
Pascal brings star power to The Last of Us, but it is Ellie who has the potential to change the world as they know it. Joel dies in Season 2 (which did not go over well with fans), opening up space for a new lead. While Ellie remains alive in the show, it’s been said that focus will shift more onto Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), Joel’s killer, in Season 3. The Last of Us has always taken a more fluid approach to leading characters. Even when Pascal was the star, there were entire episodes that barely featured him.
