The small screen has seen a variety of characters for decades, but some have stood out as the best thanks to their unique personalities, complexities, journeys, and more. Throughout the history of TV, there have been certain characters who have come to define the medium.
Though everyone has their favorites, some TV characters have cemented themselves as deserving of a place among the best of all time. From modern icons of current TV shows to characters who have been around for years, the collection of TV characters is a fascinating look at the kind of figures audiences look for in the stories they want to explore.
Eric Cartman
South Park
Making a child one of the most evil characters on television is a feat that only South Park could accomplish. Eric Cartman is the most self-centered, bigoted, and infantile person in this small mountain town. Despite being friends with the main characters, Cartman has shown time and time again that he would throw them aside without hesitation if he thought it would benefit him.
The extent of Cartman’s cruelty is hilarious even if disturbing at times, and after all this time on the air, Cartman has shown hardly any redeeming qualities besides making audiences laugh, and that has been more than enough for most.
Angela Abar
Watchmen (2019)
Angela Abar (Regina Kill) was an original character from the series who stood out as the best of them all. Abar disguised herself as the crime-fighter Sister Night to help the police force fight crime in an alternate reality, where she soon discovered a conspiracy involving a white supremacist organization infiltrating the police force over the years.
Abar was a different kind of crime fighter who thought she was fighting for the right cause, only to find herself delving into her past secrets to protect what is most important to her. Abar was a complex and grounded hero who was able to capture the themes of Moore’s novel while commenting on the modern world.
Rust Cohle
True Detective
Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) was a brilliant detective but a hard guy to hang out with, as he was consumed with a cynical view of the world and was prone to spouting off obscure philosophical musings, including his iconic explanation of how time is a flat circle, demonstrated with his empty beer cans.
True Detective season 1 was a star-studded television affair with McConaughey going head-to-head with Woody Harrelson. However, it was McConaughey who stole the show, with his gaunt appearance adding to the character’s haunted persona. Seeing Rust go through this dark and twisted journey only to come out on the other side as a more optimistic man was a wonderful arc achieved over eight episodes.
Lucille Bluth
Arrested Development
There were so many hilarious aspects to Lucille (Jessica Walter) as a mother, from her smothering nature towards Buster to her brutal honesty towards Lindsay. Lucille was revealed to be the mastermind behind the family’s crimes, which made perfect sense given how she wielded power among her kin. Lucille was one of those television characters who only got more entertaining the meaner-spirited she was.
Al Swearengen
Deadwood
Al Swearengen (Ian McShane) was the most ruthless and conniving man in town, and in a town like Deadwood, that is quite an accomplishment. The proprietor of a local bar, Al was actually the local criminal element, always plotting a new scheme or influencing some aspect of the town’s affairs to suit his best interests.
Ian McShane commanded the screen every moment he was on it, at times terrifying when he was murdering people in cold blood and at other times hilarious when he was dealing with the constant incompetence around him. Al was a man who represented the last of the Old West, but he held onto those lawless ways with all his strength.
George Costanza
Seinfeld
Though there were different aspects to the character, George was based on Seinfeld creator Larry David, with his writing coming through in the character’s penchant for making a mess of every social situation. Jason Alexander brought his own pitch-perfect neurotic performance to the role.
George was a deeply pathetic man, and he made for one of the boldest sitcom characters of all time, as the show was never worried about making him likable, just ensuring his antics were funny.
Frasier Crane
Frasier
Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) was introduced to the world on Cheers as the intellectual new love interest of Diane. Though he was meant to simply be a noticeable change from her romance with Sam Malone, Frasier cemented himself on the show with his cultured and sophisticated style that was hilariously different from the blue-collar world of the bar.
However, it was in the character’s own spinoff series, Frasier, that he really got to shine. The show embraced Frasier’s eccentricities, even elevating them with his similarly minded brother, Niles. However, the show also had a lot of fun making Frasier pompous at times, oblivious at others, and a person who deals with the same relatable struggles as most people.
Uncle Phil
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
On the list of best TV fathers, there’s a special place for Uncle Phil (James Avery). The father of Will’s (Will Smith) cousins Hilary (Karyn Parsons), Carlton (Alfonso Ribeiro), Ashley (Tatyana M. Ali), and Nicky (Ross Bagley) was also the father figure Will needed so badly.
A stern but loving parent, Uncle Phil stood up for his kids and Will, and paid extra attention to raising his kids the right way (yes, including Will). Uncle Phil is also regarded as a role model, being a self-made, successful lawyer and judge, and a representation of success for the Black community.
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock
Sherlock is a modern-day retelling of the famous detective, taking on complex cases in London. Benedict Cumberbatch’s Holmes was brilliant and brave, but also showed the loneliness of his gifts. There was also some fun comedy with his lack of social etiquette, but overall, Holmes was a fun and complex hero to root for, with Cumberbatch finding a breakout role that redefined an iconic character.
Annalise Keating
How To Get Away With Murder
Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) was an accomplished defense lawyer and law school professor, but the series dug deeper into her personality and past, showing different aspects of her that made her one of the most layered and fascinating female characters on television.
The show itself was a gripping murder mystery with some clever writing, but it was certainly elevated in its genre thanks to Davis’ performance. Keating became a fully realized human character, and Davis was always up to the new challenges of the role, further making Keating a successful creation.
