Characters by debut decade
Sitcom characters who debuted in the 2000s
The 2000s shook up the sitcom. Laugh tracks gave way to single-camera shows and mockumentaries like Malcolm in the Middle, Arrested Development, The Office, and Parks and Recreation, while How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory kept the classic format thriving.
This list collects every character in the library who first appeared on screen between 2000 and 2009, from the Scranton paper salesmen to the study group at Greendale.
99 characters on this list.
Friends(1)
NBC, 1994 to 2004
Malcolm in the Middle(6)
FOX, 2000 to 2006
- MalcolmLeadPlayed by Frankie MunizThe genius middle son of a loud, broke, chaotic family, whose 165 IQ lands him in the gifted Krelboyne class and whose running commentary straight…
- DeweyMain castPlayed by Erik Per SullivanThe odd, quiet youngest brother for most of the series, who survives years of torment from Malcolm and Reese and grows into a musical prodigy and…
- FrancisMain castPlayed by Christopher Kennedy MastersonThe rebellious eldest brother, shipped off to military school before the series begins, whose lifelong war of wills with Lois carries him from…
- HalMain castPlayed by Bryan CranstonThe loving, excitable, and hopelessly impulsive dad of the family, who adores his wife Lois, ducks responsibility whenever he can…
- LoisMain castPlayed by Jane KaczmarekThe fierce, loud, and fiercely loving mother who runs the household, works at the Lucky Aide drugstore, and battles her destructive sons with…
- ReeseMain castPlayed by Justin BerfieldMalcolm's older brother, a gleefully violent, not-so-bright school bully who is grounded almost constantly…
Curb Your Enthusiasm(5)
HBO, 2000 to 2024
- Larry DavidLeadPlayed by Larry DavidA fictionalized version of the Seinfeld co-creator: a rich, semi-retired TV writer in Los Angeles who cannot let any social slight go and turns…
- Cheryl DavidMain castPlayed by Cheryl HinesLarry David's patient, good-humored wife on Curb Your Enthusiasm, the calm voice of reason who spends years smoothing over his social disasters…
- Jeff GreeneMain castPlayed by Jeff GarlinLarry's manager and best friend, a cheerful, sneaky schemer whose affairs, cover stories, and terror of his wife Susie keep dragging Larry into one…
- Leon BlackMain castPlayed by J. B. SmooveThe brash, fearless houseguest who moves in with Larry David alongside a family displaced by a hurricane, never leaves…
- Susie GreeneMain castPlayed by Susie EssmanJeff's loud, sharp, and fiercely suspicious wife, whose explosive, profanity-packed tirades against Larry and Jeff made her one of Curb Your…
Scrubs(7)
NBC, 2001 to 2010
- J.D.LeadPlayed by Zach BraffJohn "J.D." Dorian, the daydreaming, hug-loving doctor who narrates Scrubs as he grows from a nervous intern at Sacred Heart Hospital into a skilled…
- Bob KelsoMain castPlayed by Ken JenkinsSacred Heart Hospital's crusty chief of medicine, who cares more about the budget than the patients, at least on the surface, and who battles Dr.
- Carla EspinosaMain castPlayed by Judy ReyesSacred Heart Hospital's tough, caring head nurse, who looks out for the new interns like a protective mother figure and falls for surgical intern…
- Christopher TurkMain castPlayed by Donald FaisonJ.D.'s confident, competitive best friend and college roommate, a surgical intern at Sacred Heart who falls for head nurse Carla Espinosa in his…
- Elliot ReidMain castPlayed by Sarah ChalkeThe brilliant, neurotic, wildly awkward medical intern at Sacred Heart Hospital who becomes J.D.'s closest friend, his recurring love interest…
- The JanitorMain castPlayed by Neil FlynnSacred Heart Hospital's nameless, scheming custodian, who declares war on J.D. over a penny jammed in a door on his first day and spends eight…
- Perry CoxMain castPlayed by John C. McGinleySacred Heart's brilliant, sarcastic attending physician, a master of the furious rant who refuses to admit he is J.D.'s mentor while quietly shaping…
Arrested Development(9)
FOX, 2003 to 2019
- Michael BluthLeadPlayed by Jason BatemanThe level-headed widowed son who has no choice but to keep his wealthy, wildly dysfunctional family together after his father is arrested…
- Buster BluthMain castPlayed by Tony HaleThe youngest Bluth son, a sheltered, anxious mama's boy with years of scattered college courses and no life skills…
- George Bluth Sr.Main castPlayed by Jeffrey TamborThe scheming patriarch of the Bluth family and founder of the Bluth Company, whose arrest for financial crimes in the pilot sets the whole series in…
- George Michael BluthMain castPlayed by Michael CeraMichael Bluth's earnest, painfully awkward teenage son, who runs the family frozen banana stand and spends years quietly agonizing over a crush on…
- Gob BluthMain castPlayed by Will ArnettThe eldest Bluth son, a vain, Segway-riding failed magician whose illusions always go wrong and whose desperate need for his father's approval fuels…
- Lindsay Bluth FunkeMain castPlayed by Portia de RossiThe glamorous, self-absorbed Bluth daughter, raised as Michael's twin, who champions trendy causes mostly for the image…
- Lucille BluthMain castPlayed by Jessica WalterThe icy, cocktail-loving matriarch of the Bluth family, a master manipulator who keeps her children competing for her approval while living as if…
- Maeby FunkeMain castPlayed by Alia ShawkatLindsay and Tobias's shrewd, neglected daughter, a gifted teenage con artist who bluffs her way into a job as a movie studio executive while her…
- Tobias FunkeMain castPlayed by David CrossLindsay's oblivious husband and Maeby's father, a former psychiatrist who lost his license and now chases an acting career with boundless…
The Office(19)
NBC, 2005 to 2013
- Michael ScottLeadPlayed by Steve CarellThe well-meaning, attention-hungry regional manager of Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch, who wants to be his employees' best friend far more than…
- Dwight SchruteMain castPlayed by Rainn WilsonThe intense, rule-loving top salesman at Dunder Mifflin Scranton, a beet farmer and self-styled survivalist who would do almost anything to become…
- Jim HalpertMain castPlayed by John KrasinskiThe laid-back, quick-witted Dunder Mifflin salesman who pranks Dwight, trades knowing looks with the documentary camera…
- Pam BeeslyMain castPlayed by Jenna FischerThe quiet, artistic receptionist at Dunder Mifflin Scranton who grows from a shy young woman stuck in a long engagement into a confident artist…
- Andy BernardMain castPlayed by Ed HelmsThe eager, a cappella-loving Cornell graduate who arrives from Dunder Mifflin Stamford, battles Dwight for Michael's approval…
- Angela MartinMain castPlayed by Angela KinseyThe prim, judgmental head of accounting and Party Planning Committee chief at Dunder Mifflin Scranton, a devout cat lover hiding a long secret…
- Creed BrattonMain castPlayed by Creed BrattonThe mysterious, elderly quality assurance man at Dunder Mifflin Scranton, a former 1960s rocker with a foggy memory, a shady past…
- Darryl PhilbinMain castPlayed by Craig RobinsonThe cool, capable warehouse foreman at Dunder Mifflin Scranton who tolerates Michael's nonsense with a straight face, plays a mean keyboard…
- Erin HannonMain castPlayed by Ellie KemperThe sunny, endlessly sincere receptionist who takes over Pam's desk at Dunder Mifflin Scranton, treats Michael like the dad she never had…
- Holly FlaxMain castPlayed by Amy RyanThe warm, goofy HR representative who arrives in Scranton to replace Toby and turns out to share Michael Scott's sense of humor so completely that…
- Jan LevinsonMain castPlayed by Melora HardinDunder Mifflin's demanding vice president of Northeast sales and Michael Scott's boss, whose stormy on-and-off romance with Michael becomes one of…
- Kelly KapoorMain castPlayed by Mindy KalingThe chatty, pop-culture-obsessed customer service representative at Dunder Mifflin Scranton, whose dramatic on-and-off romance with Ryan Howard is…
- Kevin MaloneMain castPlayed by Brian BaumgartnerThe lovable, slow-talking accountant at Dunder Mifflin Scranton who loves food, plays in a Police tribute band…
- Meredith PalmerMain castPlayed by Kate FlanneryThe hard-partying supplier relations representative at Dunder Mifflin Scranton, a frank, fearless single mom whose drinking, flings…
- Oscar MartinezMain castPlayed by Oscar NunezThe smart, cultured accountant at Dunder Mifflin Scranton who serves as the office's voice of reason, often to the annoyance of coworkers who find…
- Phyllis VanceMain castPlayed by Phyllis SmithThe soft-spoken, motherly saleswoman at Dunder Mifflin Scranton, Michael's old high school classmate and the proud wife of Bob Vance…
- Ryan HowardMain castPlayed by B. J. NovakThe temp who joins Dunder Mifflin Scranton in the very first episode and then rides a wild career of rises, falls, and reinventions…
- Stanley HudsonMain castPlayed by Leslie David BakerThe grumpy veteran salesman at Dunder Mifflin Scranton who does his crossword through every meeting, counts the days to retirement…
- Toby FlendersonMain castPlayed by Paul LiebersteinThe mild-mannered, sad-eyed human resources representative at Dunder Mifflin Scranton, whose only crime is enforcing the rules…
How I Met Your Mother(6)
CBS, 2005 to 2014
- Ted MosbyLeadPlayed by Josh RadnorThe hopelessly romantic New York architect whose years-long search for the woman he will marry is the story he tells his two teenage kids across all…
- Barney StinsonMain castPlayed by Neil Patrick HarrisThe suit-obsessed, catchphrase-spewing womanizer and self-appointed best friend to Ted, whose outrageous schemes hide a lonely…
- Lily AldrinMain castPlayed by Alyson HanniganMarshall's sweet-faced, secretly scheming wife, a kindergarten teacher and aspiring painter who is the group's emotional center and its most…
- Marshall EriksenMain castPlayed by Jason SegelTed's big-hearted best friend from Minnesota, a law student turned lawyer and eventually a judge, whose devotion to his college sweetheart Lily is…
- Robin ScherbatskyMain castPlayed by Cobie SmuldersThe career-driven Canadian TV journalist Ted falls for in the pilot, a scotch-drinking, gun-loving former teen pop star who becomes the gang's fifth…
- RanjitSide characterPlayed by Marshall ManeshThe cheerful Bangladeshi cab and limo driver who keeps turning up to chauffeur the gang through their biggest nights…
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia(6)
FX, 2005 to present
- Charlie KellyMain castPlayed by Charlie DayThe illiterate, glue-huffing janitor and co-owner of Paddy's Pub, a chaotic dreamer who does all the bar's dirty jobs, writes strange musicals…
- Dee ReynoldsMain castPlayed by Kaitlin OlsonDennis's twin sister and the bartender at Paddy's Pub, a wannabe actress and comedian who is mocked constantly by the gang and proves at every turn…
- Dennis ReynoldsMain castPlayed by Glenn HowertonThe vain, manipulative co-owner and bartender of Paddy's Pub, Dee's twin brother, and the self-proclaimed golden god of the Gang…
- Frank ReynoldsMain castPlayed by Danny DeVitoDennis and Dee's legal father, a rich, sleazy former businessman who walks away from respectability, buys into Paddy's Pub, moves in with Charlie…
- MacMain castPlayed by Rob McElhenneyThe self-appointed head of security at Paddy's Pub, a deeply insecure, devoutly Catholic tough guy who brags about his karate skills…
- The WaitressSide characterPlayed by Mary Elizabeth EllisThe nameless coffee shop waitress Charlie has loved since the first episode, a recovering alcoholic who wants nothing to do with him…
30 Rock(6)
NBC, 2006 to 2013
- Liz LemonLeadPlayed by Tina FeyThe stressed, junk-food-loving head writer of the NBC sketch show TGS with Tracy Jordan, who spends her days wrangling unstable stars and a meddling…
- Jack DonaghyMain castPlayed by Alec BaldwinThe slick, Republican network executive who arrives at 30 Rockefeller Plaza to retool Liz Lemon's sketch show and becomes her boss, her mentor, and…
- Jenna MaroneyMain castPlayed by Jane KrakowskiThe vain, attention-starved star of The Girlie Show and Liz Lemon's longtime friend, who never stops fighting for the spotlight after Tracy Jordan…
- Kenneth ParcellMain castPlayed by Jack McBrayerThe relentlessly cheerful NBC page from Stone Mountain, Georgia, who loves television more than anything and runs errands for the TGS staff with…
- Tracy JordanMain castPlayed by Tracy MorganThe unpredictable, conspiracy-minded movie star whom Jack Donaghy forces onto Liz Lemon's sketch show, turning it into TGS with Tracy Jordan and…
- Frank RossitanoMain castPlayed by Judah FriedlanderThe slovenly, trucker-hat-wearing TGS staff writer who lives with his mother, loves video games and comic books…
The Big Bang Theory(7)
CBS, 2007 to 2019
- Sheldon CooperMain castPlayed by Jim ParsonsThe brilliant, rule-bound, socially clueless theoretical physicist from Texas who shares an apartment with Leonard and turns every friendship…
- Bernadette RostenkowskiMain castPlayed by Melissa RauchPenny's sweet-voiced, fiercely competitive coworker turned high-earning microbiologist, who marries Howard and becomes the group's most intimidating…
- Howard WolowitzMain castPlayed by Simon HelbergThe wisecracking aerospace engineer with a bowl cut, tight pants, and a mother who yells from offscreen, who goes from hopeless flirt to astronaut…
- Leonard HofstadterMain castPlayed by Johnny GaleckiThe good-natured, glasses-wearing experimental physicist who rooms with Sheldon, falls for Penny the day she moves in across the hall…
- PennyMain castPlayed by Kaley CuocoThe friendly, street-smart aspiring actress from Nebraska who moves in across the hall from Sheldon and Leonard…
- Raj KoothrappaliMain castPlayed by Kunal NayyarThe sweet, romantic astrophysicist from New Delhi who for six seasons cannot speak to women unless he has had a drink…
- Stuart BloomMain castPlayed by Kevin SussmanThe gentle, perpetually down-on-his-luck owner of the Pasadena comic book store where the guys spend their Wednesday nights…
Parks and Recreation(8)
NBC, 2009 to 2015
- Leslie KnopeLeadPlayed by Amy PoehlerThe relentlessly optimistic deputy director of the Pawnee, Indiana, Parks Department, who believes local government can change lives and will work…
- Ron SwansonMain castPlayed by Nick OffermanThe mustached, meat-loving director of Pawnee's Parks Department, a proud libertarian who believes in as little government as possible and secretly…
- Andy DwyerMain castPlayed by Chris PrattThe lovable, dim, endlessly enthusiastic shoeshiner and frontman of Mouse Rat, who falls into Pawnee's most famous pit in the pilot and ends up…
- Ann PerkinsMain castPlayed by Rashida JonesA level-headed Pawnee nurse whose complaint about an abandoned pit near her house kicks off the series and makes her Leslie Knope's best friend and…
- April LudgateMain castPlayed by Aubrey PlazaThe deadpan, sarcastic intern turned assistant in the Pawnee Parks Department, who pretends to hate everything and everyone while quietly becoming…
- Donna MeagleMain castPlayed by RettaThe supremely confident, glamorous, and mysterious office manager of the Pawnee parks department, who loves her Mercedes…
- Jerry GergichMain castPlayed by Jim O'HeirThe sweet, clumsy, endlessly mocked veteran of the Pawnee parks department, whose coworkers never stop teasing him even though he quietly has the…
- Tom HaverfordMain castPlayed by Aziz AnsariThe slick, swag-obsessed administrator in the Pawnee Parks Department, who dreams of building a business empire and launches one flashy venture…
Modern Family(10)
ABC, 2009 to 2020
- Alex DunphyMain castPlayed by Ariel WinterThe brainy, sarcastic middle Dunphy child, a straight-A overachiever who trades barbs with her siblings on her way from middle school cellist to…
- Cameron TuckerMain castPlayed by Eric StonestreetMitchell's big-hearted, wildly theatrical partner and Lily's dad, a Missouri farm boy and former college football player who is also a trained clown…
- Claire DunphyMain castPlayed by Julie BowenJay Pritchett's tightly wound, fiercely competitive daughter and the mother of the Dunphy kids, a former wild child who works overtime to keep her…
- Gloria PritchettMain castPlayed by Sofía VergaraJay Pritchett's passionate, fiercely loving second wife from Colombia and the mother of Manny and Joe, whose temper, mangled idioms…
- Haley DunphyMain castPlayed by Sarah HylandThe eldest Dunphy child, a boy-crazy, fashion-obsessed teenager who grows up on screen from high school sophomore to working mom of twins over…
- Jay PritchettMain castPlayed by Ed O'NeillThe gruff, wealthy patriarch of the Modern Family clan, a closet company owner whose second marriage to the much younger Gloria ties the Pritchett…
- Luke DunphyMain castPlayed by Nolan GouldThe youngest Dunphy kid and Phil's mini-me, a goofy, oddly lucky boy whose scrambled logic and schemes with his step-uncle and best friend Manny…
- Manny DelgadoMain castPlayed by Rico RodriguezGloria's son and Jay's stepson, a romantic, poetry-writing old soul in a kid's body who drinks coffee, woos older girls…
- Mitchell PritchettMain castPlayed by Jesse Tyler FergusonJay's uptight, worrying lawyer son and Claire's younger brother, who with his partner Cameron raises their adopted daughter Lily in the…
- Phil DunphyMain castPlayed by Ty BurrellClaire's goofy, endlessly optimistic husband and a proud self-described cool dad, a realtor and amateur magician who wants to be his kids' best…
Community(9)
NBC, 2009 to 2015
- Jeff WingerLeadPlayed by Joel McHaleA smooth-talking lawyer who loses his career for faking his college degree, enrolls at Greendale Community College…
- Abed NadirMain castPlayed by Danny PudiA pop-culture-obsessed film student who sees life at Greendale as a TV show, spots its tropes before anyone else…
- Annie EdisonMain castPlayed by Alison BrieThe youngest and most driven member of the Greendale study group, a relentlessly organized overachiever rebuilding her life after a rough end to…
- Ben ChangMain castPlayed by Ken JeongGreendale's wildly unstable Spanish teacher, a theatrical, short-fused man who spends six seasons trying, in increasingly strange ways…
- Britta PerryMain castPlayed by Gillian JacobsA passionate, self-styled activist and high school dropout who joins the Greendale study group, means well about nearly everything…
- Craig PeltonMain castPlayed by Jim RashThe flamboyant, costume-loving dean of Greendale Community College, who desperately wants his school to be taken seriously and has an obvious…
- Pierce HawthorneMain castPlayed by Chevy ChaseA wealthy, out-of-touch moist towelette heir and the oldest member of the Greendale study group, whose tactless remarks constantly clash with his…
- Shirley BennettMain castPlayed by Yvette Nicole BrownA warm, devout, and secretly fierce divorced mother who enrolls at Greendale to start a baking business, and who mothers the study group whether or…
- Troy BarnesMain castPlayed by Donald GloverA former high school star quarterback who loses his scholarship, lands at Greendale, and trades his jock image for a joyfully nerdy friendship with…
More character lists
By show
- I Love Lucy
- M*A*S*H
- Happy Days
- Cheers
- The Golden Girls
- Full House
- Seinfeld
- Family Matters
- The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
- Frasier
- Friends
- Everybody Loves Raymond
- That '70s Show
- Malcolm in the Middle
- Curb Your Enthusiasm
- Scrubs
- Arrested Development
- The Office
- How I Met Your Mother
- It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
- 30 Rock
- The Big Bang Theory
- Parks and Recreation
- Modern Family
- Community
- New Girl
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine
- Schitt's Creek
- Superstore
- The Good Place
- What We Do in the Shadows
- Ted Lasso
- Abbott Elementary
- Home Improvement