Character list
The lead characters of the great sitcoms
Ensemble shows like Friends and The Golden Girls share the spotlight, but many sitcoms are built around one person whose wants and blind spots drive nearly every episode. These are those central characters, from Lucy Ricardo scheming her way into Ricky's nightclub act to Ted Lasso coaching a soccer team he barely understands.
They are listed by the decade they first appeared on screen, which doubles as a quick tour of how the sitcom hero changed over seventy years of television.
25 characters on this list.
Debuted in the 1950s(1)
Debuted in the 1970s(2)
- Hawkeye PierceLeadM*A*S*HPlayed by Alan AldaThe brilliant, wisecracking chief surgeon of the 4077th MASH, who fights the Korean War with a scalpel by day and jokes, pranks…
- Richie CunninghamLeadHappy DaysPlayed by Ron HowardThe clean-cut, freckle-faced Milwaukee teenager at the heart of Happy Days, whose dating schemes, school days…
Debuted in the 1980s(2)
- Sam MaloneLeadCheersPlayed by Ted DansonThe charming, womanizing owner and bartender of Cheers, a former Boston Red Sox relief pitcher and recovering alcoholic who runs the Boston bar…
- Jerry SeinfeldLeadSeinfeldPlayed by Jerry SeinfeldThe fictional version of comedian Jerry Seinfeld, a neat, observational stand-up living on the Upper West Side who serves as the calm…
Debuted in the 1990s(5)
- Will SmithLeadThe Fresh Prince of Bel-AirPlayed by Will SmithThe wisecracking West Philadelphia teenager who is sent to live with his rich aunt and uncle in Bel-Air, turning their mansion upside down while…
- Tim TaylorLeadHome ImprovementPlayed by Tim AllenThe grunting, power-tool-loving host of the cable show Tool Time, whose own home repairs keep going wrong in suburban Detroit.
- Frasier CraneLeadFrasierPlayed by Kelsey GrammerThe pompous, brilliant, and endlessly fussy psychiatrist who leaves Boston and Cheers behind to host a call-in radio show in Seattle…
- Ray BaroneLeadEverybody Loves RaymondPlayed by Ray RomanoThe easygoing Long Island sportswriter at the heart of Everybody Loves Raymond, forever stuck between his frustrated wife, Debra…
- Eric FormanLeadThat '70s ShowPlayed by Topher GraceThe skinny, sarcastic, Star Wars-loving teenager at the center of That '70s Show, whose basement in Point Place, Wisconsin…
Debuted in the 2000s(9)
- MalcolmLeadMalcolm in the MiddlePlayed 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…
- Larry DavidLeadCurb Your EnthusiasmPlayed 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…
- J.D.LeadScrubsPlayed 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…
- Michael BluthLeadArrested DevelopmentPlayed 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…
- Michael ScottLeadThe OfficePlayed 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…
- Ted MosbyLeadHow I Met Your MotherPlayed 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…
- Liz LemonLead30 RockPlayed 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…
- Leslie KnopeLeadParks and RecreationPlayed by Amy PoehlerThe relentlessly optimistic deputy director of the Pawnee, Indiana, Parks Department, who believes local government can change lives and will work…
- Jeff WingerLeadCommunityPlayed by Joel McHaleA smooth-talking lawyer who loses his career for faking his college degree, enrolls at Greendale Community College…
Debuted in the 2010s(4)
- Jess DayLeadNew GirlPlayed by Zooey DeschanelA bubbly, quirky teacher from Portland who moves into a Los Angeles loft with three single guys after a bad breakup and turns their lives…
- Jake PeraltaLeadBrooklyn Nine-NinePlayed by Andy SambergThe brilliant but wildly immature star detective of Brooklyn's 99th Precinct, a Die Hard-quoting prankster who slowly grows up under the eye of his…
- Amy SosaLeadSuperstorePlayed by America FerreraThe sharp, sarcastic, and overworked floor supervisor at a St. Louis Cloud 9 megastore, a young mom who has been stocking shelves for a decade and…
- Eleanor ShellstropLeadThe Good PlacePlayed by Kristen BellA selfish, foul-mouthed saleswoman from Arizona who wakes up in the afterlife's Good Place by apparent mistake and decides she had better learn to…
Debuted in the 2020s(2)
- Ted LassoLeadTed LassoPlayed by Jason SudeikisA relentlessly kind American college football coach from Kansas who is hired to manage an English soccer club despite knowing almost nothing about…
- Janine TeaguesLeadAbbott ElementaryPlayed by Quinta BrunsonAn endlessly optimistic young second-grade teacher at an underfunded Philadelphia public school, Janine is determined to fix everything for her…
More character lists
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