Characters by network
NBC sitcom characters
No network has launched more of the sitcoms in this library than NBC. Its run stretches from Cheers and The Golden Girls in the 1980s, through Seinfeld, Friends, and Frasier in the 1990s, to The Office, 30 Rock, Parks and Recreation, and The Good Place.
Shows are listed under the network that first aired them, so Scrubs counts as NBC even though it ended on ABC, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which finished on NBC, appears on the FOX list.
111 characters on this list.
Cheers(8)
NBC, 1982 to 1993
- Sam MaloneLeadPlayed 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…
- Carla TortelliMain castPlayed by Rhea PerlmanThe sharp-tongued, superstitious waitress at Cheers, a hardworking single mother of a large and chaotic brood who insults nearly every customer and…
- Cliff ClavinMain castPlayed by John RatzenbergerThe know-it-all Boston mail carrier who sits beside Norm at the Cheers bar, lives with his mother, and has a dubious fact ready for every…
- Diane ChambersMain castPlayed by Shelley LongThe brainy, high-minded graduate student who takes a waitress job at Cheers after her fiance abandons her there…
- Lilith SterninMain castPlayed by Bebe NeuwirthThe icy, brilliant psychiatrist who becomes Frasier Crane's wife on Cheers, the mother of his son Frederick…
- Norm PetersonMain castPlayed by George WendtThe beer-loving, perpetually underemployed regular who occupies the same stool at the end of the Cheers bar every day…
- Rebecca HoweMain castPlayed by Kirstie AlleyThe ambitious, increasingly neurotic corporate manager sent to run Cheers in season six, who spends years fending off Sam's advances while chasing…
- Woody BoydMain castPlayed by Woody HarrelsonThe sweet, gullible farm boy from Hanover, Indiana, who comes to Boston to meet his pen pal Coach and ends up behind the Cheers bar as its second…
The Golden Girls(4)
NBC, 1985 to 1992
- Blanche DevereauxMain castPlayed by Rue McClanahanThe flirtatious, glamorous Southern belle who owns the Miami house, a proud widow from outside Atlanta whose endless romances, vanity…
- Dorothy ZbornakMain castPlayed by Bea ArthurThe sharp-tongued, sensible substitute teacher of the Miami household, a Brooklyn-born divorcee whose deadpan put-downs…
- Rose NylundMain castPlayed by Betty WhiteThe sweet, trusting widow from tiny St. Olaf, Minnesota, whose long, baffling stories about her hometown and innocent misunderstandings make her the…
- Sophia PetrilloMain castPlayed by Estelle GettyDorothy's tiny, blunt, Sicilian-born mother, who moves into the Miami house after her retirement home burns down and becomes the show's sharpest wit…
Seinfeld(10)
NBC, 1989 to 1998
- Jerry SeinfeldLeadPlayed 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…
- Cosmo KramerMain castPlayed by Michael RichardsJerry's wild-haired neighbor across the hall, who bursts through the door without knocking, eats Jerry's food…
- Elaine BenesMain castPlayed by Julia Louis-DreyfusJerry's ex-girlfriend turned best friend, a sharp, confident, and famously blunt New Yorker who works her way through publishing jobs, bad bosses…
- George CostanzaMain castPlayed by Jason AlexanderJerry's lifelong best friend, a neurotic, cheap, endlessly scheming New Yorker whose lies, job disasters, and doomed romances make him one of the…
- Frank CostanzaSide characterPlayed by John Randolph and Jerry StillerGeorge's explosive, eccentric father, a short-fused former Army cook who invented the holiday Festivus and shouts "Serenity now!" to keep his blood…
- NewmanSide characterPlayed by Wayne KnightJerry's smug, scheming nemesis down the hall, a mail carrier and Kramer's partner in crime whose every arrival is greeted with a frosty "Hello…
- The Soup NaziSide characterPlayed by Larry ThomasYev Kassem, the brilliant and tyrannical soup chef whose strict ordering rules and instant bans gave Seinfeld one of its most famous lines…
- David PuddySide characterPlayed by Patrick WarburtonElaine's deadpan, on-and-off boyfriend, a square-jawed mechanic turned car salesman who paints his face for the New Jersey Devils and answers almost…
- Estelle CostanzaSide characterPlayed by Estelle HarrisGeorge's shrill, melodramatic mother, who squabbles nonstop with her husband Frank, nags George about everything…
- J. PetermanSide characterPlayed by John O'HurleyElaine's grandly eccentric boss at the J. Peterman clothing catalog, a world-traveling adventurer who narrates his own life like an old radio drama.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air(7)
NBC, 1990 to 1996
- Will SmithLeadPlayed 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…
- Carlton BanksMain castPlayed by Alfonso RibeiroWill's preppy, rule-loving cousin in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, a Princeton-obsessed conservative with a sweater vest, a big heart…
- Ashley BanksMain castPlayed by Tatyana AliThe youngest Banks daughter in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, a sweet, smart kid who idolizes her cousin Will and grows up on screen into an…
- GeoffreyMain castPlayed by Joseph MarcellThe Banks family's dry-witted English butler in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, who serves the household with perfect manners and an even more perfect…
- Hilary BanksMain castPlayed by Karyn ParsonsThe eldest Banks child in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, a pampered, shopping-obsessed socialite who stumbles from her father's credit cards into a…
- Philip BanksMain castPlayed by James AveryWill's stern, successful Uncle Phil in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, a powerful Los Angeles lawyer turned judge who becomes the father figure Will…
- Vivian BanksMain castPlayed by Janet Hubert and Daphne Maxwell ReidWill's loving, principled Aunt Viv in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, an educator and mother of four who defends her nephew and keeps her famously…
Frasier(6)
NBC, 1993 to 2004
- Frasier CraneLeadPlayed by Kelsey GrammerThe pompous, brilliant, and endlessly fussy psychiatrist who leaves Boston and Cheers behind to host a call-in radio show in Seattle…
- Daphne MoonMain castPlayed by Jane LeevesThe cheerful, eccentric English caregiver from Manchester whom Frasier hires to look after his father, and the woman Niles Crane spends years…
- Martin CraneMain castPlayed by John MahoneyFrasier and Niles's down-to-earth father, a retired Seattle police detective who moves into Frasier's elegant apartment with his beat-up recliner…
- Niles CraneMain castPlayed by David Hyde PierceFrasier's even fussier younger brother, a wealthy Seattle psychiatrist trapped in a strange marriage to the never-seen Maris and hopelessly in love…
- Roz DoyleMain castPlayed by Peri GilpinThe sharp, confident producer of The Dr. Frasier Crane Show at Seattle's KACL, a small-town Wisconsin native with a busy love life who becomes…
- EddieSide characterPlayed by Moose and EnzoMartin Crane's scene-stealing Jack Russell terrier, who moves into Frasier's apartment with his owner and spends years unnervingly staring at…
Friends(11)
NBC, 1994 to 2004
- Chandler BingMain castPlayed by Matthew PerryThe sarcastic, self-deprecating wisecracker of Friends, a commitment-phobic office worker who uses jokes as armor, shares an apartment with Joey…
- Joey TribbianiMain castPlayed by Matt LeBlancThe sweet, food-loving, not-so-bright struggling actor of Friends, a ladies' man from a big Italian American family who lands a soap opera role and…
- Monica GellerMain castPlayed by Courteney CoxThe fiercely competitive, neat-freak chef whose Greenwich Village apartment is the gang's home base, and whose surprise romance with Chandler Bing…
- Phoebe BuffayMain castPlayed by Lisa KudrowThe quirky, free-spirited masseuse and singer-songwriter of Friends, who survived a rough childhood on the streets of New York with her optimism…
- Rachel GreenMain castPlayed by Jennifer AnistonThe former daddy's girl who runs out on her wedding, waits tables at Central Perk, builds a career in fashion…
- Ross GellerMain castPlayed by David SchwimmerMonica's nerdy, lovable older brother, a dinosaur-obsessed paleontologist with three divorces, two kids, and a lifelong crush on Rachel Green that…
- GuntherSide characterPlayed by James Michael TylerThe bleach-blond, deadpan manager of Central Perk, who serves the gang their coffee for ten seasons while quietly nursing an unrequited crush on…
- JaniceSide characterPlayed by Maggie WheelerChandler's loud, nasal, impossible-to-shake ex-girlfriend, famous for her machine-gun laugh and her trademark greeting…
- Mike HanniganSide characterPlayed by Paul RuddThe easygoing former lawyer turned piano player who meets Phoebe Buffay on a last-minute blind date arranged by Joey and becomes the man she marries…
- Carol WillickSide characterPlayed by Anita Barone and Jane SibbettRoss Geller's first wife, who leaves him after realizing she is a lesbian, then has his son, Ben, and raises him with her partner, Susan…
- Richard BurkeSide characterPlayed by Tom SelleckThe handsome, mustached ophthalmologist and old friend of the Geller family who falls for Monica despite their 21-year age gap…
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…
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…
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…
Parks and Recreation(11)
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…
- Ben WyattMain castPlayed by Adam ScottThe dry, budget-slashing state auditor who arrives in Pawnee to fix its finances, slowly falls for the town and for Leslie Knope…
- Chris TraegerMain castPlayed by Rob LoweThe relentlessly upbeat, fitness-obsessed state auditor turned Pawnee city manager, who greets every person and every bit of news as if it were…
- 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…
- Jean-Ralphio SapersteinSide characterPlayed by Ben SchwartzTom Haverford's loud, overconfident, sing-songing best friend, a self-proclaimed baller who rhymes, schemes, and spends money he does not have…
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…
Superstore(7)
NBC, 2015 to 2021
- Amy SosaLeadPlayed 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…
- Cheyenne ThompsonMain castPlayed by Nichole SakuraThe bubbly, gossipy Cloud 9 associate who starts the series as a pregnant high schooler, gives birth in the store, marries her boyfriend Bo…
- Dina FoxMain castPlayed by Lauren AshCloud 9's intense, rule-obsessed assistant store manager, a security-camera-watching enforcer with a home full of pet birds and a heart she would…
- Garrett McNeilMain castPlayed by Colton DunnCloud 9's sarcastic, unbothered sales associate and in-store announcer, a wheelchair user who does the bare minimum, narrates the chaos over the PA…
- Glenn SturgisMain castPlayed by Mark McKinneyThe endlessly upbeat, deeply religious, and hopelessly awkward manager of Cloud 9 store 1217, who loves his employees like family and rarely knows…
- Jonah SimmsMain castPlayed by Ben FeldmanAn earnest, idealistic business school dropout who takes a job at a St. Louis Cloud 9 megastore, tries to find beauty in the aisles…
- Mateo LiwanagMain castPlayed by Nico SantosThe fiercely competitive, quick-witted Cloud 9 sales associate who starts on the same day as Jonah, gossips nonstop with Cheyenne…
The Good Place(6)
NBC, 2016 to 2020
- Eleanor ShellstropLeadPlayed 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…
- Chidi AnagonyeMain castPlayed by William Jackson HarperA kind, brilliant, and painfully indecisive ethics professor who is assigned as Eleanor's soulmate in the afterlife and agrees to teach her how to…
- JanetMain castPlayed by D'Arcy CardenThe Good Place's cheerful, all-knowing assistant, who can answer any question and produce any object on request…
- Jason MendozaMain castPlayed by Manny JacintoA sweet, impulsive, and wildly clueless amateur DJ from Jacksonville, Florida, who reaches the afterlife disguised as a silent Buddhist monk and has…
- MichaelMain castPlayed by Ted DansonThe warm, bow-tied architect who designs the Good Place neighborhood and welcomes its new residents, and who turns out to be far more complicated…
- Tahani Al-JamilMain castPlayed by Jameela JamilA glamorous, wealthy British philanthropist who name-drops constantly, hosts every party in the neighborhood…
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