Who's The Best Character To Ever Join A TV Show AFTER The First Season?
This is a tough one right here, a real head scratcher. At least that’s what you might think when you first look at it. I’ll tell you what, however, it’s really quite simple and there isn’t a second place because the winner is so clearly the winner. Who’s that? I’m glad you asked, it’s…
Actually, I’m not going to tell you right away (don’t scroll!). First I’m going to go through the honorable mentions, because there certainly are plenty of those. There’s no second or third place for best character to join a TV show after the first season but there are definitely a lot that deserve a shoutout. I’ll separate them into different groups, almost like a second or third place but totally not like that at all because I said it doesn’t exist.
Shows I Didn’t Watch But People Say They Had Good Characters Added
Cheers. I didn’t watch it, sorry.
Answers I’d Totally Disagree With
Ben Wyatt and Chris Traeger
Both awesome characters who weren’t introduced until the end of season two and didn’t become full-time until season 3. The show doesn’t work without them but, like a lot of the honorable mentions I’m about to list, I don’t think the characters themselves really stand on their own. Ben and Chris are great but in order to be mentioned with the big dogs you need to be able to carry your own storyline, I don’t think Ben or Chris could do that.
Andy Bernard
Andy is a guy who got a LOT of love in response to this tweet, people are huge Andy fans. I think Dave has even told me that Andy was his favorite character on the show. Not for me, though. I like Andy just fine, like him a real lot in fact, but it stops at like. I always thought Andy was a GREAT supplementary character but always found myself annoyed by his own character arc. By the end of the series (I know no one really watched until the end but as time has gone on and I’ve watched hundreds more hours of Netflix I’ve actually deemed the Michael-less episodes underrated) Andy was downright detestable. He was awesome alongside Jim in Stamford, awesome trying to win Michael’s affection, awesome battling with Dwight, but when it came to doing stuff on his own he just never really did it for me. That can’t win here.
Davos
Great guy and I think one of the only characters in Thrones who seems genuinely pure of heart, at least comparably speaking. But there are just too many major characters in Game of Thrones for Davos to get any traction in this contest. If you asked people their favorite character in Thrones very, very few would even consider naming Davos. Many wouldn’t even think of him. Gotta be more prominent than that.
Acceptable Answers I Wouldn’t Fight You Over
Alfie Solomons
Look, Tom Hardy is a fucking beast and is gonna be great in anything he’s ever in. Christopher Nolan just said he puts Tom Hardy in masks in movies because Hardy can do more acting with his eyes than most people can do with their entire bodies. You want to say Alfie is the best character addition ever? I ain’t mad at ya. He steals absolutely every scene he appears in so it wouldn’t be the worst answer.
Anyone not named Walt or Jessie in Breaking Bad (Saul, Gus, Mike)
Another one that’s tough to fight. You could make me choose from any of these “Pin a tail on the donkey” style and it would be a very fine answer. They’re three of the best characters in arguably the best TV show ever, there’s nothing bad you can say about them. Fine choices.
THE WINNER
Frank Reynolds
Of course it’s Frank. It’s always been Frank, it will always be Frank. I suppose I’m rather biased as I’ve electronically fellated Sunny on this site more times than I could ever remember. But the correct choice is the correct choice and that’s what Frank is. Every character arc on Sunny has been a WILD ride to follow but Frank’s spiral from rich, successful businessman to absolute trash bag who shares a pullout couch with his maybe sun has been the wildest. And you know what? He’s so goddamn good at it that in my mind that’s not just how Frank Reynolds lives, it’s also how Danny DeVito lives. If you ask me they are the same exact person.
Frank is so far ahead in this competition that he wins before you even factor in the fact that he literally saved the show. Literally. Without Danny DeVito agreeing to come on Sunny probably doesn’t even see a season 2, they’re now on season 13. He’s the best character ever added after the first season and he’s also the most important character ever added.
He wins.