What’s better than seeing our analysts take part in a spirited TV Characters Draftathlon event? Following that up with a full-on Top-30 rankings chart!
We asked Mike Tagliere, Kyle Yates, Bobby Sylvester and Dan Harris to provide their top-50 rankings of the greatest television characters of all time; we then combined those results (Expert Consensus Rankings-style) to provide you, the reader, with a master rankings list.
So, without further delay, here is our top-30 list in all its iconic television glory:
| RANK | CHARACTER | TAGS | YATES | BOBBY | HARRIS | AVG. |
| 1 | Ron Swanson (Parks and Recreation) | 2 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 4.3 |
| 2 | Dwight Schrute (The Office) | 5 | 11 | 4 | 9 | 7.3 |
| 3 | Michael Scott (The Office) | 1 | 32 | 3 | 4 | 10.0 |
| 4 | Chandler Bing (Friends) | 21 | 1 | 13 | 18 | 13.3 |
| 5 | Joey Tribbiani (Friends) | 32 | 2 | 7 | 22 | 15.8 |
| 6 | Walter White (Breaking Bad) | 4 | NR | 9 | 1 | 16.3 |
| 7 | Phil Dunphy (Modern Family) | 10 | NR | 1 | 11 | 18.3 |
| 8 | Andy Dwyer (Parks and Recreation) | 14 | 4 | 22 | 39 | 19.8 |
| 9 | Tyrion Lannister (Game of Thrones) | 12 | NR | 15 | 3 | 20.3 |
| 10 | Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother) | 25 | 6 | 2 | NR | 21.0 |
| 11 | Jim Halpert (The Office) | 7 | 12 | 26 | 42 | 21.8 |
| 12 | Leslie Knope (Parks and Recreation) | 11 | 24 | NR | 10 | 24.0 |
| T13 | Eric Cartman (South Park) | 10 | NR | 5 | 31 | 26.8 |
| T13 | Tony Soprano (The Sopranos) | 40 | NR | 14 | 2 | 26.8 |
| 15 | Dexter Morgan (Dexter) | 6 | NR | 28 | 30 | 28.8 |
| 16 | Omar Little (The Wire) | NR | NR | 11 | 5 | 29.5 |
| 17 | Jesse Pinkman (Breaking Bad) | 3 | NR | 27 | 38 | 29.8 |
| 18 | Coach Eric Taylor (Friday Night Lights) | 26 | 35 | 38 | 21 | 30.0 |
| 19 | Saul Goodman (Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul) | 9 | NR | NR | 13 | 31.0 |
| 20 | George Costanza (Seinfeld) | 37 | NR | 23 | 24 | 31.3 |
| 21 | Cosmo Kramer (Seinfeld) | 22 | NR | NR | 7 | 32.8 |
| 22 | Don Draper (Mad Men) | NR | NR | 18 | 12 | 33.0 |
| 23 | Arya Stark (Game of Thrones) | 19 | NR | NR | 14 | 33.8 |
| 24 | Schmidt (New Girl) | 27 | 13 | NR | NR | 35.5 |
| 25 | Michael Scofield (Prison Break) | 35 | NR | 8 | NR | 36.3 |
| 26 | Raymond Holt (Brooklyn 99) | NR | 8 | NR | 36 | 36.5 |
| 27 | Daenerys Targaren (Game of Thrones) | 13 | NR | NR | 32 | 36.8 |
| T28 | Jon Snow (Game of Thrones) | 16 | NR | 31 | 50 | 37.0 |
| T28 | Al Bundy (Married … With Children) | 23 | NR | NR | 23 | 37.0 |
| 30 | Gustavo Fring (Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul) | 33 | NR | NR | 16 | 37.8 |
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Tags’ top picks not on the list (rank in parentheses): Hank Moody, Californication (8); April Ludgate, Parks and Recreation (15); Frank Gallagher, Shameless (17); Randy Marsh, South Park (18)
Yates’ top picks not on the list: Jean-Ralphio Saperstein, Parks and Recreation (5); Jake Peralta, Brooklyn 99 (7); Charles Boyle, Brooklyn 99 (9); Doug Judy, Brooklyn 99 (10)
Bobby’s top picks not on the list: Theo Huxtable, The Cosby Show (10); Kevin Malone, The Office (12); Cameron Tucker, Modern Family (16); Frank Underwood, House of Cards (17)
Dan’s top picks not on the list: Selina Meyer, Veep (8); Alex P. Keaton, Family Ties (15); Mike Ehrmantraut, Breaking Bad/Better Caul Saul (17); Frank Donaghy, 30 Rock (19)
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Assorted Rankings Facts
- All Hail Ron Swanson! The iconic “Parks and Recreation” character topped our list with ease as the only subject to appear in the top-6 of each analyst’s individual ranking. Does his make him the Christian McCaffrey of TV characters? Yes. Yes, it does.
- Michael Scott likely deserved a higher ranking, with three analysts ranking him in the top-4 – and Yates slotting him in 32nd. When asked about the disparity, Yates commented: “Michael Scott certainly has his moments that make us all laugh, but there are other moments that are downright cringeworthy. Season 1 Michael Scott made that show borderline unwatchable … it’s hard to look past that even if he did turn into a great character down the road. It’s enough to rank him below some other outstanding tv show characters.”
- Yates’ entire 50-character rankings list was built from just seven shows (Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn 99, Friends, New Girl, Friday Night Lights, How I Met Your Mother, The Office). And if you remove Coach Eric Taylor, just six shows account for a whopping 49 of Yates’ selections. Someone get this guy a Roku subscription.
- Chandler Bing edged out Joey Tribbiani as the top “Friends” character; with just one spot separating them, could they BE any closer?
- As you might expect in a “Best of All-Time” list, only three of the top-30 characters are on currently running shows: Eric Cartman from “South Park”, Saul Goodman and Gustavo Fring from “Better Call Saul”, and Capt. Raymond Holt from “Brooklyn 99”.
- Only eight characters appeared on all four lists; to no one’s surprise, all eight of those characters are ranked inside the top-18 overall.
- Cartman and Tony Soprano finished tied. We have nothing to add to that.
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