The 99 Greatest TV Characters Since Tony Soprano: #39-30

On January 10, 1999, a bathrobe-clad Tony Soprano first bent over to pick up a Star-Ledger in his driveway — and TV changed forever. We’re celebrating this new Golden Age of Television by paying tribute to our favorite TV characters who’ve debuted since The Sopranos premiered. No reality TV here, folks: just the 99 richest, most fascinating fictional characters from both comedies and dramas to grace the small screen over the past decade and a half. We love TV… and these people are the reason why.

39. Dr. Gregory House, House

On paper, Princeton-Plainsboro’s finest is quite the catch: a piano-playing, multilingual doctor with perfect three-day beard growth, a prodigious intellect, an acerbic wit, and an acceptable level of bad boy with his motorcycle. He was even OK with taking orders from a woman. But that paper, like everybody, lies because this misanthrope is a seriously broken man who frequented hookers, was addicted to Vicodin, had a debilitating leg injury and a death wish, often skipped mandatory clinic hours and pushed his work on his team, disregarded hospital protocols, and usually delivered a diagnosis with a heavy dose of derision. At least no one could honestly call him boring, which is a feat through eight seasons. — Carrie Bell

Related: Vote For the Best TV Characters of the 2000s

38. Stella Gibson, The Fall

Steely and precise, priding herself on being in control, Detective Inspector Gibson is a brilliant investigator, logical yet willing to go with hunches as they occur to her. Like some of her male colleagues, she’s also made a few errors in judgment when it comes to interoffice involvements — one-night stands and trickier relationships as well. Dogged and obsessive, Gibson is as hard-boiled as any of her male counterparts in leading an investigation. — Ken Tucker

Related: ‘The Fall’: Gillian Anderson Profiles Her Character Stella Gibson

37. Kenny Powers, Eastbound & Down

We wouldn’t want to share a bullpen with Kenny F—king Powers, but viewed from a safe distance, this cocky former big-league pitcher was a fascinating case study in machismo run amok. After flaming out in the majors, the raunchy redneck with a world-class mullet was reduced to taking a job as a middle school gym teacher in his old hometown, but he still strutted around like a rooster in heat. Even when humbling stints in the Mexican league and the minors followed, Kenny’s gargantuan self-confidence never wavered. To him, life is one big party… and he brought all the beer. — Dave Nemetz

36. Ben Linus, Lost

Introduced as a one-off character contracted for a mere three-episode appearance, the mysterious Mr. Linus went on to become the linchpin of the Island that the castaways and assorted Others called home. He was the one person who seemed to have all the answers, even though he ultimately proved to be just as… well, lost as the rest of us. Ben’s evolution was fascinating to watch, with new layers and fresh secrets being exposed from episode to episode and season to season. Of all the Island’s mysteries, he proved the hardest and, ultimately, the most satisfying to crack. — Ethan Alter

35. Selina Meyer, Veep

She may have finally made it to the Oval Office, but fans don’t expect much to change for Selina, who spent the first three seasons hurling insults at her spectacularly inept staff (and Jonah) and having the unseen President bust her “ladyballs.” Sexy, ambitious, and as two-faced, short-fused, and foul-mouthed as the next suit, she’s someone you still root for… partly because the celebration of her triumphs is just as hilarious as the fallout from her failures, but mostly because you know that with bigger responsibility comes bigger f—kups. — Mandi Bierly

34. Boyd Crowder, Justified

TV’s most eloquent badass was originally supposed to die at the end of the pilot. Then producers realized the most interesting way to tell a story about a lawman reluctantly returning to his home state of Kentucky was to have him repeatedly bump up against his old coal-mining buddy Boyd, the enigmatic and charismatic Crime King of the Holler. You’re never quite sure if you should believe what Boyd says, whether he’s claiming to have a religious conversion or to understand why his love Ava had to turn snitch. But — to quote the late Elmore Leonard, who resurrected Boyd in print as a result of Walton Goggins’s vigorous performance — you sure do enjoy watching him say it. — MB

33. Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren, Orange Is the New Black

This pie-throwing, prison-wife-collecting inmate is equal parts crazy, funny, and endearing, and one of the best examples of how the story behind the story is often the most interesting one. And we’re not talking about the show’s trademark character flashbacks; we mean the reasons why Suzanne’s intensity leads her to write poems for some women and leads some women to avoid her. She wants not only to be loved, but to simply connect with those around her, with a desperation that is palpable and heartbreaking. — Kimberly Potts

32. Gemma Teller, Sons of Anarchy

TV has never seen a mother more fierce or manipulative than Gemma Teller, the Gertrude of Kurt Sutter’s “Hamlet on Harleys” who wanted her son Jax to assume his position at the head of the motorcycle club’s table, even when he wanted out to break the cycle of violence for his own boys. Yes, she could strike fear in the hearts of large men, but Gemma was most compelling when she was most vulnerable. After she brutally murdered her daughter-in-law and set Jax on a misguided revenge spree, she was the one who ultimately insisted he shoot her because that’s who they are. For someone who’d use a gun, fist, carving fork, or skateboard as a weapon, her words were the most dangerous. — MB

Related: We Chat With ‘Sons of Anarchy’ Star Katey Sagal

31. Barney Stinson, How I Met Your Mother

This serial womanizer had a penchant for one-night stands and expensive suits, but Neil Patrick Harris’s legen — wait for it! — dary lothario eventually settled down with longtime pal Robin. (Well, for three years, anyway.) While his marriage to Robin didn’t last, HIMYM’s breakout character has been credited for much of the long-running CBS sitcom’s success. Much more than a mindless skirt-chaser, Barney was so darn charming and intelligent that he was actually likable. And without him, the world may never have known the phrase “Suit up!” or the basics of The Bro Code. — Victoria Leigh Miller

30. Gus Fring, Breaking Bad

If you didn’t know better, you might think Gustavo Fring is just a kindly, soft-spoken chicken restaurant proprietor. But we do know better. Played with blood-chilling precision by Giancarlo Esposito, Gus Fring was actually a ruthless drug lord who ran the New Mexico meth trade, willing to slit his own henchman’s throat just to let his enemies know he meant business. His cat-and-mouse battle of wills with Walter White was never less than riveting, and though Heisenberg eventually got the best of him (and what a way to go out, huh?), Gus Fring still goes down as one of the best TV villains of all time. — DN

Previously:
The 99 Greatest TV Characters Since Tony Soprano: #99-90
The 99 Greatest TV Characters Since Tony Soprano: #89-80
The 99 Greatest TV Characters Since Tony Soprano: #79-70
The 99 Greatest TV Characters Since Tony Soprano: #69-60
The 99 Greatest TV Characters Since Tony Soprano: #59-50
The 99 Greatest TV Characters Since Tony Soprano: #49-40