The 99 Greatest TV Characters Since Tony Soprano: #19-10

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.

19. Sheldon Cooper, The Big Bang Theory

His arrogance, his idiosyncratic demands about food and his spot on the couch, his taking girlfriend Amy for granted… you’d want to strangle him if he were your roommate. But there’s rarely a dull moment with a guy like Sheldon, whose brain is always running overtime and whose love of pop culture is as great as his love for all things science. Sheldon is also a constantly evolving character: a socially inept guy who has become (slightly) more empathetic, (a little) more willing to acknowledge others, and more likely to say the right thing, even in emotionally fraught situations like the recent death of a friend’s mother. — Kimberly Potts

18. Jimmy McNulty, The Wire

No one — not his wife or girlfriends, not his bosses or co-workers, not even common sense or a thought towards sobriety — were going to tell Jimmy McNulty what to do. Supremely confident in his skills as a Baltimore police detective, McNulty did actually walk the walk most of the time, with his instincts and resourcefulness often proving to be a key factor in many big moves against big Baltimore criminals, namely the Barksdales. But then there were those moments when he did things like sending his pre-teen boys off to tail Stringer Bell, moments that proved the fact that he’d do anything to solve a case was also the reason his life was usually in a state of chaos. — KP

Related: ‘The Wire’ in HD: Stars on the Series Finale, Unhappy Endings, and Why a Reunion Is Unlikely

17. Gob Bluth, Arrested Development

The Alliance of Magicians. The Segway. The Chicken Dance. “The Final Countdown.” It seems impossible that anyone could take themselves seriously with that kind of track record of ridiculousness, but Gob has a hubris unlike anyone on television… possibly ever. If he were mean-spirited, he would be the worst, but since Lucille got all of the family’s spite, all that’s left is bafflement that things never turn out like he expects. His signature “Come on!” is a cry for help we all can get behind. — Robert Chan

16. Carrie Mathison, Homeland

Carrie is a gifted CIA analyst who also grapples with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. She’s risen high in the ranks, mentored by Saul Berenson, under whose guidance she has slowly, steadily begun to chafe. Carrie’s personal life is as messy as her professional life is orderly. She fell in love with Nicholas Brody, a soldier suspected of treason, and had a child by him… a child she has more or less left to the care of her sister, placing her career above all else. — Ken Tucker

Related: ‘Homeland’ Spoilers: Showrunner Reveals the Who, Where, and When of Next Season

15. Ron Swanson, Parks and Recreation

Pawnee was chock full of memorable characters, but it’s the absence of a weekly dose of the government-hating, breakfast food-loving curmudgeon Ron Swanson that hit us the hardest. He had us at “meat tornado.” Actually, any time he mentioned animal proteins with glee or turned his sarcastic baritone towards vegetables or hippies was must-see TV. Even his momentary lapses into insanity (and cornrows) after a run-in with either ex-wife named Tammy further endeared him to audiences. And of course, there was that glorious ‘stache.  But the best part was, if push came to shove, he had the backs of all his work proximity associates. Even Garry, err, Jerry, err, Larry. End of speech. — Carrie Bell

Related: ‘Parks and Recreation’: All of Ron Swanson’s Quotes About Meat in One Place

14. Coach Eric Taylor, Friday Night Lights

We know he had clear eyes, because he (wisely) saw that Tami Taylor was a woman worth hanging onto, combining to form one of TV’s all-time best marriages. We know he had a full heart, because he served as a caring surrogate father and role model to his football players and guided his own daughter Julie with a firm but tender hand… not to mention some fiercely contested games of ping-pong. And when he decided to leave the high-stakes world of Texas high school football and two state titles behind to support his wife’s dreams in Philadelphia (now that’s a man right there!), we knew he couldn’t lose. — Dave Nemetz

13. Valerie Cherish, The Comeback

We’ve seen dozens of shallow, deluded actresses portrayed on TV… but there’s something special about Valerie Cherish. Her maniacal drive to stay relevant via bad sitcoms and exploitive reality shows would almost be admirable, if it weren’t so self-destructive. And Lisa Kudrow’s “brave” — God, Valerie hates that word — and layered performance elevates it beyond just a cheap joke at Hollywood’s expense. We laugh at Valerie, sure, but we root for her, too. She left such a big impression that HBO revived the show after a nearly decade-long hiatus, which meant we got to spend more time marveling at the fascinating, complicated wonder that is Valerie Cherish. We do want to see that. — DN

Related: Hello, Hello, Hello! Lisa Kudrow Talks ‘The Comeback’ Season 2

12. Jack Donaghy, 30 Rock

How could you not love a man who supplemented his Amory Blaine Handsomeness Scholarship at Princeton with a job working the day shift at a graveyard and the graveyard shift at a Days Inn? And who worked his way up to become GE’s Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming, for whom anything less than a tux after 6 p.m. was akin to dressing like a farmer? That the famously liberal Alec Baldwin played the famously conservative Jack so convincingly and charmingly was at least a little bit of the fun, as was the fact that, in spite of his truly fabulous life, Jack seemed most happy in the company of Liz Lemon and the kooky TGS bunch. — KP

11. Peggy Olson, Mad Men

It’s Don Draper’s silhouette we see in the opening credits, but we could argue Mad Men is really the story of Peggy Olson: the clever, ambitious gal who was hired as Don’s secretary in the pilot and rose through the ranks at Sterling Cooper as a copywriter before striking out on her own, finally returning to become Don’s successor as pitchman (woman?) extraordinaire. Her romantic life has been as chaotic as Don’s at times — she’s had terrible taste in men — but amid all the stumbles, Peggy has embodied the progress of the American career woman in the 1960s: messy and hard-fought, yes, but ultimately triumphant. — DN

Related: Five Things We Just Learned About ‘Mad Men’

10. David Brent, The Office (U.K.)

Before Michael Scott, there was David Brent, the general manager of a paper company in Slough, England who believed being a funny man and a great boss were not mutually exclusive — and was hilarious because he was neither. More delusional than Valerie Cherish and arguably less empathetic than Larry David, the master of cringe could be counted on to turn everything up to 11: from his misguided management and life wisdom to his ill-timed performances of “Free Love Freeway,” that impromptu fusion of “Flashdance and MC Hammer s—t,” and his cover of “If You Don’t Know Me By Now.” In the end, however, David gets the last laugh: he’s as beloved as he always assumed he was. — Mandi Bierly

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
The 99 Greatest TV Characters Since Tony Soprano: #39-30
The 99 Greatest TV Characters Since Tony Soprano: #29-20