The 99 Greatest TV Characters Since Tony Soprano: #29-20
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.
29. Lucille Bluth, Arrested Development
As the perpetually vodka-drunk matriarch of the loony bin known as the Bluth family, Lucille was accustomed to the finer things in life: face lifts, prescription pills, casually insulting the help. (“Oh, that’s how we joke!”) A shameless money-grubber who always had a cutting remark at the ready for any family member who dared cross her path, Lucille’s withering stare and utter lack of maternal warmth went a long way towards explaining why her children were so messed up. Give your mother a hug today, and thank her for not being Lucille Bluth. — Dave Nemetz
Related: Vote For the Best TV Characters of the 2000s
28. Jack Bauer, 24
Like all good heroes, antiterrorist super agent Jack Bauer has made tremendous personal sacrifices: Losing loved ones, becoming a drug addict as part of an undercover assignment, and even once beheading a dude and carrying the noggin around in a bowling bag as part of a bigger effort to thwart yet another baddie. G.I. Joe? Nah. Jack Bauer is the real real American hero, dammit! He’s a protector so skilled and effective that you almost feel like the real world is a safer place as long as Jack Bauer’s doing his hero thing in primetime. — Kimberly Potts
27. C.J. Cregg, The West Wing
I was in college when The West Wing premiered, and I’m willing to bet nearly every single one of my female classmates at the College of Communication at Boston University was inspired by fictional White House Press Secretary C.J. Cregg. There was a realness about her we hadn’t seen much on TV before. She didn’t always have her s—t together. She was funny at both appropriate and inappropriate times; classy, but conflicted; willing to listen and open her heart, but not to be trifled with. In short, she was empowering. Consider this an official thank you, C.J. — Breanne L. Heldman
26. Al Swearengen, Deadwood
He was the worst sort of lawless swindler, yet he helped bring the law to his Wild West town. He was greedy and power-hungry, yet brokered the beginnings of civilization. He was ruthless and violent, yet oddly tender about children. Al was many things, his failings and virtues manifold — which made him such a fascinating character to watch. That he spoke with such Shakespearean flourish, with profanity to shock modern-day rappers and eloquence to put presidents to shame, made the pleasure exponential. — Kelly Woo
Related: The ‘Deadwood’ Cast Chats For a 10th Anniversary Oral History
25. Olivia Pope, Scandal
Only a person of singular presence can bring a president to his knees — figuratively and literally. Olivia is just that kind of person; she’s charismatic, intelligent, beautiful, clever, and fiercely loyal. But her biggest strength (and sometimes her biggest weakness) is her eclipsing passion, be it for her work or loved ones. Whether she’s taking down an abusive senatorial candidate or trying to rehabilitate Huck, Olivia will fight with every weapon in her arsenal. She’s not called a gladiator for nothing. — KW
Related: 'Scandal' Star Kerry Washington on Season 4's 'High Stakes'
24. Larry David, Curb Your Enthusiasm
All things considered, a top-25 spot on this list is pret-tay, pret-tay good for a guy who’s basically playing himself. Of course, why play a character, when Curb's Larry David — a selfish, petty curmudgeon who never met a social cue he couldn't over-analyze to the point of absurdity — is so entertaining to watch? Each week, Larry would run afoul of some unwritten rule of society and pay dearly for it, while his long-suffering wife Cheryl looked on in shame. Even if we've seen the last of Larry (“the odds are against” another season, David says), he's given us an all-time great character that's earned a place of honor right alongside his Seinfeld creations. — DN
23. The Dowager Countess, Downton Abbey
The matriarch of the Grantham family is the undisputed queen of quips: Some are comical (“What is a weekend?”), and some are wise (“My dear, a lack of compassion can be as vulgar as an excess of tears”). But as entertainingly pompous as she can be, Violet is also a fiercely loving woman who can adjust to having an American daughter-in-law, a former chauffeur in the family, and granddaughters who’ve had sex before marriage. The longer Downton Abbey runs, the more we learn about the Dowager, including the fact that she herself isn’t immune to the pain of heartbreak. Or the need of a friend/sparring partner. — Mandi Bierly
22. Phil Dunphy, Modern Family
One of the finest recent examples of a hoary sitcom cliché — the doofus dad — Phil Dunphy is clumsy and often clueless as to how he’s coming across to wife Claire, his three children, and his real-estate clients. But Phil is no empty punchline: He really loves family life, revels in being able to act like a kid with his kids, and romances Claire with the fresh ardor of a newlywed. We should all be as open to the pleasures of domestic life as Phil is. — Ken Tucker
21. Leslie Knope, Parks and Recreation
Relentlessly kind, cheerful, and optimistic, Leslie Knope was a much-needed antidote to TV’s antihero era. As deputy director of Pawnee’s parks department, Leslie worked tirelessly — and we do mean tirelessly — to make life in Pawnee a little nicer, battling apathetic politicians and evil candy corporations. Faced with impossible odds, she never buckled; she just rolled up her sleeves and got to work. And she was just as tireless in perfecting the art of friendship: Have you seen the birthday presents she gives? We’ll always admire her undying devotion to friends, waffles, and work. Or waffles, friends, and work. Doesn’t matter. But work is always third. — DN
Related: 'Parks and Rec' Boss Michael Schur Breaks Down the Time-Tripping Series Finale
20. Vic Mackey, The Shield
This cop’s morals, if you want to call them that, have to be described as circumstantial. Blackmail, beatings, murder… Mackey had to be, as he told one perp, “a different kind of cop,” because he had to pay for an expensive school for his autistic son, secure his family’s future, etc., etc. Truth is, Mackey was definitely different than any TV cop we’d ever seen, and when his victims were criminals, his efforts could seem almost heroic. Almost. The problem: Sometimes friends, family, and co-workers were on his hit list, too. — KP
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
