We recently asked the BuzzFeed Community which secondary character from a TV show or movie would've made a better main character than the actual main character, and boy did they have lots to say! Here are some of the best responses: 1. Bonnie Bennett from The Vampire Diaries "You can’t have her save the day every time and then relegate her to secondary status. Plus, she was much more interesting and exciting than Elena."
—oliviahasbde
Annette Brown /The CW / Courtesy: Everett Collection 2. Maeve Wiley from Sex Education "Otis is a good protagonist, but Maeve has such depth in her character and is such a pleasure to watch in every scene she's in."
—smokingkrillz
Sam Taylor / Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection 3. Eloise Bridgerton from Bridgerton "I would FAR rather see Eloise's struggle to independence than I would Daphne's woes."
—d449526491
Liam Daniel / Netflix / Courtesy Everett Collection 4. Sandra from Superstore "I want to know what her life is like, especially with her hyper memory."
—yukioaqualinekirko
Nbc / NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images 5. Gustavo Fring from Breaking Bad "Walter White irritated and bored me! Gus is a much more interesting character, and the story would have been so much better!"
—jacq74accs
Ursula Coyote / AMC / courtesy Everett Collection 6. Jemma Simmons from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. "Simmons rather than Daisy. She was the brains behind everything and made more mistakes than Daisy. She had a different way of thinking, and her badass-ness is more hidden, which I think is really cool."
—deke_shaw
Mitchell Haaseth / ABC / courtesy Everett Collection 7. Storm from the X-Men franchise "Listen. I love Wolverine. I really do. But did almost every movie HAVE to be about him? Give me a Storm movie! A Magneto origin! A little something different, people!"
—andmeggyhash
20th Century Fox Film Corp. All rights reserved. 8. Nick Miller from New Girl "Hands down!!! It should have been called the Nick Miller Show."
—jenstagram
20thcentfox /20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection 9. Any of the Weasleys from the Harry Potter franchise "Maybe not Percy 😂 , but I would literally take a movie about the Weasleys and give back all the Harry stuff if I could. Harry is a good character; I just don’t think he needed so many movies about him."
—jmaygriggs
Warner Bros. Pictures 10. Taystee from Orange Is the New Black “I know toward the end of the show, she did become more of the main focus and she got more flashbacks and stuff, but they really could’ve centered it around her more. Or literally anyone but Piper. In my opinion, Piper had no depth and was a boring main character. Taystee ended up changing the most from who she was at the beginning of the show and was just an amazing character to watch grow over the years."
—cassidy46k
JoJo Whilden / Netflix / courtesy Everett Collection 11. Raven Reyes from The 100 "She saves humanity like four times and rarely gets credit for it. Plus, she's Latina and disabled, two things that aren't very common in television leads. She's the smartest character on the show and is also sassy, assertive, and a little cocky. She's just a lot more interesting than Clarke and ends up having a much more positive impact on the ending too."
—kamcalste
Sergei Bachlakov / The CW Network / courtesy Everett Collection 12. Primrose Everdeen from The Hunger Games franchise "It would be great to read from Prim’s point of view since she spends so little time with Katniss in the series!"
—amylouisev
Murray Close/Lionsgate/Courtesy Everett Collection 13. Karen and Jack from Will & Grace "I know I'm not the only one who thinks Karen & Jack would have made a way better show than Will & Grace ."
—mollymcduck
NBC 14. Dean Craig Pelton and Ben Chang from Community "I want to watch a Community spinoff starring them. It's already a weird school, but focused more on them, it’d be even weirder. More costumes, Dalmatians, amnesia, mannequin parts, and most importantly, more greasing up an almost naked Chang so he can climb in the air vents!"
—shauna_malwae-tweep
Yahoo /Yahoo/Courtesy Everett Collection 15. Janet from The Good Place "I would love a version of The Good Place all about Janet. Eleanor was a strong choice for the main character, but Janet had such a unique and compelling position within the show’s realm. Plus, she was hilarious!"
—hiitsnicetomeetyou
Nbc / NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images 16. Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter franchise "She was the smartest one in the group, and she literally got them out of trouble most of the time. I like Harry and all, but still."
—chocolate829
Jaap Buitendijk/ Warner Bros /Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection 17. Fat Amy from the Pitch Perfect trilogy Richard Cartwright/Universal Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection 18. Mercedes Jones from Glee "She would've made a much more inspiring and likable main character than Rachel Berry, IMO."
—toastedbagels
Adam Rose / Fox / Courtesy: Everett Collection 19. Lane Kim from Gilmore Girls "As much as I love Lorelei, I find Rory boring, entitled, and self-centered. Lane has a much more interesting story — strict, ultra-religious parents whose rules she has to creatively sneak around, all while still trying to please them. Also, IMO, her personality is so much better than Rory's, and I actually cared about what happened to her. A close second would have to be Paris Geller."
—tricerasanderson
Marsha Blackburn /The CW /Courtesy Everett Collection 20. Shane Walsh from The Walking Dead "He should've been the main lead. As much as I liked Rick as a leader, it would have been an interesting twist to see Shane be a leader. I would have also liked to see the relationship dynamic between Shane, Carl, and the rest of the characters."
—heatherh4f93b545a
AMC 21. Ella Lopez from Lucifer "She grew up in a rough neighborhood in Detroit and had a criminal background. Her 'guardian angel' was literally the angel of death who took a liking to her. Even though she had a rough childhood and a reputation, she still became a forensic scientist. Some things we've learned about her is that her grandmother taught her how to pick locks, she's been banned from one casino at least in Vegas, and dated a serial killer."
—monikap6
Fox / courtesy Everett Collection 22. Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother "His stuff was much more interesting than Ted's, who I just happen to dislike."
—pjustiniano26
Ron P. Jaffe / CBS / Courtesy Everett Collection 23. Han Solo from Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope "It would have been cool if he was the main character instead of Luke. It could have told the story of him kind of getting sucked into this adventure and learning about this 'force' that he doesn't really believe in. We'd be experiencing Luke's path through the eyes of someone who is learning as we do."
—ahsoka400
20th Century Fox Film Corp. / courtesy Everett Collection 24. Rosalie Hale from The Twilight Saga "Honestly, Rosalie in Twilight . Her short backstory in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse was far more interesting than anything that happened with Bella and Edward."
—psychobellyfreakout
Summit Entertainment 25. Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter franchise "Her life seems so interesting, even before she met Harry. I want to see her growing up with her father, learning about Nargles and whatnot. Luna is brilliant, but she only got to use her wits once or twice in the series. I want to see what she can really do, and if she were the main character, we could really dive in on her smarts. Not to mention we would get to see a lot more of Ravenclaw besides just Cho."
—frenchfriesandramen2007
Warner Bros / Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection 26. Jasper Hale from the Twilight franchise "He has a whole amazing backstory and is one of the deepest characters. He could have a whole set of movies on his own."
—idontcarenotmyproblem
Summit Entertainment 27. Derek Hale from Teen Wolf "He has one of the most tragic backstories ever! It would have been so interesting to see him try to overcome his past/move past his guilt and build a healthy pack. And I wouldn't say no to something developing with Stiles (even if it ended up being just a really strong friendship)."
—jessileum
MTV 28. Cece Parekh from New Girl “She was cast aside as the ‘pretty best friend’ during the first few seasons, but later on, her life was brought more into the spotlight, and those are some of my favorite moments. I would definitely enjoy a spinoff with her as the main character.”
—teamsuperswiftie
Jesse Giddings / Fox / Courtesy: Everett Collection 29. Titus Andromedon or Lillian Kaushtupper from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt "I do love Kimmy, but I'd watch the hell out of an Unbreakable Titus Andromedon & Lillian Kaushtupper . I mean, Titus Andromedon is one of the best characters of all time; his quotes are legendary. And Carol Kane, 'nuff said."
—queenbavmorda
Eric Liebowitz /Netflix / courtesy Everett Collection 30. Andre Harris from Victorious 31. And last but never least, Santana Lopez from Glee "MUCH more interesting and just as talented."
—letsdiscuss
Mike Yarish / Fox / Courtesy: Everett Collection Are there any characters who you believe deserved to be the lead character more than the actual lead? Let us know in the comments below. Note: Submissions have been edited for both length and/or clarity.
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