Breaking Down the 100 Greatest Television Characters of the 00’s

Before you read this post, check out The 100 Greatest Television Characters of the 00’s if you have not already.

When I decided I was going to lists to commemorate the greatest of the decade, I knew it was going to be hard as I already put way too much thought into my end of the year ones. But The 100 Greatest Television Shows was relatively harmless as the top ten was pretty obvious for the most part and I didn’t even quibble very much with the other ninety. Then I started trying to rank the greatest characters from the decade. Really anyone I listed in the top ten could have been a worthy number one. And of the five different trial runs I made, I had some characters move sixty different places from list to list. And some of the lists from here on out will be just as hard if not harder. So look out for a new Greatest of the 00’s list coming sometime next month (especially for all the dudes out there). Until then, here is a breakdown of The 100 Greatest Television Characters of the 00’s.

Shows with Multiple Characters
Friday Night Lights – 8
Lost – 7
Chuck – 7
Arrested Development – 6
Rescue Me – 6
Veronica Mars – 6
Ed – 5
Greek – 4
Knights of Prosperity – 4
Angel – 3
Everwood – 3
Everybody Hates Chris – 3
Firefly – 3
My Name Is Earl – 3
Pushing Daisies – 3
The Big Bang Theory – 3
Castle – 2
Dead Like Me – 2
Deadwood – 2
Rome – 2
Smallville – 2

Characters by Main Occupation
Student - 24
Fire Fighter – 6
Sales Clerk – 4
Scientist - 4
Doctor – 3
Manager – 3
Mercenary – 3
Owner – 3
Soldier - 3
Crime Fighter – 2
Detective – 2
Grim Reaper – 2
Janitor – 2
Lawyer – 2
Private Investigator – 2
Salesman – 2
Sherriff – 2
Special Agent – 2
Homemaker – 2
Waitress - 2
Cab Driver – 1
Captain – 1
Car Dealer – 1
CEO – 1
Coronel – 1
Cook – 1
Crime Scene Investigator – 1
Executive – 1
King – 1
Leader – 1
Magician - 1
Mechanic – 1
Medium – 1
Principal – 1
Prisoner – 1
Security – 1
Singer – 1
Socialite – 1
Delivery Man – 1
Watcher – 1
Unemployed – 1
Writer - 1


Characters by Original Network
NBC – 27
ABC – 18
FOX – 12
UPN – 10
WB – 8
CBS – 6
FX – 6
ABC Family – 5
HBO – 4
Showtime – 3
TNT – 1

Actors Who Appear Multiple Times
Adam Baldwin (John Casey, Jayne Cobb)
Nathan Fillion (Mal Reynolds, Rick Castle)
Ian McShane (Al Swearengen, Benjamin Silas)

Character without a Last Name – 5

Title Characters – 6

Characters Who Died - 6

Characters not in the orginal Cast - 14

Youngest Character – Louise Brooks

Oldest Character – Harvey Lipschultz