20. Charlie Pace Lost (Hulu)
Charlie Pace is the Josh Allen of TV characters (not great his first two seasons). He was a heroin addict who, like most addicts, didn’t care about anything or anyone besides his fix. In all honesty, he’s a great example of how being surrounded by the right people can change your outlook on life and that no matter who you are or what you have done, we all love a good redemption story. Lost’s ending was piss poor, but they sent Charlie off in a tear-jerker, one of the best endings for any character in television history.
19. Nathan Fielder Nathan For You (Hulu)
Nathan For You is in my top five favorite shows of all time, yet I would still deem it “unbingeable.” Picture this scene, you and three of your friends are watching Nathan For You late at night on a Tuesday, you’re all kind of high, but for the last hour and a half, you’ve been arguing over whether or not Nathan Fielder is on the spectrum. This is a reality most people who watched the show have experienced at some point. Nathan Fielder’s ability to make people uncomfortable and defy social constructs is next to none. In fact, the only reason I would deem the show unbingeable is that I can’t watch it without wanting to crawl out of my own skin.
18.George Costanza Seinfeld (Netflix)
You wanna get nuts?! LET’S GET NUTS! Before we got Larry from Curb, there was another exaggerated version of Larry David played by Jason Alexander on a show that transcended television. George Costanza’s narcissism, propensity to lie, and psychotic meltdowns are so legendary that whenever anybody spins their way into a web of lies, an entire generation refers to it as “pulling a Costanza.”
17. Winston Schmidt New Girl (Netflix)
Credit where credit is due: I think New Girl is the only funny sitcom that’s base audience was progressive millennials because they LIVE to be offended. Schmidt falls somewhere in the category of a metrosexual-but-kind-of-hypermasculine-narcissist who exemplifies a hyperbolic version of many young people I’ve met since I’ve moved to a city. He’s flamboyant, yet he’s also kind of a sex addict; he’s very sentimental, yet he’s a shark in the advertising world. And as funny as Schmidt is in the show, the way his character arc ends is even better.
16. Jesse Pinkman Breaking Bad (Netflix)
Breaking Bad is weird because, throughout the first two seasons, you want Walt to stay away from Jesse, but towards the end, you want Jesse to stay away from Walt. Jesse is a child at heart. He looks at the world like many of us did when we believed we had a chance to play for the Yankees or that being a firefighter wasn’t a job that sucked balls. On paper, Jesse had every advantage in life. He was from an upper-middle-class family that gave him more chances than Hollywood gave the Sheen family. All things considered, I think most of us still root for Jesse throughout the show despite all of his poor decisions and struggles with addiction. Also, Jesse Pinkman saying “BITCH” was my ringtone for a few months.
15. Desmond Hume Lost (Hulu)
In a show that gave us some of THE WORST characters of all time, we get Desmond Hume in season two. And I can’t say this enough, by the halfway point in the second season of Lost, I wanted the whole island to collapse, just so I never had to see Jack or Kate on my screen again. But Desmond…Desmond is a perfect character. His backstory is sweet, thrilling, and courageous. Desmond was willing to do anything in his power to get back the woman of his dreams, including making the ultimate sacrifice when he believed he was risking his whole life to save the world, just so he could be with her again in Heaven. It’s amazing watching his relationship with every character in the show blossom, and people that say that Lost got worse after season two are fucking morons.
14. Lucille Bluth Arrested Development (Netflix)
For all of us that know their fair share of women that have concluded menopause and now spend their days mixing antidepressants with the remnants of a martini glass, you could say that Lucille Bluth hit a little too close to home. The racism, alcoholism, and neurosis are signs of a Grandma with a place in Martha’s Vineyard and Naples who faintly says the n-word after one too many glasses of Merlot. She is an icon, and Jessica Walter is truly missed.
13. Dwight Schrute The Office (Peacock)
I’m not wasting my breath here.
12. Rick Sanchez Rick and Morty (Hulu)
I genuinely believe that there’s a little bit of Rick Sanchez in everybody. There will be a time in your life where you’re sitting alone in your dark apartment, as Scott Hanson’s voice spares you company, as you are scrolling your Instagram timeline of people from your high school getting engaged when you pull out a bottle of Vodka and scream at this cruel world. Rick Sanchez is the ultimate cynic, but as we watch him navigate a newfound connection with his grandson Morty, we watch him begin to grow soft, like your penis whenever a Hinge date tells you that their favorite show is Dear White People. He’s philosophical, absurd, and one of the most insightful TV characters of all time.
11. Olivia Benson Law and Order SVU (Hulu)
The queen. Olivia Benson has been putting scumbags behind bars since the steroid era. She’s fearless, compassionate, and sharp; she has been dominating the TV drama scene long before almost everybody else on this list. While most people watch SVU every once in a while, you get to watch her make her way through the ranks of the fictional NYP department if you actually decide to binge-watch the show. A great woman and an even better character. 10/10.
