6 Sitcoms Where The Supporting Characters Are Better Than the Main Character

Sitcoms are only as good as their characters, and while main characters are always the face of the show, sometimes they don’t live up to their supporting cast. For one reason or another, members of the supporting cast are sometimes funnier or more compelling than their leads, with the shows often shifting direction to give them greater focus in later seasons. While this would seem like a problem, some of the most popular sitcoms of all time have dealt with this issue.

The Office wouldn’t work without Michael Scott, Curb Your Enthusiasm wouldn’t work without Larry David, and All in the Family wouldn’t work without Archie Bunker. Some shows don’t have a main character, instead relying on an ensemble cast to carry the show, like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia or The Golden Girls. However, sitcoms sometimes can’t find this balance, leading to these six shows having better supporting casts than their main characters.

5) Community

The Study Group Seven may suggest that Community focuses on an ensemble cast, but this is only because the focus on Jeff Winger didn’t work in season 1. Jeff was too bland to be a protagonist, and the other characters were way too eccentric not to outshine him. As Community went on, the creatives recognized this, shifting Jeff out of the starring role and instead focusing on all the characters equally.

4) Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation is similar to The Office in almost every way, with one big exception. Whereas Michael Scott is the best part of The Office, Leslie Knope definitely isn’t the best part of Parks and Recreation. Leslie is still a great character, and the disparity between her and the rest of the cast isn’t nearly as big as in some of the later shows on this list. However, her bubbly personality, smarts, and strive for leadership prevent her from getting into situations as funny as some of the other Parks and Recreation characters.

For example, Ron Swanson’s antagonism with the rest of the cast allows him to be absolutely hilarious, which is why he’s the best part of the show. April’s cynicism and Andy’s cluelessness also allow them to have interesting dynamics with the other characters. Meanwhile, Leslie is always trying to solve conflict, making her less interesting than the other wacky characters.

3) The Andy Griffith Show

The Andy Griffith Show was one of the most popular shows of the 1960s, and despite Andy Griffith’s name being in the title of the show, viewers weren’t there for him. Instead, Don Knotts’ Barney Fife was the best part of the show. He is easily the series’ funniest character, and the disparity in the two characters’ popularity can be seen by the respective actors’ career trajectories after The Andy Griffith Show.

2) Arrested Development

Arrested Development has one of the funniest casts of any sitcom ever, as has been proven by how many of its members have gone on to become major stars. Will Arnett, Michael Cera, David Cross, Alia Shawkat, and Tony Hale have all gone on to become major stars, with this being a result of how incredibly funny and memorable that they are in Arrested Development. In comparison, Jason Bateman’s Michael Bluth isn’t as funny or interesting as the rest of the Bluth family. Michael is the lead of the show, but he can’t hold a candle to Tobias, Gob, Maeby, or the rest of the characters.

1) Seinfeld

When you saw the title for this list, the show that immediately popped into your mind was probably Seinfeld. The iconic show about nothing is famous for having this problem, as it is heavily marketed around Jerry Seinfeld playing himself, yet he is the least interesting part of the show. Seinfeld is the straight man in nearly every scenario, and he is an observational comedian. In a cast as wacky as that of Seinfeld, this makes the titular character a lot more bland than the supporting characters.

Nobody watches Seinfeld for Jerry. Instead, viewers are there to see George, Elaine, and Kramer. These three characters are leagues funnier than the protagonist, and they always find themselves in more interesting situations than Jerry. Jerry only works as a character because of his association with the other three, and if they weren’t there, Seinfeld probably wouldn’t have been the phenomenon that it was.

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