Top 10 TV Sidekicks

By Julia Bianco on March 25, 2014

The elusive, interesting, funny, and engaging sidekick is a rarity in the TV world, where secondary characters are often stuck with boring storylines and flat personalities. Still, some shows have managed to do sidekicks right, creating full-fledged characters that can carry their own storylines without always being glued to the main character’s side. These sidekicks deserve their recognition. Here are the top ten best television sidekicks.

10. Caroline Forbes- The Vampire Diaries

Image by Mara M on Flickr.com

Portrayed by Candice Accola

Despite her struggles with being an absolute bitch during the first season, since Katherine (Nina Dobrev) turned her into a vampire, Caroline has become one awesome, badass lady. Her signature smile and sassy attitude always make her a ray of sunshine in a show that all too often gets bogged down in overdone love triangles and complicated plot points.

9. Gary- Spongebob

Photo by Nicole Tan on Flickr.com

Portrayed by Tom Kenny

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Gary! The oft-forgotten snail is one of the best residents of Bikini Bottom, where his quiet mews and sage advice are far underappreciated by his peers. Don’t worry Gary, we still love you.

8. Bobby Singer- Supernatural

Photo by babybat on Flickr.com

Portrayed by Jim Beaver

Bobby’s protective side makes him a great father figure for Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles), and his sense of humor and awesome mustache makes him a great character for us to watch. His untimely death in season seven was a heartbreaker, but it has been great to see him continue to appear on the show in various different capacities through the years.

7. John Casey- Chuck

Photo by Jason on Flickr.com

Portrayed by Adam Baldwin

Casey plays the voice of reason against Chuck’s (Zachary Levi) more emotional approach to spy work. He works well as the rigid, rule following, by the book NSA agent, but it’s the humanizing moments where he reveals how much he truly cares for Chuck and Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski) that really make him a great character.

6. Marshall Eriksen- How I Met Your Mother

Photo by why so sirius on Flickr.com

Portrayed by Jason Segel

There are lots of things to love about Marshall— his penchant for bad puns, his enthusiasm when making fun of his best friend Ted (Josh Radnor), who, let’s face it, usually deserves it, and his friendly Minnesota spirit. Still, the best part of Marshall’s character is his relationship with his wife, Lily (Alyson Hannigan). Marshall and Lily are one of the few TV couples who have been allowed to be legitimately happy, without relying on contrived drama in a desperate attempt to keep them interesting. These two prove that happy couples can still make great characters, which is something that a lot of other shows need to learn.

5. Hugo ‘Hurley’ Reyes- Lost

Photo by Lisa Sargese on Flickr.com

Portrayed by Jorge Garcia

Hurley played sidekick to just about everyone who was stuck on the mysterious island— he was the comic relief, the emotional sounding board and the grounding force on an island full of crazy happenings. Hurley wasn’t without his faults though— at one point, he even believed that the entire plane crash was his fault. His interesting back-story is what made him such a great character, who was able to play backup to everyone else while still having his own personality and storyline.

4. Kenneth Purcell- 30 Rock

Photo by Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library on Flickr.com

Portrayed by Jack McBrayer

Country boy Kenneth and the hard partying Tracy (Tracy Morgan) were an unlikely pairing, but they worked extremely well together. Hearing Kenneth talk about Tracy’s crazy schemes in his high-pitched, heavily accented voice was always hilarious, but seeing some of the sweeter moments of their friendship are what really made their relationship great.

3. Burton ‘Gus’ Guster- Psych

Photo by mokenilworth on Flickr.com

Portrayed by Dule Hill

Gus, also known as Magic Head, the Super Sniffer, Blackula, and countless other awesome nicknames, has always been a great sport when it comes to dealing with Shawn’s (James Roday) fake psychic abilities. His willingness to play along (with limits, of course— the Blueberry is a company car, it’s not coming with them on a case) always leads to wonderfully ridiculous situations. Plus, his love for food is a familiar sentiment that I think we can all relate to.

2. John Watson- Sherlock

Photo by Sherlocked Brasil on Flickr.com

Portrayed by Martin Freeman

While Sherlock’s (Benedict Cumberbatch) antics may be fun for us to watch, they can’t be too much fun for his friend and partner, Watson, to deal with. Major props to Watson for holding his own against Sherlock, while still being funny, interesting and adorable.

1. Chris Turk- Scrubs

Photo by Njeri Sims on Flickr.com

Portrayed by Donald Faison

EEEAAGGGLLEEEEE! This saying, and so many more of the show’s jokes, wouldn’t be possible without Turk standing by his best friend J.D.’s (Zach Braff) side. He plays the perfect sidekick, always willing to help out his friend and join him in all of his ridiculous pranks. Still, he has his own personality and can carry his own storylines without losing any of the viewer’s interest. Plus, his real life friendship with Zach Braff is adorable. I would go out for an appletini with those two any day.

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