31 TV Characters Who Are The Reason To Keep Watching A Show
We asked the BuzzFeed Community to tell us which TV characters were the reason people kept watching a show. Here are some of the best responses:
Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds
"Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds needs to be on this list. He was the reason I kept coming back week after week. He deserved so much more and the writers always found something new to hurt him with season after season."—angelasn1179
Lafayette Reynolds from True Blood
"He was the reason a lot of people kept coming back even after the show jumped the shark. His character was golden. He was sassy, funny, witty, true to himself, and he deserved every happiness."—thia_m
Petra Solano from Jane the Virgin
"One of the best character arcs from any TV show. She started as a 'villain' and ultimately became the reason to tune in every week."—mythrip
Santana Lopez from Glee
"So much of her talent took a backseat to Rachel Berry, which wasn't fair. Santana's coming out storyline was one that I related to so much. I still remember hearing about her story with Brittany and that was when I started watching."—mcbrizzy30
Mike Chang from Glee
"Harry Shum Jr. as Mike was amazing. He was sidelined so much and I remember in most songs my eyes naturally went to him no matter who was singing. Mike and Brittany dancing during 'Valerie' alongside Santana were absolutely amazing."—amnahasan
Cheryl Blossom from Riverdale
Lena Luthor from Supergirl
"I've watched Supergirl religiously since the beginning and while I love Kara, Alex, Nia, and more, Lena Luthor is one of the reasons I've stuck with this show so long. Katie McGrath always impresses me in every single scene she's in and I'm so sad this show [ended] because it [meant] saying goodbye to Lena Luthor."—noradominick
Stiles Stilinski from Teen Wolf
"Stiles Stilinski, hands down. Stiles was always the most entertaining character, but Dylan O'Brien absolutely BLOSSOMED during Season 3 of Teen Wolf."—coril
Poussey Washington from Orange Is the New Black
"Hands down, Poussey. Her legacy has gone way past the legacies of the series, TBH."—annemieke73
Spencer Hastings from Pretty Little Liars
"The first few seasons of PLL were good, but by the time it reached the time jump, it was awful. However, Spencer stayed iconic throughout the entire show. She was smart, witty, kind, strong, and confident. I could go on for hours about why she's the best character on this show. She always felt like the true main character and I was completely invested in her during all seven seasons."—philbainerr12
Castiel from Supernatural
"The show was on for such a long time and it started to feel like it NEEDED to end, however Cas is who made it watchable until the very end."—fionaconner19
Cristina Yang from Grey's Anatomy
"Grey's Anatomy noticeably went downhill after Sandra Oh left. Cristina Yang was such a vital part of the story and her role in such a mainstream show felt really empowering to the Asian community. She was definitely the best part of Grey's."—districtrue
Lexie Grey from Grey's Anatomy
Logan Echolls from Veronica Mars
"Logan Echolls needs to be included on this list. His character development was incredible. I love him so much and he deserved so much better than the horrific ending he got. He was the reason I kept returning to Veronica Mars."—joseelacroix7
Margo Hanson from The Magicians
"She was snobby and elitist in the first season, but by the end of the show she was my favorite character. Watching her grow into the strong woman she was meant to be was worth enduring the Season 1 version of her character. She truly carried the final seasons and outshone everyone else."—lardneremilymarie
Lexa from The 100
"Lexa deserved so much better than The 100 and the show definitely went downhill after her death. This character deserved a full and beautiful storyline and she was the reason a lot of people watched." —avacado_thanks
Lincoln from The 100
"Lincoln was one of the only reasons I continued to watch The 100. When he was killed off, right after Lexa, I was so done."—estathom
Brooke Davis from One Tree Hill
"Brooke Davis carried One Tree Hill through all nine seasons! I love this show, but there sure are crappy parts, however Brooke always made it bearable. Sophia Bush did an incredible job and brought a truly amazing, badass character to life. Brooke had incredible character development and turned from a typical TV cheerleader into a strong and powerful woman."—mareng49dd7659a
Bonnie Bennett from The Vampire Diaries
"She repeatedly put her own wants and needs on the back burner to help save her friends and asked for nothing in return. Everyone just expected her to put her life on the line to save Elena's life without even asking her or considering her feelings, but she always did it anyway without one complaint. Bonnie was the true MVP of the show until the very end."—jeffatkinsgirl
Hope Mikaelson from Legacies
"Legacies is honestly the weakest of all The Vampire Diaries shows, but I still watch it because of how badass Hope is."—emmaloveschocolate
Killian Jones/Hook from Once Upon a Time
"I started watching the show only because of him. In the beginning the show was okay, but after Season 5 I only continued watching because of Hook."—sawyea
Rufus Carlin and Jiya from Timeless
"Personally, I think the show was literally 10 times better when the focus was on one of these characters. I got so bored whenever Lucy or Wyatt were on screen. But when Rufus or Jiya came on? Completely different show."—matdyjames
Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
"I loved his character arc and there were definitely times when the show was lagging and I only watched for him."—jaxon621
Glenn Rhee from The Walking Dead
"I stopped watching around the time where they faked Glenn's death before he ultimately met his end thanks to Negan. I haven't watched to this day because I hated what they did to him and he was the reason I kept watching. Why did all the decent people on this show have to be killed so horribly?"—phil84vaive
Michonne from The Walking Dead
"Danai Gurira continued to carry The Walking Dead after Andrew Lincoln left and the show had definitely started to get better again. She played such a vital role in the later seasons."—femkat
Jake Ballard from Scandal
"Once Scott Foley entered the series, he became the reason I stuck with it to the end. I love Kerry Washington, but Jake was the character I rooted for. Scott's weekly performances were riveting because his character was relentless. I took it personally when the series ended with him in prison. He deserved the sun!"—mj2005
Winston Bishop from New Girl
"Winston needs his own show. He is truly the best character from New Girl."—jenniferlopez2
Miles Hollingsworth and Lola Pacini from Degrassi: Next Class:
"I loved them together as a couple, but even as individual characters, they both stole the show. Miles was one of the most complex, interesting characters in a long time and Eric Osborne's acting was phenomenal. Lola ended up being a surprise favorite of mine with her Season 3 storyline. I would have watched an entire spinoff just about the two of them."—kellymartinez
Lois Lane from Smallville
"She gets a lot of hate because some fans prefer Clark with Lana, but honestly, Lois made the show so much better with her humor and attitude. She was one of the reasons I stuck with Smallville."—dianascarlettaprilmason
Wes Gibbins from How to Get Away with Murder
"Wes was definitely one of the best characters on How to Get Away with Murder. I kept tuning in because I loved his relationships with Annalise, Laurel, and all of the other characters. When he died, it was hard to replace the magic he brought to the show."—noradominick
And finally, Kenzi Malikov from Lost Girl
"She remains such an entertaining character to this day. Lost Girl is filled with strong characters, but Kenzi was one of the reasons I kept coming back for more."—ana5289
We can't fit everyone into one post, so which TV characters did you love so much, they're the reason you kept watching a TV series? Tell us in the comments below!
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The night before she ghosted me, we'd been at her housewarming party. After seven years of living together, she'd recently moved out to live with Jonathan*. Although I wouldn't have picked him as a friend, he and I always got on well enough. There'd been times he'd treated Jane in ways I didn't agree with — mostly on nights out when he'd been drinking — but nothing so major that I'd ever brought it up. But that evening, he made inappropriate comments from the start, sharing information about me that Jane had passed on to him. It felt like an invasion of my privacy — and it went on all night. At one point, he publicly humiliated me in a speech to the room, mentioning a past fling I'd had with his best friend. While Jane had always laughed off this kind of behaviour, this time, I was unwilling to. Knowing he'd had a lot to drink, and not wanting to cause an issue in my friendship with Jane — I'd learned from past experiences that you never win by talking negatively about a friend's partner — I decided to wait until the following morning to talk to her about it. I was due to give a talk that day, and on my way, I texted Jane to tell her I was upset about a number of things from the night before and that I wanted an apology from her boyfriend. The conversation escalated quickly — she defended him, saying he would never say that and I was simply jealous of how happy they were together. And then she stopped replying. By the time I arrived at my talk, my make-up had streamed down my face from crying. Although another friend was there to put me back together — greeting me at the door, helping me tidy my face, and supporting me through the talk — I was devastated. How could she blindly believe him over me when I'd known her twice as long? I knew she was conflict avoidant, but surely not enough to lose a friend of eight years? I also couldn't help but feel a little resentful. If you walked into your workplace and said you'd just ended a romantic relationship of eight years, you'd be met with compassion, empathy, and understanding — but I felt that if I were to walk in that day and tell people I'd fallen out with my best friend, somehow I'd sound like a 13-year-old having a squabble in the playground. When I came off the stage, I ran to my phone to see if she had replied and she hadn't. I texted, 'Are you just not going to reply?' I didn't know it at the time, but that would be the last time we would speak. It's now been more than five years. I've had my fair share of friendship break-ups since, but losing Jane in this way felt particularly heartbreaking. The part that hurts the most is that, after such a long and close friendship, she didn't feel like she owed me a proper goodbye or any kind of closure. Instead, what I was left with was vagueness, ambiguity, and confusion. To this day, I still don't know where the accusation of jealousy came from when I'd always been so happy for her and Jonathan. I often think about how things could have been different if we'd had the conversation in person or even picked up the phone. In the years since, I've ruminated a lot on this break-up, as well as other friendships I've lost or let go of (and when I say a lot, I mean I wrote a whole book about it). Friendship break-ups can rattle your world and make you question your identity, especially if being a 'good friend' is something that's especially important to you. It can make you doubt yourself and the other friendships in your life; it can make you fearful of judgement from others. But you're not a bad friend for ending a relationship or having someone end one with you. In fact, the irony is that having better friendships in your life and having more friendship break-ups are two sides of the same coin. In order to have more fulfilling relationships — and to be a better friend yourself — there might be some hard conversations along the way and even some friendships that don't survive. The important thing is that, just like in romantic relationships, you give it all you've got first: you communicate with your friend, set your boundaries, and give them a chance to change their behaviour, if you feel that you're being treated badly. And vice versa! I believe more friendships would survive if we talked about issues as they arose, rather than waiting until they pile up. This is something we practise regularly in our romantic lives, so why don't we do it with our friends? Good communication = fewer friendship break-ups. Or, if friendships still break down, at least both parties would have greater understanding about what actually happened. That's not to say it isn't devastating when someone you love becomes a stranger. The grief that exists in romantic break-ups exists in platonic ones, too, and it's time we validated them in the same way. We can't heal if our emotions are shrouded in shame. Seeing and acknowledging your grief is the key to letting go and moving on. Will there be times when your heart still pangs with reminders of them? Yes! As I say in my book, Bad Friend, we leave fingerprints on the people we touch and we impact one another — for better and worse. But with every friend break-up I've had, it's created space for new people to enter and it has helped me learn exactly what I want from my friends and the kind of friend I want to be to them. When I look back on the day my friendship with Jane ended, I also remember the great act of love and kindness from my friend who greeted me at the door of my talk. The way she helped me compose myself, held my hand on stage to help me get through the event, and reassured me as I cried to her afterwards. It was the kind of platonic love that's often overlooked. For someone to hold me so deeply in such a vulnerable moment and validate my emotions meant more than she will ever know. Ultimately, my experience with Jane made me realise that while I might have had a best friend in title, I didn't have one in behaviour. And in that case, what's the point in having one at all? *Names have been changed Bad Friend: Why Friendship Break-ups Hurt And How To Heal (Renegade Books) by Michelle Elman is out now Michelle Elman, known as the 'Queen of Boundaries', is a life coach, author, broadcaster and public speaker. Best known for her campaign Scarred Not Scared, Michelle hosts her own podcast 'In All Honesty' and shares her experiences and expertise with a combined social media following of over 400,000. Along with her three bestselling books, Am I Ugly? (2018), The Joy of Being Selfish (2021) and The Selfish Romantic (2023), Michelle's debut children's book, How To Say No (2023), sparked a crucial conversation for teens about boundaries. Michelle is often praised for her straight-talking approach and has appeared on ITV daytime show, This Morning as their resident life coach. She was named as one of the Sun's 50 most inspirational women in the UK and was recognised as one of the top 100 creatives creating change.
