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31 TV Characters Who Are The Reason To Keep Watching A Show

31 TV Characters Who Are The Reason To Keep Watching A Show

Buzz Feed14-05-2025

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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Here's What The "Glee" Cast Is Up To, 10 Years Later
Here's What The "Glee" Cast Is Up To, 10 Years Later

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Here's What The "Glee" Cast Is Up To, 10 Years Later

Hey, my name is Abby, and I have a confession: I'm a massive Gleek. I've watched Glee more times than I can count, and nothing fills me with more joy than listening to my "Glee songs that beat the original" playlist. It's the best Glee playlist you'll ever find. Highly recommend downloading. So when I recently discovered that it's been TEN YEARS since the final episode of Glee (which came out on March 20, 2015), I went into a full-blown spiral. Like, no wonder the world has been so dark in the last decade — it's because we're living in a Glee-less world. Anyway, I know everyone isn't as caught up on all things Glee (like, not all of us stalk the entire cast religiously on a weekly basis)...so I thought I'd update everyone on what the cast looks like now, as well as what they've been up to. Because there are TONSSSS of updates you need to know about. Just a note here before we begin: this list does not include Cory Monteith, Mark Salling, and Naya Rivera, as they have passed away. Lea Michele played Rachel Berry on Glee. She was 28 when Glee ended, and now she's 38. As we all probably know, Lea starred in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl in you might not know that she's about to return to Broadway this coming year! She's starring in the first revival of Chess alongside Aaron Tveit (a freaking legend, by the way, who I may or may not be in love with). Lea also has two kids with her husband Zandy Reich. Matthew Morrison played Will Schuester on Glee. He was 36 when the show ended, and he's now 46. Matthew has two kids with his wife, Renee Puente. In 2020, he notoriously starred as the Grinch in Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Musical Live!, and he was (briefly) a judge on So You Think You Can Dance in 2022. He starred in Hallmark romance A Paris Christmas Waltz in 2023. Matthew is about to begin performing at Café Carlyle in New York City. Dianna Agron played Quinn Fabray on Glee. She was 29 when the show ended, and she's now 39. Dianna has been in a few films since Glee ended, primarily independent films. You might have seen her in Shiva Baby (2020), As They Made Us (2022), Clock (2023) as well as Season 1 of The Chosen One in 2023. My editor also gave me specific instructions to mention her starring in "gay nun movie" Novitiate in 2017, which is nothing short of legendary. She sings at the Café Carlyle in New York City, too. Darren Criss played Blaine Anderson on Glee. He was 28 when Glee ended, and he's now 38. Darren is the latest Glee Tony Award winner! He won his very first Tony for Best Lead Actor in a Musical for Maybe Happy Ending in 2025 (which had me screaming and crying). But before that, he got a Golden Globe, Emmy, and SAG Award for his role in the 2018 series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. Plus, he's a dad now — he's got two kids with his wife, Mia Swier. Jonathan Groff played Jessie St. James on Glee. He was 30 when the show ended, and he's now 40. Speaking of Tony winners…in 2024, Jonathan won his first Tony for Best Lead Actor in a Musical for the revival of Merrily We Roll Along — yes, the same award Darren just won! He was also nominated (against Darren) this year for playing Bobby Darin in Just In Time, a show he's still starring in. He was also in Hamilton, Mindhunter, Frozen 2…and many, many more. Jane Lynch played Sue Sylvester on Glee. She was 54 when Glee ended, and she's now 64. Jane has been in several shows since Glee, including The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (which won her an Emmy in 2019), Velma, and Only Murders in the Building. She also hosted two game shows: Hollywood Game Night and Weakest Link; she's still hosting the latter. And bonus: Jane was in the same Broadway production of Funny Girl as Lea Michele, but she exited the show in 2022, before Lea started. Chris Colfer played Kurt Hummel on Glee. He was 25 when the show ended, and he's now 35. Chris Colfer isn't really acting anymore — he's a children's book author now! Not too long after Glee, he wrote a six-book series called The Land of Stories, and he's now in the middle of writing another series. The first book is called Roswell Johnson Saves the World! and it came out in 2024. Amber Riley played Mercedes Jones on Glee. She was 29 when Glee ended, and she's 39 now. Amber is a singer (duh), and goes by her stage name RILEY; her EP came out in 2020. Shortly after Glee, she played the first Effie in the London West End show Dreamgirls The Musical. She won The Masked Singer in 2022, and she also starred in the 2022 horror film Single Black Female, which got a sequel in 2024. The third Single Black Female movie comes out later in 2025. Kevin McHale played Artie Abrams on Glee. He was 26 when the show ended, and he's now 36. Kevin has had a range of projects since Glee: he hosted the show Virtually Famous from 2014–2016; competed in The X Factor: Celebrity in 2019 and RuPaul's Secret Celebrity Drag Race in 2022; and released an EP called Boy in 2019. But more recently, he's known for hosting (my favourite) podcast, And That's What You REALLY Missed, a Glee recap podcast with Jenna Ushkowitz, who played Tina. And speaking of Jenna… Jenna Ushkowitz played Tina Cohen-Chang on Glee. She was 29 when the show ended, and she's now 39. Now we're all aware Jenna hosts And That's What You REALLY Missed with Kevin McHale. But you might not know that Jenna has TWO Tony Awards (!!!) for producing Once on This Island in 2018 and The Inheritance in 2020. Jenna has also been in a couple shows and movies post-Glee, including Hello Again (2017), 1 Night in San Diego (2020), and Yellow Fever (2017). She appeared in the TV show Unconventional, which premiered in 2022. And can't forget, Jenna now has two kids with her husband David Stanley! Heather Morris played Britney S. Pierce on Glee. She was 28 when Glee ended, and she's 38 now. Heather continued with comedy shortly after Glee on the TV shows Comedy Bang! Bang! and Whose Line Is It Anyway?. She later competed on Dancing With The Stars in 2017 and won The Masked Dancer in 2022. Most recently, she was in Season 2 of the TV show So Help Me Todd in 2024, as well as Santa Fake in 2019 and Cora Bora in 2023. And she's a mom to two kids with her husband Taylor Hubbell. Jayma Mays played Emma Pillsbury on Glee. She was 35 when Glee ended, and she's now 45. Like many of the former Glee stars, Jayma has been acting since the show. Some of her notable projects include American Made (2017), Disenchanted (2022), and voice acting in The Adventures of Puss in Boots and Smurfs: The Lost Village. Plus, we've got another Glee mom here — she has a son with her husband Adam Campbell. Chord Overstreet played Sam Evans on Glee. He was 26 when the show ended, and he's now 36. You probably know Chord's song "Hold On" — it came out in 2017 and went TikTok viral in 2020. Since then, he's been releasing folk/singer-songwriter songs (and they're all bangers, I'll add). He starred opposite Lindsay Lohan in the 2022 romance movie Falling for Christmas, and he's also been in the show Acapulco since the pilot in 2021. Harry Shum Jr. played Mike Chang on Glee. He was 33 when the show ended, and he's 43 now. Harry has been super successful in Hollywood post-Glee, which we absolutely LOVE to see. We all know he was in Crazy Rich Asians in 2018, but he's also starred in All My Life (2020), Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022), and the Shadowhunters TV show from 2016–2019. Plus, he just wrapped up his third season starring in Grey's Anatomy. And how could I forget: Harry has a daughter with his wife Shelby Rabara. Dot-Marie Jones played Sheldon Bieste on Glee. She was 51 when the show ended, and she's 61 now. Dot-Marie has been acting a ton since playing Bieste! She was in multiple seasons of American Horror Story, and she appeared in The Resident and Modern Family toward the end of the 2010s. She's also been in several movies since Glee, including Rag Doll (2019), Greener Grass (2019), Golden Arm (2020), and Bar Fight! (2022). Alex Newell played Wade "Unique" Adams on Glee. They were 22 when Glee ended, and they're now 32. Alex is our next Tony-winning Glee cast member, having won their first Tony Award in 2023 for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Shucked. (Yes, that means Glee cast members have won Tonys for three years in a row!!) They were also in the Broadway revival of Once on This Island in 2018, and the (incredible) TV show Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist from 2020–2021. Annnnd lastly, you might've recognized Alex in Another Simple Favor alongside Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick. Melissa Benoist played Marley Rose on Glee. She was 26 when Glee ended, and she's 36 now. Melissa is best known for playing the titular character in Supergirl, which ran from 2015–2021. But aside from that, she's been in a TON of other movies and shows — notably, the first and only season of The Girls on the Bus (2024), Patriots Day (2016), and Billy Boy (2017). And she stars in the first season of The Waterfront, premiering on Netflix in late June 2025. Melissa is a mom to one son with her husband Chris Wood. Jacob Artist played Jake Puckerman on Glee. He was 22 when the show ended, and he's now 32. The same year Glee ended, Jacob starred in Quantico. He was in the first two seasons, from 2015–2016, and the following year, he was in the crime-thriller Blood Money. Since then, he was in Now Apocalypse (2019) and Haunting on Fraternity Row (2018), among others. In 2024, he came out with his first single called "BEFORE." Becca Tobin played Kitty Wilde on Glee. She was 29 when the show ended, and she's now 39. Becca has co-hosted the podcast The Lady Gang since 2015, which has been hugely successful — it was turned into a series on E! in 2018 for one season. And she's still acting, too; she starred in the Hallmark movie Love at First Dance in 2018, A Song For Christmas in 2017, and The Wedding Contract in 2023. Who's your favourite Glee cast member? Whose glow-up shocked you the most? Tell me in the comments below! Let's Gleek out together!!! And check out BuzzFeed Canada on Instagram and TikTok for more celeb content!

Why don't we treat friendship break-ups as seriously as romantic ones?
Why don't we treat friendship break-ups as seriously as romantic ones?

Cosmopolitan

timean hour ago

  • Cosmopolitan

Why don't we treat friendship break-ups as seriously as romantic ones?

When I imagined my wedding day, long before I pictured my groom, I knew with certainty who my maid of honour would be. Jane* was my forever best friend, my ride-or-die or, as it's known in Grey's Anatomy (a show I forced her to watch with me), my person. We met on the first day of university. Our rooms were opposite each other and, amid the chaos of unpacking with our parents, we just shared a quick 'hi' and 'bye'. But after a few days, we were inseparable. So much so that if I turned up at the uni bar without her, people would ask where she was. And it stayed that way even after we left Bristol and moved in together in London. I never imagined that our friendship would end, let alone in the way it did: with a ghosting. When we talk about romantic relationships ending, we talk about the loss of the imagined future we thought we'd share, but what's rarely discussed is how that shared future also exists within platonic relationships. Jane and I, for example, had planned our hen-dos even when there wasn't a boyfriend in sight; and long before we'd turned 25, we had cemented our joint 30th birthday plans — a luxury five-star holiday to somewhere with a beach and preferably a villa over the sea. In romantic break-ups, we have a shared — if cliché — language, whether that's 'it's not you, it's me', 'let's just be friends', or acknowledging that we want different things out of life. Friend break-ups are murkier waters. There's no script for how to handle them, how to grieve them, or how to grapple with the guilt you might feel or the fear that you're a 'bad friend'. And so, while most of us have come to accept that romantic heartbreak will, one day, come for us, few of us are prepared for friendships breaking down in this same way. Jane and I had been best friends for eight years when we got embroiled in the argument that would ultimately end our friendship. It was about her boyfriend. 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.

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