Top 15 Best TV Show Characters (Comedy)

Cliff Huxtable - Bill Cosby on The Cosby Show
Cosby's consistent and clean humor in his memorable role as a New York doctor and father of 5 earns him a spot as one of the best TV show characters in history. Everyone can see a little bit of their own dad in Cliff Huxtable. He made The Cosby Show a great family comedy without any of the over-the-top sappiness that plagued most other family shows.

Jack Donaghy - Alec Baldwin on 30 Rock
Jack Donaghy is a perfect match for Alec Baldwin's personality and sense of humor. Alec is a natural in this role as an insecure and eccentric studio executive full of outlandish and politically incorrect remarks that will make you laugh out loud. He makes 30 Rock one of the best shows of the decade.

Michael Scott - Steve Carell on The Office
Steve Carell is the funniest actor on The Office, one of the best shows in the UK and now in the US. He plays Michael Scott, the caring but clueless manager of a paper company who considers himself to be both a friend and an entertainer to his employees. The awkward and absurd moments that result from Michael's ridiculous behavior are always the talk of my office the next day.

Christine Campbell - Julia Louis-Dreyfus on The New Adventures of Old Christine
If there had been any attempt at character development on Seinfeld, we may have seen more similarities between Elaine Benes and Christine Campbell. Christine is a brutally honest, self-deprecating, self-centered woman who won't hesitate to unleash her insecurities on anyone who will listen. A recently divorced mom who still hangs out with her ex-husband and ex-husband's new wife all the time, Christine's life is a hilarious series of events, perhaps the most underrated but one of the best shows on CBS.

Sideshow Bob - Kelsey Grammar on The Simpsons
Kelsey Grammar is the voice of this famous animated Simpsons character, known for his ruthlessness, his inability to execute his ruthlessness, and that crazy red hair that looks like a giant fern. Sideshow Bob's grand plans on the show are accompanied by funny, witty, and self-deprecating dialogue. If only Frasier were that cool.

Niles Crane - David Hyde Pierce on Frasier
David Hyde Pierce turned the neurotic and elitist psychiatrist brother of radio shrink Frasier Crane into a lovable comedic character who the audience always rooted for as he pathetically pined after Frasier's English housekeeper Daphne. Niles made Frasier one of the best shows on TV for all eleven seasons.

Will Smith - Will Smith on Fresh Prince of Bellaire
Will Smith grew into a star playing this funny and rebellious prankster from urban Philadelphia who moved in with his wealthy uncle's family in Beverly Hills. As the star of one of the best shows on TV at the time, Will Smith epitomized "cool", and his edgy urban humor made him the iconic sitcom character of the 90s.

Phoebe Buffet - Lisa Kudrow on Friends
Phoebe's quirky character was so naturally weird and wacky that she pulled off bizarre storylines and often stole the scene on one of the best shows of the 1990s. Few other actresses could have delivered her lines or made silly songs about smelly cats consistently funny. Lisa Kudrow was the only cast member to ever win an Emmy.

Doug Heffernan - Kevin James on King of Queens
The King of Queens was an underrated but close-to-home comedy. Doug's willingness to make fun of his own weight was half of the comedy of the series. The rest of the humor came from his hilarious observations about everyday problems at his job or arguments with his wife or father-in-law.

George Costanza - Jason Alexander on Seinfeld
Like his costars on the perhaps the best show of the 1990s, George was one of those people who focused on something you barely noticed every day and blew it way out of proportion. That was the beauty of Seinfeld. He would get himself into a mess, think about how to fix it, then make it worse. The funniest moments were when George had the audacity to say selfish things out loud that you sometimes think to yourself but would never actually say or do.

Dr. Perry Cox - John McGinley on Scrubs
Many fans of Scrubs will tell you that Dr. Cox's abusive, in-your-face rants are their favorite parts Scrubs, one of the best medical shows on television and certainly the best medical sitcom ever. In spite of his mean criticisms of his residents, his boss, and even his wife Jordan, viewers can't help but laugh at the sharp humor and witty references that find their way into his rants.

Liz Lemon - Tina Fey on 30 Rock
Fey's self-deprecating and quirky humor is front and center in this underrated show about an eccentric but likable comedy show writer, loosely based on Fey's own experiences as the head writer of SNL.

Karen Walker - Megan Mullally on Will and Grace
Why is it that mean people on sitcoms are so funny? Karen is an offensive, sarcastic socialite with a high-pitched voice, but for some reason we find her condescending comments hilarious. Let's not even get into her shockingly non-PC arguments with Rosario.

Marie Barone - Doris Roberts on Everybody Loves Raymond
Marie is the queen of mother-in-law humor. She is able to eerily re-create so many familiar situations involving tensions with the in-laws, and deliver lines that make you laugh instead of feel awkward. Marie's humor was so natural and seemingly innocent that she frequently carried the storyline on CBS's best show for 9 years.

Barney Stinson - Neil Patrick Harris on How I Met Your Mother
Neil Patrick Harris' character wasn't meant to be the main character on the show, but he has really stolen the spotlight with his exaggerated personality and hilarious subplots. Selfish, obsessed with women and money, and lacking a conscience, Barney is the stereotype of the typical New York City banker. How I Met Your Mother may not be the best show on TV, but Neil Patrick Harris is certainly one of the funniest actors.