Submitted by unitedfan6191 t3_11pip26 in television
Hi.
Hope you’re all doing well.
Sometimes the lead character just isn’t interesting enough, or badly written, or badly acted, maybe the actor has too much control behind the scenes over the show and their character and has bad instincts (perhaps a Producer or EP), perhaps the lead has a specific role and it gets stale quickly, or maybe, the supporting cast is just so consistently awesome that it often overshadows the main character and it’s not really the fault of the main character/actor.
Whatever the case, some shows have fantastic supporting casts and occasionally I don’t really care all that much for the main character.
It’s not like I dislike any of these characters, but more getting less inspired from them over time and it’s more that I prefer the supporting cast rather than actively dislike the main character.
One such show is 24.
Jack Bauer was incredibly interesting for a while and for about 3-4 seasons or so I was still very invested in his story, but at a certain point, especially after certain important characters left the main cast (I won’t spoil it for anyone), I just felt like his brand of torture and threatening innocent people with death in the name of national security started becoming a little stale and felt like more of a crutch. Plus, it felt like gradually they were starting to make him seem too much like a superhero who can withstand anything you throw at him and brush it off.
I personally preferred the stories and dynamics of the likes of Tony Almeida, Nina Meyers, Chloe O’Brian, Bill Buchanan, Audrey Raines and George Mason.
To a far lesser extent, I kind of had similar feelings in regards to Frasier as Niles and Daphne, Roz and Martin after a while seemed a little more interesting than Frasier Crane. He was great and all, but the growth and likability of these other characters was really great to watch over the seasons.
What about you? Are there any shows where you prefer the supporting cast even more than the main character?