< Ensemble Darkhorse

Ensemble Darkhorse/Live Action TV

They don't always take the lead on TV, but the fans love them anyway.

Oh, come on! Who doesn't love Spike? [1]


  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
    • Spike (pictured) went from single-season (originally intended to live five episodes) villain to main cast member eventually leading to full-fledged spotlight stealing. In the final episode, he ends up sacrificing himself to save the world. Then he came back in Angel, which was still running, and started receiving just as much screen-time as the rest of the cast, if not more.
    • Also, Anya went from a single-episode villain to main cast member.
    • Reportedly, both Tara and Joyce (Buffy's mom) were supposed to die well before they did, but the writers kept putting it off because they were liked by the fans. Tara's death in particular is a cause of much Fan Disillusionment with the series. Oz, a character originally slated to die in the second season, managed to avoid death altogether because of fan support.
    • Jonathan, who went from being a Spear Carrier, to getting entire episodes written around him ("Superstar"), to becoming a Big Bad in season 6, to receiving a tragic death in season 7.
    • Not to mention Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, who, making his original appearance as Faith's Watcher in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, was intended to be killed off shortly after. In the words of actor Alexis Denisof, Wesley was supposed to "come in, irritate Giles and Buffy for a couple shows, and then be gloriously terminated". However, the writers grew fond of him and kept him around. When Joss Whedon added Wesley to the main cast of Angel, he quickly became a fan favourite.
    • Faith was originally supposed to be there for five episodes but managed to be such a fan favourite that she lasted right until the end. She would have even gotten her own show if Eliza Dushku hadn't declined in order to work on Tru Calling.
  • Chloe O'Brien from 24. Especially interesting as she was hated by the fandom until she started becoming awesome halfway through season three.
    • There are only two characters that have appeared in every season of 24 thus far. One is Jack Bauer, who is the main character. The other is Aaron Pierce, whose actor has been listed as a "guest star" rather than a member of the main cast in every episode he appears in (at 44 as of this troping, he averages a little over 6 episodes a season.) He is also probably one of the few characters who can rival Jack in terms of Badass.
    • And let's not forget Tony Almeida, who was pretty much Jack's antagonist in season one. Then he is the one to recieve information that Jack's wife Teri is suffering from amnesia and is in trouble, and they milk the situation making the audience worry that Tony is the infiltrator at CTU and will let Teri die. He then shows up at the Bauer residence and shoots a man about to kill Teri, earning both the audience's love and Jack's trust. Since then Tony has been one of the most beloved characters on the show.
    • Renee Walker has become one too. Originally introduced in season seven as a foil and Morality Pet for Jack, she's gone on to become a bona fide Badass Knight in Sour Armour, and one of the few people on the show capable of out Jack Bauering Jack Bauer. It's little wonder her nickname in fan circles is "Jill Bauer".
    • Curtis as well, when he died a rather sudden and pointless death, it caused a lot of bitterness towards the writers.
  • Gaheris Rhade from Andromeda was killed off in the first episode. Then, he appeared in a few flashbacks... In the end, his Identical Grandson joined the crew, and it was revealed that Sufficiently Advanced Aliens have intended him to be the main character at first.
  • Angel had Skip, a a demon knowledgeable about recent movies. He was supposed to be just a one shot character, instead he was brought back for a few episodes and his role was expanded.
  • Doctor Reid Oliver as played by Eric Sheffer Stevens on As the World Turns. A Invisible to Gaydar Dr. Jerk who had a strong Slap Slap Kiss relationship with Luke before they officially became a couple. His Genre Savvy nature and tendency to hang lampshades makes him an Only Sane Man. The fact he does actually care deeply for the welfare of his patients, pets the dog whenever Katie's involved, and has a relatively functional, caring relationship with Luke puts him in Jerk with a Heart of Gold territory.
  • Ron Moore and crew famously intended to leave Helo stranded on post-nuke Caprica after the Battlestar Galactica miniseries, but were besieged by viewers wanting to know how he was going to survive: ironically, his rescue has led to several major plot points. The show also features a strong and relatively unchanging core cast, many minor members of which have become unaccountably popular in fandom.
    • A better example may be Cally. An extra in the loading bay, she got picked for a violent death after several scenes in the background. She was supposed to be raped then killed. Instead she bit off the attacker's ear and got promoted in status. Eventually she marries a main character.
      • Before being murdered by ANOTHER (arguable) Ensemble Darkhorse
    • Anders grew from a romantic foil for the Lee/Kara ship to a main character. He gets to be part of Galactica's final send-off and even appears on the Season 4.5 DVD boxset.
    • There's also Racetrack, who was meant to be a one-episode bit part replacement for Boomer's co-pilot Crashdown who was kept on as a recurring character simply because the producers liked the actor who played her.
    • And also Seelix, who's something of a Manufactured Darkhorse by none other than Aaron Douglas, aka Chief Tyrol. Her character was literally credited as "Technician #2" in her debut episode, but Douglas began calling her Seelix during takes, which she was eventually credited as. As the show went on, she got a first name, and became a Viper pilot--All because Aaron Douglas is a Badass actor.
  • The Big Bang Theory was originally intended to revolve around a small, bemused nerd named Leonard Hofstadter. Then we met his egotistical, obsessive-compulsive, yet still strangely lovable roommate Sheldon Cooper, and the rest is history.
  • On the remake of The Bionic Woman, Katee Sackoff's Sarah Corvus, "the first bionic woman", ran so many rings around the supposed lead that many people watched the (dreadful) show for her alone.
  • The snarktastic, leather-wearing computer geek, Avon in Blakes Seven. To the point where he becomes the lead in series 3 and 4. Also, Vila; probably intended to be the most minor of the original Seven, he ended up being the only character to be in every single episode.
  • Richard Harrow in Boardwalk Empire sports the killer trope combo of Iron Woobie and Handicapped Badass, causing him to instantly become one of its most popular characters after his relatively late entrance into season one. As of season two, he's been Promoted to Opening Titles.
    • Another one is Chalky White, played by the same actor as the aforementioned Omar Little on The Wire. Michael K. Williams has such a small, but memorable part in the pilot that fans latched onto him. He's back as a regular for season two, as well as getting a few episodes in the spotlight.
  • Madeline, Michael Westen's mother on Burn Notice, in more ways than one. She started off as a thorn in Michael's side, and an annoyance to viewers; however, only a few episodes in, she started looking tougher than most of the bad guys. Since then, she's befriended every regular on the show, done her fair share of espionage, reconciled Jesse and Michael after their falling out, and been the only one other than Fiona whose threats Michael seems to actually fear. So of course, she's earned herself a following among watchers that's roughly proportionate to the respect she's earned from the characters.
  • Lanie Parish is becoming this in Castle. She can most definitely hold her own against Castle and Beckett, and seems to get some of the best lines in an episode that aren't uttered by the two leads.
  • On Casualty, a blonde nurse, only ever referred to as "Cath" or "Kath", seems to be popular with the fans, yet never really gets any storylines (not even a major one). She's not a One-Shot Character or a Ghost Extra by any means, but she rarely speaks. But, amazingly, she is never credited on-screen.
    • She is blonde and appears mostly in scenes where Zoe, Ruth, Jay and/or Nick Jordan are present. Here's a photo of her, for those wanting to see [dead link]
    • By contrast, the Spin-Off known as Holby City, also has another who fits this trope; except she is an Ascended Extra who is occasionally used in storylines and is more than a Living Prop or Ghost Extra. The show has a ginger-haired nurse called Marie-Claire, who speaks with an Irish accent, making an appearance. Her accent is genuine Northern Irish, and no Oireland stereotypes are used here.
    • Both nurses live up to this trope, and (shamefully) don't get many major plotlines.
  • From Charmed, Cole.
    • More of a fandom thing than anything else but D'Eartha (the seer) was only on for ten episodes and yet nearly everyone loved her. Mostly because she was always snarky, awesome and deliciously evil but partly because she had more chemistry with Cole AND the sisters than any of the proper pairings were supposed to have.
  • From Cheap Seats, Wendy Guey aka The Human Mogwai.
  • Kristen Kreuk (known best for her role as Lana in Smallville) makes a brief guest appearance as "Hannah" in Series 3 of Chuck as a potential romantic interest for the main character, altering the dynamic of his will-they/won't-they relationship with Sarah Walker They do.. Her characterization ended up as being a much more likable, well-rounded, and interesting person than Sarah but Chuck still dumps Hannah.
    • It wasn't that she was more well rounded than Sarah, who was a well rounded character in her own right. It's more that she was cute and funny and had some chemistry with Chuck. However seeing as the majority of the shows fans are Sarah/Chuck fans, and the series up until that point had built up the relationship between them, the switch would not have gone down well.
    • Wait, no mention of those two creepy guys Jeff and Lester?
      • Not to mention their "band", JEFFSTER!
    • Ellie's boyfriend Devon was originally going to be a spy, but his character was too popular so they kept him as the lovable Captain Awesome.
      • Though they kind of got to have their cake and eat it too, as he's still the first major civilian character to learn about Chuck being a spy, and gets to help him quite a few times.
  • Precious Little in Come Fly With Me, A British Mockumentory, quickly became the most popular character due to her catchphrase and whacky attempts to get out of working (Example: sawing the pipes so the plumber would have to repair them.) To go shopping or some other activity.
  • Arguably, Community has four.
    • Abed takes the Sheldon approach.
    • Annie is the viewer crush and romantic darkhorse, quite literally, as she gets in the way of the Britta/Jeff and Jeff/Slater ships in the finale. She wins. For now at least.
    • Senor Chang and Dean Pelton are the other 2, Chang for his outlandish outbursts and randomness, Pelton for being incredibly over the top politically correct, whilst having a dalmantion/furry fetish and Ho Yay with Jeff. They often form a Darkhorse Ensemble, like in Modern Warfare where Chang was The Dragon to the Dean's Big Bad.
  • Criminal Minds and its tech nerd goddess Penelope Garcia, so popular that when CBS decided to cut back on females, they not only kept Garcia fulltime, but made her a main character in the upcoming spin-off as well. While the fandom near-universally loves Garcia, there is not a whole lot of excitement about her presence on the spin-off.
    • Among the villains, Tobias Hankel is very popular. He was very well acted, screwed-up in a particularly fascinating way, and ultimately rather sympathetic.
      • His popularity also probably spawns from the importance of the episodes he was in, being a crucial element to one of the main's Character Development.
  • David Hodges from CSI.
    • Actually, most of the lab rats from CSI fit this trope.
    • Also Greg Sanders and Doc Robbins.
      • Adam Ross became this for the spinoff CSI: NY. That's why he got elevated to series regular.
  • Stephen Colbert became this while he was on The Daily Show, proving so popular that he was given his own spinoff
  • Alec on Dark Angel was very popular with fans, particularly female ones, who often watched more for Alec character development than for the Familiars vs. Transgenics storyline.
  • When Willie Loomis freed vampire Barnabas Collins from his coffin on the original Dark Shadows, all the writers had meant for him to do was chew on a few expendable extras, then get staked during sweeps week. Between dressing like a Badass Longcoat, radiating Cursed with Awesome, and being the only character of his era whom the censors permitted to neck on television, Barnabas raked in so much fan mail from kids and (especially) housewives that he saved the show from cancellation, as well as becoming the show's central and best-remembered figure. So who's your Daddy, Angel, Mick and Nick...?
  • Josephine "Joey" Potter in Dawson's Creek: as the series title suggests the series was meant to primarily revolve around main character Dawson plus his fellow group of friends but it didn't take long for Joey to replace him as the standout character - by the later seasons Joey would have an entire episode dedicated to her character, and finally culminating with her narrating the opening sequence of the final season. Joey was also the only character to feature in every single episode during the show's run.
    • Given that her character is widely disliked by the fandom, Joey is not so much this trope but rather a Creator's Pet crossed with a Canon Sue. The true Ensemble Darkhorse of Dawson's Creek would actually be Pacey Whitter, who was merely supposed to be Dawson's wise-cracking best friend but proved so popular that more storylines were built for him, culminating in him getting the girl at the end of the series over Dawson.
  • Desperate Housewives has Karen McCluskey (a recurring character) and Orson Hodge (who was supposed to be only a special guest star in season 2). The audience's appreciation was so great that both were Promoted to Opening Titles (until Orson left Bree in season 6 finale).
  • Dwayne Wayne and Whitley Gilbert in A Different World.
    • Which allowed them to keep the show running for numerous seasons after its initial star, Lisa Bonet, departed.
      • Lisa Bonet had zero charisma. Almost from day one, she was overshadowed by the show's supporting characters.
  • The Daleks of Doctor Who definitely qualify. In 1963, nothing even remotely resembling them had ever been seen before, and their stellar popularity caused them to be upgraded from one-time Monsters Of The Week to return appearances in season two and season three. They were Killed Off for Real in season four, but by that time, Joker Immunity had firmly set in.
    • In fact, the series' developers originally wished to avoid stories about bug-eyed monsters or robots, intending to tell more grounded stories teaching children about science and history. They were reluctant to make "The Daleks" at all, yet it was the serial that made Doctor Who a success.
      • By now, they've grown into their hype, becoming gods of destruction capable of almost making universe-destroying plans work. Massive armies descending on the universe and destroying all in their path is common. And it is awesome.
    • Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart was originally intended as a one-shot character in The Web of Fear, and Jamie MacCrimmon was originally intended as a one-shot character in The Highlanders.
      • Colonel Lethbridge-Stewart became Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, companion at one time or another to every single Doctor in the Classic Series, longest-running companion in the show's history, even showing up on The Sarah Jane Adventures.
    • River Song quickly gained in popularity in the late Tenth Doctor's venture despite appearing in just one two-parter, "Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead". Cue rejoicing when she was revealed as a future recurring character in Series 5.
    • Do the Weeping Angels qualify? The fact that Moffat made them up on a whim, and they are now considered to be the scariest and best new series monster in the opinion of many (including Neil Gaiman).
      • After seeing the episode Blink, you'll actually hesitate to blink while looking at a statue...
    • Jeff has appeared in one episode, and been mentioned in another, yet somehow has quite a large fanbase.
    • No love for the Fez? The main point of the Fez was probably to make the Time Loop less confusing by identifying which temporal double of the Eleventh Doctor was doing what when. However, as a possible "tawdry quirk", the Fez has just as much potential culpability for the TARDIS explosion as the Dream Lord does. If the Silence is actually a good thing, then we have the Fez to thank for it!
    • Wilfred Mott. Initially intended as one-shot newspaper vendor called Stan, rewritten as Donna's grandfather before becoming the Doctor's companion. Also the Tenth Doctor ultimately dies saving his life
    • While we're on the subject of companions, Rory Williams is either one of these, or a blatant example of the writers deliberately manipulating a character to make them go in this direction: from someone who looked like he was going to be a dorky Mickey Smith clone, to a character with far more appeal (right before killing him), to a Badass and Unbroken Vigil.
    • Canton Everett Delaware III is quickly shaping into one of these. After Day of the Moon the fandom is pretty much divided between those that want to see him return, and those that that want to see him return as a companion (Of course, he is played by Mark Sheppard.)
    • And the episode “A Good Man Goes To War” brings us Jenny and Madame Vastra. What’s so awesome about them? Well, Madame Vastra is a female Silurian. Living in Victorian London. In a mansion. And she works for Scotland Yard, hunting down criminals. And eating them. She’s in a lesbian/inter-species relationship with her kick-ass maid-servant Jenny, both of whom wield katanas. They’re simply amazing, and we didn’t even get to see how they met the Doctor, and it’s doubtful we ever will. Spinoff, please?
    • The Special Weapons Dalek only appeared in one serial in the classic series, but is very popular due to being so damn cool.
    • Sally Sparrow. She gained a lot of fans after her appearance in "Blink". More than once, it's been suggested that she be the next companion.
  • On Dollhouse, there's Sierra, Topher and especially Victor.
  • In the ER pilot, '24 Hours', Carol Hathaway's suicide attempt was supposed to have succeeded. But Carol was so loved that in the second episode, 'Day One', set a while later, we find out Carol survived. She stayed for six seasons on the show and is one of the most beloved female characters from it.
    • In the 5th season, Carol Hathaway has a short scene with Nurse Abby Lockhart (Maura Tierney), credited at the end of the episode. Tierney then becomes a main actor in the 6th season and slowly moves up the credit order (as other actors leave) to become top credited in the first half of season 16 (until she leaves) and the central character of the series for several seasons leading up to that.
    • Dr. Doug Ross (played by George Clooney) also.
  • Steve Urkel in Family Matters started out this way; the series moved from being about a middle-class black family with a Wacky Neighbor to the Mad Science adventures of Urkel and his attempts to win Laura's heart. Even becoming a Wacky Neighbor was due to his Darkhorse nature. He started out as a one-shot character, set up as a blind prom date for Laura by her father, the single most harmless, nonthreatening guy he could possibly find. The studio audience fell in love with the character. By the end of the episode, they were chanting "Urkel! Urkel! Urkel!" at his entrances. In the next episode, Urkel was retconned into being the Winslows' next-door neighbor, and Family Matters shot up in the ratings to become ABC's flagship show. This eventually led to the Chuckification of the youngest Winslows (Judy and Richie).
  • Alex Keaton of Family Ties. The Dom Com was designed as a star vehicle for Meredith Baxter-Birney, formerly one of the daughters on the drama series Family. However, Michael J. Fox's performance, as the over-the-top Republican Foil to his former hippie parents, won over the audience such that most of the plots soon centered around him.
  • Farscape's Chiana was originally planned as a one-episode character - she is injured in her first episode when a Pulse Pistol blast skims her arm, but the writers originally envisioned the shot killing her. Not long after, she became a cast regular.
    • Similarly, Scorpius was just supposed to be a one-episode villain: however, impressed by the results, the producers decided to make him the Big Bad for the show- and actually made it work for two seasons without Villain Decay setting in!
  • While River Tam appears in every episode of Firefly, she usually plays a fairly small role, but is still considered the main character by many of the shows' fans. It is partially helped by the fact that she gets three of the fourteen episodes of the series focusing on her, plays a major role in two more, and is one of the two main characters in the Big Damn Movie.
    • Point of fact: While River did appear in every episode, she often got far fewer lines then the other characters and in the case of Our Mrs Reynolds none at all. And she is STILL considered the main female character.
  • Demetri on FlashForward. A main character-specifically the lead's sidekick-the most common complaint about the show was that the roles of Demetri and Mark should have been reversed.
    • His planned death was actually rewritten to keep him alive due to this.
  • Murray Hewitt in Flight of the Conchords.
  • Dr. Frasier Crane, rivaled only by The Fonz. He was originally created for a one-season arc in Cheers as Diane's love interest, but due to his popularity was brought back for all subsequent seasons as a regular character. He would later go on to have his own spin-off that would last only one year less than Cheers (for a total of 11 seasons) and launch Kelsey Grammer's career with significant star power behind it.
    • To clarify, that is 11 seasons each. Cheers began in 1982, and Frasier ended in 2004. Twenty-two years, for a single, originally one-season character.
    • Come to that, there's also Frasier's brother Niles, whose well-meaning but uptight personality turned out to be winning and helped make him the show's woobie.
  • Glee has a number. Among the main cast, Kurt and Sue Sylvester are both arguably at Breakout Character status. Artie, likewise, gets a lot of fan love relative to his screentime. Among the supporting cast, Ensemble Darkhorses include:
    • Brittany and Santana, originally Quinn's cheerleader minions, who are part of the main cast as of season two.
    • Mike Chang, who's only had a handful of lines, but is probably one of the best dancers on the show along with Brittany, and thus has a very large fanbase.
    • Sandy, the Camp Gay ex-glee coach.
    • Kurt's dad Burt.
    • The most recent one seems to be Blaine, who, in recent episodes, has had more screen time than Kurt. His first musical number sold more copies on iTunes than any other song ever performed on Glee, and to this point he's had more solos than many of the main characters due to his popularity. It doesn't help that he's played by Darren Criss, who had his own large fandom before he even joined Glee.
    • Dave Karofsky, along with the actor who plays him, Max Adler, is incredibly popular particularly among gay male fans. There is a fan campaign going around that wants Karofsky to sing on the show, as well.
    • Glee really seems to have more of a Darkhorse Ensemble than an Ensemble Darkhorse.
  • Sophia Petrillo, Dorothy's elderly mother on Golden Girls whose post-stroke status left her with no filter between her brain and her mouth giving her a tell-it-like-it-is attitude and biting wit, was only supposed to be a semi-recurring character (in the pilot episode, she moves in after her nursing home burns down and the ladies also had a gay male cook). She was so popular from that initial appearance that the cook was written out of subsequent episodes and Sophia was given his snappy lines.
  • Chuck Bass on "Gossip Girl" could be the poster boy for this trope. In the books that the show is based off of, the character is a sociopathic, bisexual rapist who no one likes. On the show he was originally supposed to be a supporting character appearing only a few times during the first season, and started off his run on the show by attempting to rape two out of three female leads in the pilot episode. It only took a few episodes for him to be bumped up to main character, and he's now been transformed into the Tortured Anti-Hero and gained a rabid following among fans. The creator of the show admitted to redirecting the focus towards the relationship between Chuck and one of the female leads (the one he didn't try to rape), stating "we know the Chuck and Blair thing works for people." As 'Chair' (Chuck and Blair) he is now one half of the show's central relationship (the producers of the show have called Chuck and Blair the king and queen of Gossip Girl.)
  • Originally intended to protest against government requirements for "Identifiable Canadian Content" on SCTV, Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis came up with Bob and Doug McKenzie, two half-wit brothers who talk about various things on The Great White North, while they drink beer. However, despite the McKenzie Bros. being incredibly stereotypical characters, this all worked too well and made them really popular with the audience. There was even a movie that was released after the show ended.
  • We can probably say that about Izzie Stevens in Grey's Anatomy, even though the writers seem to love her more than the show's fans, who have conflicting views on her.
    • Addison was so popular that she ended up getting her own show, despite originally intended to be a 5-episode appearance.
  • Leopold the Dragon (or Poldi for short) from Hallo Spencer.
  • Perhaps the living definition of this trope is Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli, who went from a minor sub-character (he has only a few lines in the pilot of Happy Days), to a major part of most episodes, then to a co-headliner, and finally to the main star of the show once Ron Howard left the series.
  • Xena in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys was popular enough to be given her own spinoff, which actually eclipsed the original show in popularity.
  • Badass Normal HRG (Mr. Noah Bennet) of Heroes, who even got Backstory A Day in the Limelight episode. Other Ensemble Darkhorses are Hiro's "hetero life-mate" Ando, Sylar, and Claude.
    • For that matter, what about Hiro himself? He was added as an afterthought when the creator's wife pointed out that no character created so far actually liked having powers, and it's partly this very love of being superpowered that has made him easily one of the most (if not the most) popular characters.
    • Claude and Sylar don't just have fans--they each have a legion of Fan Girls, and some of them overlap into each group. Anyone who's watched volume five can easily see that Sylar has become the main star of the show.
    • The Bennet family's son Lyle and dog Mr. Muggles also qualifies, and has become more of an in-fandom meme.
  • Methos of Highlander. He was originally supposed to die at the end of the third season, but he stayed alive for the whole series and the two movies that came afterwards because he was a terribly popular character. So popular, in fact, that some fans regularly remind others that Duncan McLeod is supposed to be the hero of the series (people tend to forget that).
  • Archie Kennedy, in the A&E Horatio Hornblower adaptations. He was originally intended only to appear in the first episode, but worked so well as a more extroverted foil to the withdrawn protagonist that he appeared in five out of the first six TV movies. The fact that he's The Woobie, and that he and Horatio are very cute together probably helps his popularity with the fanbase.
    • His cause probably wasn't hurt by the fact the first four movies were based off the book Midshipman Hornblower, set before Hornblower's canon sidekick Lt Bush turns up. Indeed the fifth and sixth movies have both characters as very different styles of companion for Hornblower before Kennedy dies and Bush takes over for the rest of the series, as fits the books.
  • How I Met Your Mother has Barney Stinson, who is arguably the reason for the show's success. His character even got two spin-off books, and is the feature of many commercials. To people not familiar with the show, Barney is often believed to be the main character.
  • iCarly has 2 such characters:
    • Wendy was a mostly semi-recurring Mister Exposition character, who gained enough popularity to start being shipped with the main characters. Wendy was Brother Chucked at the end of Season 2, roughly the same time Gibby started to be used more frequently.
    • Gibby started to become more involved in the jokes and storylines, and in Season 4 became a full part of the main cast.
    • In-Universe, Freddie is one. When they interact with their fans at Webicon, he is mobbed by girls. Carly and Sam don't get anywhere like that level of attention, and most of their attention is based around which of them should be dating Freddie.
  • Boyd Crowder of Justified. He was originally going to be a one off villain. Raylan shooting him was supposed to kill him. However, the showrunners fell in love with Boyd and the fatal shot was changed to "Near fatal" and Boyd is a show mainstay now.
  • The DenLiner Imagin - Momotaros, Urataros, Kintaros, and Ryutaros - and Deneb from Kamen Rider Den-O were just the Non Human Sidekicks to the show's main heroes, but by the end of the year, their popularity had overtaken the show itself. Mostly the Taros'. This prompted several musical releases, a Spin-Off anime starring them, and two additional movies for the series.
    • Three, one of which is part of a larger series.
  • Mark Frankel's Julian Luna became this on Kindred: The Embraced, after poor writing and acting resulted in lead character Frank Kohanek (C. Thomas Howell) becoming The Scrappy. Season 2 was going to make Julian Luna the lead and write out Kohanek; but Frankel's death in a motorcycle accident resulted in the show being cancelled after the first season, as no other characters were strong or popular enough to carry the show.
  • Crown Prince Jack Benjamin on Kings. When your daddy's played by Ian McShane, and you're still stealing scenes, it's safe to say the fans are going to adore you. It helps that Sebastian Stan is fairly well known for his role on Gossip Girl and is really rather attractive.
    • In fandom, not only is Jack one of the most popular, but his stalker/secret boyfriend Joseph (who appeared in only two episodes) gets more attention than some of the main cast.
  • An almost literal example with Secretariat on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Initially just stock footage of some goofballs gadding about in a horse suit, the pantomime horse soon began to show up in the studio as a running gag and proved extremely popular with audiences, to the point where they've even had "Team Secretariat" T-shirts made and a whole sketch ("Secretariat in New York") was created around the character.
  • Papa Lazarou only appears four times over the entirety of The League of Gentlemen's run (including The Movie), and yet he's probably the show's most discussed, quoted, and beloved character.
  • Leverage has Massachusetts State Police detective Patrick Bonanno. He made a few appearances in season 2, most importantly serving as the impetus for the events of the season 2 finale. The writers were really surprised at how happy viewers were to see him appear in "The Jailhouse Job," the season 3 premiere.
    • It could also be argued that Hardison's rival hacker "Chaos" is an ensemble darkhorse; he is the only one to re-appear from "The Two Live Crew Job" (as of s3), and the fans were glad to see him again. This is particularly ironic when considering that he is played by Wil Wheaton.
  • Back in the 90s, Lois and Clark had a problem. Like many Superman shows, the eponymous hero suffered from a lack of competent foes. His biggest enemy, Lex Luthor, was written out of the show after actor John Shea opted not to return for the second season. What to do? Along came Tempus, time-traveling bad guy and one-shot villain. Played by obscure soap actor Lane Davies, Tempus' endlessly-quotable jibes and penchant for Leaning on the Fourth Wall proved so popular that he ended up returning each subsequent year.
  • Both Ben and Desmond on Lost. Each was intended to have only a short arc, with the door left open to become a regular. Both proved popular and became important characters.
    • Rose and Bernard are more straight examples. They began as rather minor characters, with Rose being a blatant Magical Negro in season 1, but their popularity allowed them to have A Day in the Limelight, and Bernard is the only surviving member of the Tailies (Besides Cindy, who became a recurring minor Other.
    • Despite his placement on the far end of the Sliding Scale of Antagonist Vileness, Martin Keamy enjoyed a substantial following for his short guest appearance due to both Kevin Durand's fabulous performance and for being one of the few Lost villains to be out and out evil.
    • There's also Richard Alpert.
    • Daniel Faraday also developed a huge following, despite limited screen-time.
    • Frank Lapidus started to become a fan favorite when he was reintroduced in season 5, and was cemented as an Ensemble Darkhorse in season 6.
    • One of the extras, Sexy Blue Striped Shirt Girl. Popular enough to warrant an interview with her actress.
    • And, of course, Libby. And then she got shot by Michael without ever getting an episode focused on her.
  • Joan Holloway on Mad Men. When most non-watchers think of the show, they'll probably remember her first, though she's not the main focus of the show (what with it called Mad Men and all...)
    • There's also John Slattery as Roger Sterling. He's practically a punchline in most of the first season, with his skirt-chasing and his outrageously offensive lines. Over the course of the show, he's become a fan-favorite and his relationships with ex-wife Mona, daughter Margaret, current wife Jane, and mistress Joan have been some of the most solid and entertaining on the show.
    • And then there's Kiernan Shipka as Sally Draper -- she's Don's barely there daughter in season one, but as the actress has gotten older and proven her chops, she has gotten more and more screentime and better and better storylines. (Bobby continues to barely exist.)
  • An example of a successful Retool which made an Ensemble Darkhorse into a Breakout Character: The original premise for The Man from U.N.C.L.E. had Napoleon Solo working alone, with Ilya Kuryakin intended to be only a minor recurring character. Kuryakin struck such a chord with the show's fans, however, that he was raised to one of the leads.
  • The cross-dressing Corporal Max Klinger on M* A* S* H was meant to be a one-time joke, but eventually became a regular.
    • At least Klinger stopped wearing dresses.
    • Sidney Freedman was almost meant for a one-shot appearance, but was brought back on several occasions.
    • Colonel Flagg was a very popular and memorable character despite appearing in only 7 episodes.
  • Sir Leon on Merlin. Despite having only actually turned up to basically provide filler dialogue in 7 episodes over the course of season two and being universally feared to have been killed by dragon flames in the season 2 finale, he returned for season 3 due to the huge fan outrage at his death (screw continuity). After all, when you've married a troll and you need someone to be diplomatically silent about it, who do you call? Sir Leon!
  • Old Gregg from The Mighty Boosh is one of their best known characters, and one of the most often imitated. He only has probably about a page's worth of dialogue, but more than a few fans of the show could recite the entirety of it.
    • Don't forget the Hitcher either, despite the fact he's a psychopath who would rape Howard behind the counter if he were female.
  • On Mission: Impossible, both Barney and Willy qualify. Barney was originally just in charge of technology, but by season 6, when there was no longer a Lancer, he moved into that role and got numerous scenes designed to spotlight Greg Morris's acting, as well as some romantic storylines. Willy was just a strongman, and frequently had very little to do as the show got more cerebral. However, when the producers tried to write him out in Season 5, there was a fan revolt, and not only did he stick around but he was given much more to do in Seasons 6 and 7.
    • During the first season of Mission: Impossible, Martin Landau, though crucial to virtually every episode, was not listed as a regular cast character but rather noted at the end of the cast listing as a "Special Guest Star", as if he was a last minute write-in. After the first season, when Steven Hill left as the team leader to be replaced by Peter Graves as Mr. Phelps, Landau became an official cast member.
  • Exidor on Mork and Mindy. He started out as the leader of the cult "Friends Of Venus" (the other members of which were figments of his imagination) in the episode "Mork Runs Away". By the end of that episode it was clear the audience loved him almost as much as they loved Mork. He returned in the episode "Mork The Gullible" to rapturous applause, and after that he became a recurring character who was greeted by the audience with cheers throughout all four seasons. Interesting side note: His first two appearances concluded with him being disappointed with Mork for his lack of belief in Exidor's "religions". They eventually ended up as close friends (sometimes they seemed very close).
  • In the first season of The Muppet Show, everyone thought Frank Oz's main character would be Fozzie Bear. Miss Piggy was a supporting character, so far down the list she didn't even have a consistant performer (Richard Hunt performed her for half the episodes she appeared in). Then Oz was operating her when she was supposed to slap Kermit, and decided to go for a karate chop instead, and something clicked. Oz would later describe her as his only three-dimensional character, saying Fozzie had two dimensions, and Animal zero.
    • Animal is one of the most popular characters on the show! He has over 700 fans (which is growing) and has been included in more merchandise then the rest of Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem and has been the mascot for the 1998 Snowboarding Team! I certainly love him!
    • Need we mention those old hecklers, Statler and Waldorf?
  • From Mystery Science Theater 3000's worst movie came its most enduring guest character -- Torgo, the stammering, swollen-kneed, scruffy-bearded, ratty-clothed, thoroughly creepy yet ineffectual henchman to The Master. Not only does he make numerous appearances and cameos in the host segments over the next couple seasons, he's even given an epic fate as he becomes Torgo the White.
    • And let's not forget Dablone, the only enjoyable character on MST3K subject Escape 2000.
    • There were others, such as the Aztec sidekick from Puma Man and Professor Lembach, the granter of grants in The Projected Man, even though he's only in about two scenes.
    • MEGAWEAPON!!
    • Who dares deny the beer-swilling badassery that is Rowsdower?!
  • Nikita: Among the supporting characters, Roan is surprisingly popular, given that he's a mostly wordless sociopath. The fact that he's Made of Iron and wears a Badass Longcoat probably helps.
  • The characters of Kimber and Gina on Nip Tuck were both originally intended as one-offs, but were promoted to main-character status due to unusually strong performances by their respective actors and resonance with the fandom.
  • Summer Roberts and Julie Cooper were not originally supposed to be main characters in The OC, and their actors were listed as guest stars - even though Rachel Bilson (Summer) was in every episode of the first season, and Melinda Clarke (Julie) was only absent a couple of times. Taylor Townsend might be an even more striking example as she was introduced as a mere minor villain, but ended up not only surving her arc (and quickly switching over to the side of good) but becoming a main character at the beginning of the following season, and then romantic interest to the main character.
  • Andy Bernard of The Office. Notably, he's the only character to survive the merger from Stamford (other than Jim, of course) and is easily the most prominent character on the show, other than the main four, over all the people who've been there since season 1 (and even Ryan).
    • Ed Helms even got featured in the opening credits starting in Season 6.
  • In Papiny Dochki, Child Prodigy / Teen Genius Galina Sergeevna (Liza Arzamasova) is the most popular of the daughters because she is very intelligent and pleasant, and over the course of the show becomes more adventurous.
  • Super Hans in Peep Show, Jeremy's techno nutter mate. He's a self centered fantasist but his often hilarious drug addiction and plain coolness have endeared him to many fans (He has a snake, for crying out loud).
  • April Tuna, of Popular. The sexually aggressive nerd was the weirdest and often best part of the show.
  • Bulk and Skull from Power Rangers. While present in numerous episodes as the comedy relief, on rare occasions they showed a noble side. Most notably and successfully, they led the entire town of Angel Grove in an I Am Spartacus, presenting themselves as Power Rangers.
  • Super Sentai has many popular characters, but in recent years, Marika "Jasmine" Reimon from Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger is deeply loved by the fandom. One of most beautiful and snarky Sentai heroes in recent years, she's proved to be very popular.
    • Rapidly chasing the title is Gosei Knight, the Sixth Ranger from Tensou Sentai Goseiger, simply because of his seiyuu. Per that, his inclusion is sometimes noted as a time when Goseiger's quality increases.
    • Amongst the old school series, there's Gai Yuuki from Choujin Sentai Jetman. Despite being a Jerkass ranger, he's that Badass and well loved that eventually he evolves into a Jerk with a Heart of Gold and eventually deemed Too Cool to Live and got killed off in the epilogue. There's a manga about him being replaced, but he still proved extremely popular and remains as one of the most favored Sentai Black Rangers EVER. So much that... he's the Jetman representative for Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, coming Back from the Dead just for that one episode before returning to the land of the dead. And the Fandom Rejoiced.
    • And of course, Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger has one darkhorse, Luka Millfy, as if succeeding Jasmine in darkhorse department. She has a really antiheroic attitude for a girl, atypical of even the most snarkiest Sentai girl ever, as well as her looks and her tough girl attitude, it helps a lot. [2]
    • Female blue rangers are usually really well-received. Megumi Misaki, Ako Hayasaka and Urara Ozu receive quite a lot of warm welcome from the fans. However, the one who's truly the female blue ranger Ensemble Darkhorse of epic proportions would be Nanami Nono who combines her gorgeous look, cheery personality and some Crowning Moment of Awesome that makes her near-guaranteed that she'd be one of the favorite blue rangers ever amongst fans (although sometimes there are some men that could surpass her at times). Hell, Nanami herself appeared in not just one, but TWO (or three) anniversary-dedicated episodes (Boukenger vs Super Sentai or Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger during the Hurricaneger tribute episode)
    • There were a lot of darkhorses in several other series though. Back in Dai Sentai Goggle Five, the darkhorse seems to go to either Kanpei Kuroda/Goggle Black (for having a lot of Badass stunts and being played by Junichi Haruta), and Miki Momozono/Goggle Pink (probably due to her Plucky Girl-ness), and at Kagaku Sentai Dynaman, the Black-Pink combination (Ryuu Hoshikawa/Dyna Black and Rei Tachibana/Dyna Pink) become the darkhorses as well (due to, again, Hoshikawa being played by Junichi Haruta, and Rei being played by Sayoko Hagiwara, both of them still resume acting afterwards). At Choudenshi Bioman, it's not the heroes who's the darkhorse, but the villain Bio Hunter Silva who attains this status, despite his short screentime, he instilled fear to many audience with the possibility of how any of the Bioman can die by him, and his reappearance in Super Hero Taisen is received very warmly. And then, jumping on to Choushinsei Flashman, Sara/Yellow Flash also gains a lot of attention due to her borderline Ms. Fanservice outfit and having a lot of drama to go at the end of the series being revealed as Tokimura's daughter. And later on, in Ninja Sentai Kakuranger, Tsuruhime/Ninja White is the one to attain this status, guaranteeing her to appear in many 'Top heroine list', and even could be attaining top spot against modern day heroines, probably due to her being the first technical female leader of the team.
    • And of course, Tommy wouldn't be so popular if Burai/Dragon Ranger wasn't so popular to begin with. He doesn't appear in the opening at all, yet he attains so much popularity for being a conflicted Badass and having strong drama with his brother Geki/Tyranno Ranger that he starts to become the Spotlight-Stealing Squad and when he died, fans protested to bring him back (without much success).
    • In terms of season, Samurai Sentai Shinkenger is hugely popular. While some may argue it has the deck unfairly stacked in its favor (it was the replacement 18th season of Power Rangers to many fans), it attracted much love. The fans who came from Power Rangers stuck with Super Sentai because of its well told stories, hamminess, and for not being afraid to break the standard Sentai mold.
  • Tim Gunn on Project Runway. Many fans maintain that he is 80% of the reason for watching the show.
  • Jimmy Simpson became a fan favorite during his brief appearances as Inspector Mary Lightly on Psych.
  • Red Dwarf's "Mr. Flibble" - from a character's insane delusion in one episode to interviewer on the official site.
  • CJ on Remember WENN was originally just the guy in the booth. By Season 3 he got an least one line per episode and was shown to harbor an unrequited crush on Betty.
  • Carlton the Doorman on Rhoda was considered such a miniscule off-screen character that an executive producer provided his voice. The character's popularity propelled that producer -- Lorenzo Music -- into a new career of numerous voice acing roles, including one particular fat cat.
  • By far the most hilarious and popular character on Sabrina the Teenage Witch was Salem, the Spellmans' resident snarky talking cat.
  • Hooch is Scrubs' most popular side-character. At first, he was just a background surgeon used to punctuate a joke about J.D. assuming "Hooch" was the name of a black guy in "Turner & Hooch" (for the record, it's the name of the dog in the Tom Hanks movie Turner and Hooch). Towards the end of that episode, as he got more annoyed at people calling him "Hooch", he started displaying a charmingly Ax Crazy personality as he yelled at them to stop, prompting characters to say the sort-of Catch Phrase "Hooch is crazy!" Thanks to this, he became loved by many fans, especially for his many quotables, despite being in only four season four episodes. Because of this positive response, creator Bill Lawrence made sure to fit him into the season seven premiere. Unlike other shows, Scrubs is pretty good at making sure they don't overuse an Ensemble Darkhorse.
    • Actually, they just make sure to use them well: The Janitor was originally not intended to have anywhere NEAR the amount of screentime he gets. But hey...
    • Scrubs also had "Snoop Dogg intern", who started as a one-line joke, but who stayed around to become "Snoop Dogg resident" and "Snoop Dogg attending".
  • When Kevin Clash began performing Elmo on Sesame Street, the character became this. Years later, though, his status as this turned him into a Creator's Pet.
  • The Shield had a couple of actors who would qualifiy as Ensemble Darkhorse: Walt Goggins, CCH Pounder, and Kenny Johnson all found their roles within the series expanded upon as the series progressed, with Walt Goggins's character becoming arguably the second most important character in the show behind Chiklis's character of Vic Mackey.
    • David Rees Snell as Ronnie Gardocki is also noteworthy considering he started out as little more than an extra, yet quickly garnered a rather large, vocal fanbase and became the defacto "Draco in Leather Pants" on the show, to such an extent that the character was the only non-Vic Strike Team member to survive the finale (granted arrested and facing life in prison/death penalty, which goes along with the Misaimed Fandom of fans taking to the members of the Strike Team in spite of their crimes).
  • Several Characters in Skins turn out to be this due to there being multiple generations.
    • Series 1 & 2 has Chris.
    • Series 3 & 4 has Emily, J.J., Naomi, and Katie for some.
    • Series 5 has Alo & Rich.
  • Smallville has Chloe Sullivan, who, while not taking over the show, has been revealed as one of the "meteor freaks" and thus taken on greater significance in the series' plot.
    • Lionel Luthor was originally supposed to appear in a few episodes in Season 1, but the fanbase couldn't get enough of the Magnificent You-Know-What, and he was made both a regular and the Big Bad in subsequent seasons.
    • When Alicia Baker made her debut in the third season, she was intended to be nothing more than the latest "Freak of the Week", just a Stalker with a Crush Yandere with the hots for Clark. But her early scenes with Clark in that episode (where they're forced to reveal their super powers to each other, then realize they can relax and be themselves in each other's company) had such a sweetness to them, that "Calicia" became a Fan-Preferred Couple. She returned in the fourth season, complete with a Heel Face Turn, an Accidental Marriage to Clark...and a tragic death. While she only appeared in 3 episodes, Alicia looms large in Smallville's mythology for 2 reasons: 1) She's one of only 3 women in the show's entire 10 year run whom Clark explicitly stated he loved (the other 2 being Lana and Lois, making Alicia the only one who wasn't from the comics), and 2) In her final episode, she revealed Clark's secret to Chloe, forever altering the "Chlark" dynamic for the show's remaining 5 1/2 seasons.
  • The mild-mannered ventriloquist Chuck and his absolute Jerkass dummy Bob on Soap. Chuck was originally intended to be guilty of killing his brother Peter (the murder mystery around which the first season was based). But Chuck and Bob became so popular the producers realized they couldn't send the characters to jail/mental hospital. So they completely retooled the ending of the season, changed the murderer to someone else, and Bob got to live out the remainder of the series being a hilariously offensive jerk to everyone in sight.
  • Vala Mal Doran of Stargate SG-1 was initially intended to be only a one-shot character for one episode in the middle of season eight, but had such a strong fan reaction that she earned a recurring role in season nine and a regular role in season ten.
    • Walter Harriman originally had the unenviable task of basically being a verbal exposition device with no name. Started showing up in more and more episodes as a kind of Shout-Out, eventually got a real name (after several years), and even appeared in some of the "Behind the Scenes" specials.
    • Similarly, Siler, the much-beleaguered gate technician, has gained quite a following from fans who like to see him get electrocuted, knocked out, and tossed back by an explosion every few episodes.
  • Radek Zelenka was only meant to appear on Stargate Atlantis for one episode, but became a recurring character due to popularity with fans. Some parts of fandom have also embraced one-shot characters Miko and Parrish, as well the recurring character of Major Lorne.
    • Doctor Carson Beckett would also fit this trope, started off as a recurring character in the first season before being promoted to regular for season two. Killed off in the third season. Only to be brought back in the fourth season after fan outrage caused a re-think.
    • Pretty much the same thing has happened to the gate technician, who acquired a fan nickname that became canon (Chuck), and has gradually gained personality from season two onwards.
      • Sorry, not true. Whilst the fans did have a name for him, the Chucknician, Chuck gained his name in canon by actor Torri Higginson accidentally referring to actor Chuck Campbell by his name during a take which the producers decided to use. At least that's what Chuck Campbell said whilst on stage at a convention.
    • Todd the Wraith is also up there in fan appreciation, probably due to being the only Wraith in the Pegasus galaxy with a sense of humor and utterly stealing any scene he's in. Originally just a random Wraith that cooperated with Sheppard to escape Genii confinement, he went on to aid Atlantis a few times against the Asurans and became a recurring character.
  • Stargate Universe has currently Greer and The Destiny. Greer is obviously well liked, being an utterly cool pyromaniac Badass and as for Destiny... just see the WMG!
  • Barclay in Star Trek: The Next Generation started as a minor character in a Day in The Limelight episode, but then became something of a Darkhorse as the series progressed.
    • A similar case can be made for Miles O'Brien. He started as a nameless pilot with a red uniform, then appeared as a security guard, and finally the transporter chief. Eventually he was given a last name, then a first, and then an episode centered around him. He later became a major character in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.
    • There's also Garak, perhaps the Darkhorse of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, who started out as a minor character with a mysterious past and became a crucial part of the later seasons' intrigues. An exiled patriot, a tailor, a spy, a gardener, a soldier, a Chessmaster, and practically a series regular by the end. He appears only in 33 episodes out of 173.
      • Andrew Robinson was even offered a promotion to main cast member (with his name in the opening titles) for the final season, but declined.
    • Morn is an even better example. He began as an extra who could be seen doing nothing at Quark's Bar. He never even talked. But he became so popular that not only did the character get mentioned constantly (usually said to be a huge talker) and even got an entire episode dedicated to him, "Who Mourns for Morn?"
    • A case can also be made for the holographic Doctor in Voyager.
    • Also Seven of Nine. Which is impressive, since at first glance, she looks like Ms. Fanservice incarnate -- but lucky for her character, Jeri Ryan can act.
    • Worf is probably the earliest case in the franchise. The character was an afterthought, not even appearing in the original series bible. Michael Dorn was cast in the pilot for what was conceived as a recurring role as Worf, but he played the part so well that he was immediately, before the show even aired, bumped up to regular status. Dorn played the character for 11 seasons (7 of TNG and 4 of Deep Space Nine) and 4 films, becoming, after Captain Picard, arguably the most recognizable character in the modern incarnation of Trek.
    • But all these are preceded by Mr. Pointy-Ears himself, Commander Spock. He was originally supposed to be a side character to Captain Kirk, but fan interest quickly exploded and he was soon recognized as the most fan-loved character in the original incarnation of Trek - and maybe the entire franchise. The dynamic duo of the golden-haired Captain and the pointy-eared, dark Vulcan captured fans' hearts and fired their imaginations, quite literally giving birth to Slash Fic in the earliest recorded case of Ho Yay in modern media and becoming a staple of the original series.
      • Interesting to note is that the studio executives thought that Spock would be the scariest character on the show.
    • Spock had an even smaller role in the original pilot, "The Cage", but ended up being the only character to survive the recasting.
    • The best example from Star Trek: Enterprise would probably be recurring Andorian character Shran, who, had there been a 5th season, would have been promoted to main character status due largely to his popularity. It helped that he was played by Trek Veteran actor Jeffrey Combs.
    • Another Star Trek: Enterprise example is Charles "Trip" Tucker III - so much so that when his character dies in the Series Finale "These Are the Voyages", it was retconned in the Expanded Universe novel, "The Good That Men Do".
  • Although the show was built around Dylan and Cole Sprouse, and Brenda Song is arguably the show's most visible star outside of the twins, Ashley Tisdale as Maddie proved to be The Suite Life of Zack and Cody's dark horse star, especially thanks to roles in the High School Musical franchise and Phineas and Ferb. Many fans hated the sequel series just because of her absence, but her Suspiciously Similar Substitute, Debby Ryan, seems to have been Rescued from the Scrappy Heap, thanks to Sixteen Wishes and her own new show, Jessie, coming in the fall of 2011.
  • This might be the reason for Bobby's longevity on Supernatural.
    • Castiel was only supposed to appear in six episodes in Season 4, but he made such a good impression on the fans that they've made him a regular for Season 5. The fact that he's extremely attractive probably doesn't do his popularity any harm, either. The actor that plays him, Misha Collins, got his own Day in The Limelight with the Season 4 episode "The Rapture", though not playing Castiel in most of it.
    • Death. Despite his very limited appearances, he has very devoted fans. Might have something to do with his promise to reap God.
    • To some extent, Dean can be considered this as well. Although he was always a major part of the show, the first two seasons have him seemingly only loosely tied to the mytharc and the hero of the story seems to be Sam. Then instead of Sam, the revenge driven brother, killing the YED, Dean does it. He moves from being mainly Sam's protector to having his own solid position in the mytharc by season 4, with motivations that are much more sympathetic than his brother's.
    • The demon Crowley has become this, especially after his involvement in episode 5x20. It probably helps that he's played by Mark Sheppard.
    • Gabriel is also this, having both a large number of fans (he even has his own Big Bang on Livejournal) and a lot of people who want to see him again even after he was Killed Off for Real by his brother.
    • Arguably Bela, the latter the subject of a petition to bring her back to the show, despite having been ripped apart by hellhounds.
    • Hendricksen and Gordon Walker both had quite a small number of appearances despite being quite popular.
  • A first-season Taxi episode had Latka marrying a call girl so he could remain in the US. The "minister" who presided over the ceremony, Reverend Jim Ignatowski, proved such a hit that he became a cast regular the following season.
    • Jeff, the guy who stood next to Louie in the "box", was originally just an extra, but over time he was given lines, some of them even significant. During the final season, he got A Day in the Limelight.
  • Jamie in The Thick of It has only been in three episodes, but is one of the most popular characters.
  • In Torchwood, Ianto Jones was originally just the Torchwood Three secretary and, with a couple of noted exceptions, had one or two lines an episode. However, the fans loved him and he became significantly more prominent in series 2 and 3. He was not even meant to survive series 1. Then, he was planned to be the zombie of Torchwood in series two and suffer Owen's fate.
  • Top Gear's The Stig, originally a Suspiciously Similar Substitute of the first Stig and only around to drive the cars around the track, became a surprisingly popular character, to the point where he participated in some of the other stunts Top Gear did (all while wearing his trademark helmet and jumpsuit).
  • In True Blood, Camp Gay character Lafayette Reynolds was supposed to get killed at the first season ending. Up to season 3, he's still alive because fandom liked him toomuch.
    • His level of Ensemble Darkhorse is so impressive that despite his programmed death in the books he has his own gay love interest, has become part of the main cast AND he'll be part of the major plot in season 4. Not to mention that at the end of season 3 it has been mentioned that he has great magical potential inside him.
    • Pam is also very popular among fans; she has become part of the main cast recently and is getting much more screen-time. However this is not as impressive as Lafayette's case because she becomes a major character in the books too.
    • Also impressive is Jessica who has a very big fanbase despite not being in the books at all.
  • Anne Boleyn, and arguably Thomas Cromwell, in The Tudors. In nearly every single telling of what happened during the reign of Henry VIII, Cromwell is depicted as a heartless, evil villain. James Frain's Cromwell however is a well-liked character among the fans, because of the actor's ability to give him heart and soul. Anne Boleyn is also often depicted as a villain, and in the beginning of the series most fans thought she was quite the bitch. Though as the series progressed she became one of the most popular characters in the entire show and a lot of fans considered abandoning the show after Natalie Dormer's departure.
    • Towards the end a lot of people were most invested in Mary, largely due to Sarah Bolger's strong performance. The fact that Mary wasn't villainized (as she often is in stories about Queen Elizabeth) also helped.
  • To a much, much lesser extent of the trope, "Pick Boy" of U-Pick Live, one of Nickelodeon's afternoon in-between-shows programs. Pick Boy is a egotistical yet naive "Superhero", whose main job super-power is to "pick" people from the studio audience to participate in games. Pick Boy became a prominent character, and target of many polls at nick.com, such as "What kind of hairstyle should Pick Boy have?" Despite his popularity, Pick Boy was kicked-off the show when he was voted the most in a poll asking "Who should be kicked off from the show forever?", but was brought back next season. Even after U-pick Live ended over two years ago, his character is constantly used, and has made many appearances in ads, in the 2006 and 2007 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, and even the show that succeeded U-pick Live, Me TV.
  • In Veronica Mars, Logan Echolls was supposed to have a much smaller role than he did, but proved to be the most popular character on the show and thus his role was increased.
  • Cat Valentine on Victorious has had this status claimed from the pilot.
  • The West Wing - President Bartlet was originally supposed to be referred to often but rarely actually seen, but everyone liked his one scene in the pilot so much that he was made a series regular.
    • More than that, he was made the lead character of the show. Not just the focus, but the protagonist. Probably the largest Darkhorse bump ever.
  • So great is the popularity of Badass Longcoat-wearing gunslinger Omar Little in The Wire, it can come as a shock to remember that he didn't even get a credit in the opening sequence until the third season.
    • Of great credit to the show's writers is that they didn't attempt to retool the show around him, and in fact treat him as simply a gangster like any other.
      • But that doesn't mean they never made any reference to his popularity either: he is worshipped by many of the homeless street kids, illustrated in a scene during the third season where Bunk spots a group of kids squabbling over who gets to "be Omar" in a roleplaying game. A case of a character being an Ensemble Darkhorse even amongst the Ensemble itself? Omar's popularity also undoubtably contributed to the brutality and suddenness of his death. The show's creators prided themselves on never succumbing to narrative conventions or audience expectations, and their refusal to have their most popular character go out in a blaze of glory - he gets shot in the head, midway through the final season, by a ten year old Hopper whilst out grocery shopping - could be interpreted as them refusing to compromise this.
        • Another point they could be making with Omar's death: Legends about people like Omar will always carry on long after their deaths. Despite Omar being gunned down by a kid, despite the pathologist being so uncaring that he even puts Omar in the wrong body bag, the final time Omar is mentioned in the series is in the finale: a group of kids exchange different versions of how they'd heard Omar died, each story far grander than what really happened.
  • WWE frequently has problems turning popular heels due to their expectation that the wrestler in question then act like a "proper" face, which usually means the removal of the personality traits which made them popular in the first place.
    • The notable exception: The Rock. From Rocky Sucks to major movie star, all with a simple Face Heel Turn.
    • As of the September/October 2010 they seem to be really coming along with this... In his first ever one on one match with Chris Jericho, the now top-face in the company Randy Orton shows that he is just as heelish as ever, skull punting Jericho into unconciousness. Hell the week before he even had a conversation with Sheamus in which he said "I am not an honourable man. All those people I've punted? Some deserved it, some didn't. But I would RKO my own grandmother to keep this title."
  • The Young Ones is one of the purest examples of an Ensemble Cast, being that no one character was ever featured over the others throughout its run and everyone got a good chance to shine. Still, ask any Brit old enough to know to quickly name one of the lads, and nine times out of ten they’ll say "Vyvyan" first.
    • Then again, when you look at the pilot, Vyv is the last lad to be introduced and the one given the most dramatic entrance, indicating that the creators probably figured he’d attain this status anyway.
  • La Bamba on Conan O'Brien's three shows. Deon Cole on the latter two.
  • Sherlock fans love them some Mycroft Holmes. Oh, yes, they do. (It doesn't hurt that Mycroft is played by Mark Gatiss...)
  • Spike and Lou seemed to serve this role through the first two seasons of Flashpoint as we really don't see anything of their personal lives and they are never the focus of an episode. This changed in the series 3 premiere when Lou sadly dies and Spike has to deal with the aftermath. Perhaps this gave the writers a chance to see that Sergio Di Zio can do angst just as well as he can do goofy and snarky, because it seemed like Spike got a whole lot more to work with, story-wise, after this.
Back to Ensemble Darkhorse
  1. ↑ Besides Angel of course.
  2. ↑ We'd like to call Captain Marvelous another darkhorse, but he's the main character, so he's just a really shiny awesome horse, not a darkhorse
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