Best TV Dads

Ten fathers who showed up, every week, at the same time, which is more than some.

Entries
10
Category
TV
Updated
  1. A police cap on the newel post of a Chicago house staircase, a broken lamp on the floor.

    10. Carl Winslow

    Family Matters · 1989

    A Chicago cop who wanted a quiet family sitcom and got Steve Urkel. Reginald VelJohnson also played the Twinkie-buying cop in Die Hard, so he has twice been the most patient man in a building. His house was destroyed weekly and he forgave it.

  2. A propane tank and grill in a tidy Texas backyard with a perfectly mowed lawn.

    09. Hank Hill

    King of the Hill · 1997

    Sells propane and its accessories in Arlen, Texas, does not understand his son Bobby at all, and loves him anyway, loudly and with visible effort. Mike Judge voices him, and the show came back on Hulu in 2025. A man who would rather die than discuss feelings, and does anyway.

  3. A pool house beside a backyard pool in Newport Beach, a bagel on a plate at the edge.

    08. Sandy Cohen

    The O.C. · 2003

    A public defender who brings a kid from Chino home to Newport Beach, sets him up in the pool house and never once acts like it was a sacrifice. Peter Gallagher's eyebrows did half the parenting. Also ran on bagels, which is a valid method.

  4. Two fishing poles leaning against a tree beside a small lake on a dirt road.

    07. Andy Taylor

    The Andy Griffith Show · 1960

    A widowed sheriff raising Opie in Mayberry, usually by taking him fishing and letting the lesson sink in on its own. Ron Howard played Opie and went on to direct Apollo 13. The show was No. 1 in the ratings in its final season. Andy rarely needed the gun.

  5. A private investigator's office door with frosted glass, a camera with a long lens on the desk.

    06. Keith Mars

    Veronica Mars · 2004

    A sheriff who lost his badge for naming a billionaire as a murder suspect, then opened a private-eye office and let his teenage daughter work cases. Enrico Colantoni plays him with warmth and a dad joke ready. He was right about the billionaire's family, too.

  6. A suburban kitchen table with a coffee mug, a folded newspaper and a single heavy work boot.

    05. Red Forman

    That '70s Show · 1998

    A Korean War veteran who threatens his son with a foot in a specific place roughly once an episode and would still drive across the state for him. Kurtwood Smith had played the villain in RoboCop and came back for That '90s Show in 2023. Tough love, heavy on the tough.

  7. A small corner burger restaurant with a chalkboard menu and a single burger on a spatula.

    04. Bob Belcher

    Bob's Burgers · 2011

    Runs a failing restaurant across from a successful one, writes a pun burger of the day anyway, and loves three deeply strange children without asking them to change. H. Jon Benjamin also voices Archer, and they sound identical. Only one of them is a good dad.

  8. A backyard with a blue-sky Queenslander house, a kids' play tent and a dish rack full of plates in the window.

    03. Bandit Heeler

    Bluey · 2018

    An archaeologist who comes home and plays whatever game is required, for as long as it takes, then does the dishes. He is voiced by David McCormack, frontman of the Australian band Custard, who records alone without seeing footage. Real fathers have been complaining since.

  9. A grand mansion foyer with a sweeping staircase and an open front door letting in light.

    02. Philip Banks

    The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air · 1990

    When Will's father turns up after 14 years and leaves again, Uncle Phil is the one standing in the doorway, and then the one holding him. James Avery also voiced Shredder in the 1987 Ninja Turtles cartoon. Range is throwing Jazz out of the house and then hugging.

  10. A football field at night under stadium lights, a coach's whistle and clipboard on the empty bench.

    01. Eric Taylor

    Friday Night Lights · 2006

    Coach Taylor won a state title at Dillon, got pushed out, built East Dillon from nothing and won another, then moved the family to Philadelphia for his wife's career. Kyle Chandler won the Emmy in 2011. A football coach who moved for his wife. Rarer than a title.

Honorable mentions

  • A 1950s hardware store counter with a cash register, a jukebox glowing across the street.

    Howard Cunningham

    Happy Days · 1974

    Ran a Milwaukee hardware store, came home, sat down and let a leather-jacketed tenant over the garage run the social life of his entire family. Tom Bosley played it calm for a decade. Mr. C was the steadiest thing in a show that jumped a shark.

Dishonorable mentions

  • A desert road with a parked RV, a pork pie hat on the ground and a chemistry flask.

    Walter White

    Breaking Bad · 2008

    A chemistry teacher who builds a meth empire to provide for his family and spends five seasons saying so, then finally admits he did it because he liked it. Bryan Cranston won four Emmys for it. The family would have preferred the money market account.

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