Jan 12, 2015 4 min read

Barney Fife, Arthur Fonzarelli, Ted Baxter, Cliff Clavin and Cosmo Kramer have much in common.

They’re all supporting characters on hit television series. The actors who portrayed them became forever associated with those characters. The characters became so imbedded in American culture that if you refer to someone as a “Barney Fife” or a “Cliff Clavin,” everyone knows what you mean.

It goes beyond that.

Can you imagine “The Andy Griffith Show,” “Happy Days,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Cheers” or “Seinfeld” without those characters? Would those future iconic series have even made it to a second season?

Before considering that question, consider this. Can you name any supporting characters on a current sitcom? We’ll give you Howard Wolowitz and Amy Farrah Fowler (“Big Bang Theory”), Sue Heck (“The Middle”) and Berta (“Two and One-Half Men.”). That’s about it if you’re using the litmus test that the character has or will become part of pop culture. For instance, with years of “The Middle” reruns down the road, it’s probable awkward teens will be referred to as “Sue Hecks.” Yet it’s highly unlikely anyone will ever think of Kip Finkle when talking about an intrusive neighbor.

As explanation for the vast majority of readers, Kip Finkle was the Sean Hayes character on “The Millers,” a CBS sitcom that was yanked from the schedule four episodes into its second season. Hayes was belately brought to the show in a desperate attempt to establish a secondary person of interest to help maintain the show’s popularity after it was separated from “Big Bang Theory” on the schedule. It was too little, too late.

“The Millers” is just one of nearly a dozen failed comedies this season, a few of which remain on the air while networks scramble for a winning formula for their replacements. They’re no doubt asking, “Should it be a family comedy like “The Middle”? Should it be a provocative show such as “Two and One-Half Men”? Or should it zone in on young adults a la “Big Bang Theory”? The answer is, “None of the above.”

Those series aren’t watched because of their premise. Rather, they are popular because they have strong supporting characters. Yet every sitcom axed this year failed to develop supporting characters; they were instead too broadly drawn, stereotypical or poorly portrayed.

In rare circumstances – “Two Broke Girls” immediately comes to mind – a sitcom can overcome weak support, but it’s certainly the exception. It’s jaw dropping that networks underestimate the value of minor characters. As an example, the nonlead characters on “The Millers” were so bland that the show’s energy dissipated whenever they were on screen. One can easily imagine millions of viewers reaching for their remote controls.

And the cookie-cutter, two-dimensional support characters on “From A to Z,” “selfie” and “Bad Judge,” among others, could have been lifted from any “B” movie. I’m also quite certain that the groan-inducing secondary characters on “About a Boy” and “The McCarthys” will soon lead to both otherwise decent series to be canceled.

On the flip side, virtually all of the newer successful sitcoms have strong casts and characters. Certainly, “Mom” is primarily a two-woman play. But it’s buoyed considerably by well-drawn backup players who shine even in short scenes. (It’s also telling that many have had episodes that revolved around their characters as opposed to the leads.) While “The Goldbergs” and “blackish” mostly rely on interplay between parents, both have veteran actors in grandparent roles (George Segal and Laurence Fishburne) who can augment a scene or even steal it. More importantly, perhaps, I suspect they’re providing valuable acting insight for the youngsters on those shows.

The supporting cast is so spot-on in “The Big Bang Theory” that’s it’s evolved into an ensemble series as has “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” “Mike and Molly” had a similarly diverse and excellent ensemble feel, but nearly stumbled fatally last season when it decided to focus on Melissa McCarthy’s film stature by giving her the bulk of the spotlight.

There’s no harm, of course, in telegraphing a show’s focus to the audience, such as “The Andy Griffith Show,” “The Bob Newhart Show” or “The Cosby Show,” to initially draw viewers if you must, but know that any sitcom takes a cast of well-drawn characters to work.

Through 2003, the most successful sitcoms in television history were, in order, “All in the Family,” “The Lucy Show,” “Friends,” “MASH,” “Cheers,” “The Cosby Show,” “Frasier,” “The Andy Griffith Show,” “Roseanne” and “Home Improvement.”

Or, to put it in terms of memorable secondary characters, George Jefferson, Ethel Mertz, Gunther, Corporal Klinger, Norm Peterson, Elvin, Daphne Crane, Aunt Bee, David Healy and Al Borland.

The litmus test works. As did the shows.