That's what she said.
The Office is my favorite sitcom of all time. I absolutely love this show, but I've barely covered it on my blog. So I decided to change that. The best characters in this show are some of my favorites of all time, so this ranking became pretty difficult near the top. But it was super fun. That said, here's my ranking of every main character from The Office.
25. Todd Packer
Todd Packer is the worst. David Koechner, the actor, always does this aggressive, masculine bit that I just really don't like, and Packer is the worst example of that. He is made to be incredibly unlikable, which would be okay if he were funny, but he's not. He makes crude jokes about everyone in the office and brings out the worst of Michael Scott, which makes him a difficult character to enjoy.
24. Nellie Bertram
The later seasons of The Office really see a decline in quality, and part of that comes from the struggle of finding a good replacement for Michael. Nellie is not a good replacement. She is awful. She isn't funny. She just makes these weird, uncomfortable sex jokes (which is a pattern we see with some of these characters). She doesn't have any of the charm or likability of Michael. She's a very forgettable character, and the parts of her that I do remember are not good.
23. Gabe Lewis
Unlikable characters are difficult to pull off, but The Office is able to do it with a lot of their cast. They were unable to succeed, however, with Gabe. He is this quietly awkward and weird character who just makes the show slightly worse. I think that the quiet jerk persona already makes him pretty difficult to like, but is becomes even more difficult through his relationship with Erin. The worst part? He's in four full seasons, which just makes us have to deal with him for almost half of this show.
22. Roy Anderson
Roy is an interesting character. I don't necessarily hate him as a character, because he serves his job well. He is meant to act as a foil to Jim. He represents everything that Pam shouldn't be in a relationship with. He's not a major character, so we don't spend a lot of time with him or learn that much about him. I do think there's something missing here, however. I feel like he should maybe be more of a focus in the early seasons so we can either feel for him more when Pam leaves him or hate him more so that it's satisfying when Pam leaves him. Either way, Roy is a decent character who served his purpose.
21. Robert California
Robert California has one of the biggest swings from great to bad. When he was first introduced, James Spader's creepy genius boss was absolutely hysterical. He is the complete opposite of Michael Scott; a brilliant, cold-hearted man who takes everything incredibly serious. That's a funny idea, and Spader's performance elevated his comedic moments. However, much like Nellie, Robert eventually just evolved into a character who only made sex jokes. It feels like the writers lost touch with what makes him funny in the first place and just started throwing out weird, ridiculous lines that just make you cringe. This character showed potential, but in the end, he was not executed very well.
20. Ryan Howard
I wish I liked Ryan more. He's a strange character, because he starts off as essentially our main protagonist in the first season. He seems relatively normal, but as you get deeper into the show, he just gets weirder and weirder and weirder, and I don't like that. I think he's one of the few true antagonists of The Office, and I like him in that role. He has this fun rivalry with Jim that makes him unlikable, but in the right way. I just feel like they never struck the right balance with his character. Is he normal or is he weird? Is he a good guy or is he a bad guy? These are questions that the writers never really nailed down, and I think that that made his character worse.
19. Meredith Palmer
Meredith is a solid character. She is one of the background office workers that just elevate this show a little bit. She never really gets the big laughs or the big emotional moments, but she is always consistently funny. I can't really put her much higher because she isn't really ever in the spotlight, but she serves as a great character who is sprinkled throughout the show. It is characters like Meredith that elevate The Office from a great show to one of the best of all time.
18. Kelly Kapoor
Kelly, like Meredith, is a great background character. She fits the stereotype of the office gossip girl, and Mindy Kaling absolutely nails it. She's incredibly annoying but in the funniest way. Every time she's on screen, it can just be like nails on a chalkboard, but it's also making you laugh. Again, she never gets the big laughs or the big emotional moments, but she is just a great sprinkle character throughout the entire show.
17. Andy Bernard
I have very complicated feelings on Andy. On the one hand, he's really funny and he's got some very endearing moments. On the other hand, they make the same mistakes with Andy that they made with both Ryan and Robert California. It feels like they lost what this character was about in the later seasons. He goes from one of the office weirdos to a truly bad boss and unlikable person. And I don't like that. But if you can just scratch out the last two seasons of Andy, he's pretty funny. He's this cocky, weird, annoying idiot with anger issues, but, much like Michael and Dwight, it's clear that he cares for his other co-workers. So I do like Andy. But I wish I loved him.
16. Jan Levinson
Jan is another character that suffers from the same problems as Ryan. She starts off as a relatively straight, normal person and just gets weirder as the show goes on. Here, however, she gets funnier as she gets weirder. Dinner Party is one of the best episodes of the show, and Jan is one of the highlights of that episode. She's also very much like Michael's Roy; she's the perfect example of everything that Michael shouldn't be with. I wish she was written more consistently, but otherwise, Jan is a pretty great character.
15. Erin Hannon
Erin is a character that I do really enjoy, but I do think her shtick gets old as the seasons go on. I like the naive, air-headed character trope. Executed well, that can be really funny, and Ellie Kemper does a great job with that. However, they never really move her character beyond that. She just keeps doing that same thing, and it becomes less funny as time goes on. I also think that her emotional moments don't really work that well, because her character has never really been an emotional center of the show. That said, when she's funny, she's very funny. So I do think, despite her flaws, she's a pretty great character.
14. Karen Filippelli
Karen is one of our few consistently straight characters on the show. I feel like she's what the writers wanted Roy to be. She is actually pretty likable, but it's clear that she doesn't belong with Jim. They manage her dynamic with all of the characters pretty well. She is very similar to Jim but different enough where their relationship just doesn't feel entirely right. I really like the way her character was handled. I think she's pretty cool.
13. Oscar Martinez
Oscar is another straight character (despite being gay), and he really works. Unlike Jim and Pam, however, he almost takes the office seriously, resulting in some very funny moments. He gets constantly frustrated with his colleagues rather than just finding them hilarious, which I just find hilarious. He also has some genuine caring moments, though, and I find that to make him pretty redeeming. His relationship with Angela is one of the most underrated dynamics in the show, because they are so different and so judgmental of each other, yet they both care. Oscar is a very good character, and I always appreciate when he gets an episode highlighting a story of his.
12. Phyllis Vance
Phyllis is another one of the background characters that just make The Office what it is. She's definitely more of a straight character than some of her co-workers, but she has her moments. Phyllis Smith (yes, her real name and character name are the same) does a great job of giving this meek but constantly witty performance. She doesn't really get the big moments, but there are plenty of Phyllis quips that will make you laugh.
11. Darryl Philbin
Darryl is a fun character. He starts as this recurring guest who works in the warehouse, but then he joins the actual Dunder Mifflin office and becomes one of our main characters. The straight characters on the show are the most relatable because they feel like real people, and Darryl is one of the funniest straight characters. The way he observes all the crazy antics in the office is just so fun. I really, really like him.
10. Stanley Hudson
The typical office grouch, Stanley is a great side character. To be honest, he isn't that weird, but he gets so annoyed with everyone else in the office that he plays off as weird. They always play up his grouchiness and his laziness, and, in juxtaposition to everyone else in the office, that can be really funny. I think he would be higher if he were more likable, but as it stands, he's still a great character.
9. Toby Flendersen
Michael Scott's nemesis is the most pathetic character on the show. You kind of feel bad for Toby because he is so weak and is constantly bullied by Michael, but you also find it very fun whenever Michael picks on him. The writers executed this character very well, because he's just such a loser that it doesn't come off as ridiculously mean when Michael just continues to hate on him. Paul Lieberstein is so good at playing this truly pitiful guy, just adding the cherry on top to a great, great loser.
8. Angela Martin
On paper, Angela should be an awful character. She is this rude, unforgiving jerk who judges all of her colleagues and constantly makes backhanded comments at them. However, she has this strange endearing nature to her because of her relationship with Dwight that just makes her great. Yes, she can be a super-b**ch, but she also has this softer side that always brings out the emotions whenever she shows it. She is great.
7. Holly Flax
Holly is the best character who isn't in every season of the show. The writers nailed Michael's love interest. They made her similar enough to him while also giving her a few key differences that just makes their relationship so perfect. She can be incredibly funny, but she's always endearing and likable, regardless of how weird she is. Again, she's not necessarily a standout character, but she's another one that makes the show great.
6. Creed Bratton
Creed is...Creed. He's just so incredibly funny. Out of all of our background office workers, Creed probably gets the fewest moments...but every single one of his moments are just hilarious. He is so mysterious and so strange. All of his scenes are just so incredibly out there, but they work. It almost feels like he was pulled straight from Airplane! and dropped into The Office. He's one of the most consistently funny characters on the show. Just absolutely fantastic.
5. Kevin Malone
As much as I love all of our background characters, none of them, and I mean none of them, are even close to Kevin. He is easily the funniest side character in The Office. Brian Baumgartner just had all of Kevin's timing and mannerisms down perfectly. He is so, so, so hilarious while also having some great, heart-warming moments. He is one of the most lovable and one of the funniest characters on the show. How can you not just die of laughter from watching him drop the chili? It's so funny. He's so great.
4. Jim Halpert
The big four ofThe Office are four of the great TV characters of all time. Jim is just...incredible. John Krasinski's breakout role is a perfect mix of funny and emotional. Jim and Pam are really the audience's perspective in The Office, so they feel very similarly about their co-workers as we do. Jim has fun with the weird antics of the other characters, especially Dwight, but he also cares for everyone in the office. Obviously, his relationship with Pam is one of the best on-screen romances of all time. He can be so funny while also being incredibly compelling, and that's a difficult mixture to pull off...but The Office does it perfectly.
3. Pam Beesly
I will make the argument that Pam is the emotional core of the show. Yes, other characters have heavily involved emotional arcs, but it feels like the audience has the most personal relationship with Pam. She also has the most profound character journey in the show, which definitely makes her stand out from everyone else in the show. I don't think she necessarily has the funniest moments, but she often carries the heart-warming and heart-breaking parts of The Office, which makes her one of my favorites.
2. Dwight Schrute
In any other show, Dwight would be my favorite character without question. As it stands, he is my second favorite. He is so frickin' funny. Rainn Wilson competes with Steve Carell for best performance in this show. Dwight is so weird and so out there, but everything he does is so incredibly funny. And, despite the ridiculousness of his character, we see that he does have this human, emotional side. He cares about Angela. He cares about his co-workers. He cares about Dunder Mifflin. So, while he can be so strange and so out of touch with reality, Dwight is, at the end of the day, a very lovable assistant to the regional manager.
1. Michael Scott
And here we are. My favorite TV character of all time. The Office had the gargantuan task of making this boss, who can be so crass and so offensive and so horrible, likable. And they completed that task with ease. Besides just making you constantly crack up, Michael Scott is perfect because of his unconditional love for everyone he works with. He truly, deeply cares about everyone in the office, even if he has a weird way of showing it. Steve Carell gives one of the best comedic performances ever. Michael is an icon for a reason. He will make you laugh, cry, and warm your heart...everything that a character should be able to do. And that is why he is number one.
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