Top 11 TV Show Cast Late Additions (Main or Recurring Cast Added After Season 1)

By CJ Tiernan

When you watch the Pilot episode of a TV Show, you get to see the foundation. You are given some sense of who the players are and where the story is headed. However, many shows have their characters evolve and grow as the show goes on. This leads to the need for new characters. Anytime a TV Show can introduce a new member into the established cast in a manner that is additive is impressive. It requires great writing to establish a need for the character and great casting to bring in someone who can mesh with the preexisting cast and crew. Below is my Top 11 List for the best characters that I've ever seen added to a TV Show after season 1 that either become series regulars are at least get a character arc that lasts more than 1 season.

1. Parks and Recreation - Ben Wyatt & Chris Traeger (Adam Scott & Rob Lowe)

First Appearance: S2E23 - The Master Plan

This is easily my favorite add to the series regulars of any TV Show. Not only do they bring in both the love interest for Leslie Knope and Anne Perkins (you have to say it how Rob Lowe says it in the show. I don't make the rules, you just have to), but you also get addition by subtraction by removing the aggressively milquetoast Mark Brendanawicz. Endless comedy is milked from the addition of these two characters and they help the existing characters grow and develop further. It is a win-win of the highest magnitude.

2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Spike (James Marsters)

First Appearance: S2E3 - School Hard

"Buffy" ran for 7 seasons, surviving the switch from The WB (remember the frog in the top hat?) to UPN and spawning a spin-off that ran for 5 seasons of its own (Angel). From jump street, this show was awesome and codified elements of the American vernacular still used today. Adding Spike (a Billy Idol look-alike who canonically claimed that Billy stole his look) lead to not only some great Slayer v. Vampire showdowns, but also created one of the most complex characters ever. He operates as a tortured soul regardless of whether or not he actually has one. Spike also has my favorite song in the musical episode "Once More with Feeling."

3. Supernatural - Castiel (Misha Collins)

First Appearance: S4E1 - Lazarus Rising

Now, Supernatural ran for 15 seasons so they probably were going to have to add a character or two along the way to continue soldiering on (although they did establish a routine pretty early on of killing and then bringing back characters with regularity). "Cass" was my favorite addition. For those not in the know, Castiel is an angel. He brought Dean back from Hell and then kinda becomes friends with Sam and Dean Winchester. The character helps bring some levity and humor to the show because he isn't an all-knowing being and doesn't handle his existence on Earth with maximum proficiency. Misha's portrayal is top-notch.

4. Bones - Lance Sweets (John Francis Daley)

First Appearance: S3E4 - The Secret in the Soil

Dr. Sweets is a shrink that shows up to observe the relationship of Booth and Bones. Neither initially hold him in high esteem, perceiving him as too young and disrespecting his profession, respectively. However, they grow to become something of a dysfunctional family. Sweets appearance lends itself to a great deal of humor and, over time, also draws out more personality from other members at the Jeffersonian. Spoiler Alert: When they killed him off at the beginning of season 10, it was a shocking and jarring moment that I wasn't expecting. Plus, we all love John Francis Daley. He burst on the scene as a kid in "Freaks and Geeks" and has since gone on to co-write and direct several great movies (like Game Night and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves).

5. Psych - Woody (Kurt Fuller)

First Appearance: S4E7 - High Top Fade Out

Woody is the coroner and, as the show goes on, he becomes not only a friend/acquaintance of the main cast but also a crazy person. His eccentricities perfectly match the humor of the show and of the main character Shawn. "The Woodman" is also a member of the crew during the best episode of the entire series, the Hangover-esque "Last Night Gus." Psych is my favorite show of all time. You tend to be precious of a show when you love it this much and so it can be difficult to add a character for more than a small arc. However, they essentially added a second Shawn, an absolute wild-card. Kurt Fuller is fantastic in the role and was justifiably included in the movies as well (as of now, they've had 3 movies since the show ended).

6. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Frank Reynolds (Danny DeVito)

First Appearance: S2E1 - Charlie Gets Crippled

A rich man who willfully abandons the spoils of high-society in favor of debauchery and squalor is a unique take on a character. Rather than the more standard rags to riches story, we see a man who is riches to rags. On purpose! I love it. Danny DeVito fell in love with the show after the first season and wanted in. The cast (who also created the show and write the episodes) said heck yeah when given the option to bring him on and the rest, as they say, is history. Watching the relationship between Charlie and Frank, which seems so much more wholesome than the one he has with his kids, Dennis and Dee, is wonderful.

7. Breaking Bad - Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk)

First Appearance: S2E8 - Better Call Saul

Obviously this was a pretty good add to the old rolodex. Not only was this character a ton of fun, he earned a critically-acclaimed spin-off that ran for 6 seasons. If we've learned anything from movies and TV, it's that bad guys need lawyers. Saul Goodman doesn't always seem to have all the answers, but he seems to have contacts to be able to pull off all sorts of different criminal-underground shenanigans. Bob Odenkirk's work on both shows is phenomenal and worthy of praise, especially for a guy who started in sketch comedy.

8. Stranger Things - Robin Buckley (Maya Hawke)

First Appearance: S3E1 - Suzie, Do You Copy?

One member of the Scoops Ahoy gang, Robin is instantly endearing. Someone who can mess with Steve is worth the price of admission. While it can be difficult to add characters to a show that already has so much going on with its different characters, this add was a blast. Stranger Things is one of the greatest TV Shows I've ever seen. It is so fun and immersive and the setting in the '80s bears endless fruit. Adding Robin, and an entire mall, to the equation in season 3 elevated the show.

9. Veep - Richard Splett (Sam Richardson)

First Appearance: S3E1 - Some New Beginnings

Saraa.kom, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Richard Splett is one of the weirdest and funniest TV Show characters of all time. Sam Richardson offers such a straight-faced, understated approach to ridiculous line after ridiculous line. Oh man, to be someone on set that got to watch that would have been fun. He must have been cracking up the cast non-stop. He plays a volunteer during the titular character's campaign for presidency. Here is a link to a supercut of just his great moments in the show. Please enjoy when you need a moment of sanity.

10. Breaking Bad - Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito)

First Appearance: S2E11

This is the second of 3 characters added in 3 different episodes of season 2 of Breaking Bad on my list. Good show. Giancarlo Esposito plays this role with such delightful restraint. His character is just really cautious in his endeavor to be a criminal and watching his strategy juxtaposed against Walter White's approach is fascinating. It becomes clear early on that their partnership is going to end in a blaze of glory. I love how every character that is added to the show has the potential to both help and hurt Walt. He needs them and doesn't want to need them and that Catch-22 drives him nuts and frustrates his sense of control. It is a perfect character add.

11. Breaking Bad - Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks)

First Appearance: S2E13 - ABQ

Jonathan Banks has the perfect face. He has kind of Droopy Dog-esque jowls that showcase so much wear and experience right on his face. He can convey a message without saying a word. It is such a delightful and underrated performance. From his beginning to his end, he is captivating. He also taught me the concept of half-measure and full measure. This is a character that feels essential to your criminal enterprise and yet he also feels so real. This addition was a wonderful accent to one of the most perfect shows of all time (salute to show creator Vince Gilligan).

Final Thoughts

TV Shows are living things. As the seasons go on, the world of the show and the characters within it evolve and grow and learn. It leads to the need for new characters. Some of these new characters can become some of our favorite characters in the show. When that happens, you just have to show some respect to the runners of the show that they were wiling to take a risk and shake up what's working to help the show grow and evolve. I've seen a lot of shows over the years and these are my faves in the ones that I've seen. If you have a favorite character that was added late to a show that I didn't include, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!