History Main / RecurringCharacter

A LivingProp or SpearCarrier who appears repeatedly may become a RecurringCharacter.

A LivingProp or SpearCarrier who appears repeatedly may become a RecurringCharacter. If there are so many of these characters any normal episode starts to look like an army, you might have LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters.

If they are popular enough to become a regular, they get a PromotionToOpeningTitles. For a character who starts out as a regular but becomes recurring over time, see CommutingOnABus. For the opposite, a character that starts out as a recurring character but eventually [[EnsembleDarkhorse due to becoming popular with the audience]] gets added into the main cast, you have BreakoutCharacter. If they appear in so many episodes that they get more appearances than even some of the show's regular characters, yet the credits insist on only giving them guest billing, then they'll wind up being a FakeGuestStar.

'''No examples, please.''' Almost every show that isn't a GenreAnthology is going to feature recurring characters in one way or another, and even then, some anthologies can have recurring characters if any of its stories share a setting.

If they are popular enough to become a regular, they get a PromotionToOpeningTitles. For a character who starts out as a regular but becomes recurring over time, see CommutingOnABus. For the opposite, a character that starts out as a recurring character but eventually [[EnsembleDarkhorse due to becoming popular with the audience]] gets added into the main cast, you have BreakoutCharacter. If they appear in most (or all, in some cases) episodes and get more appearances than even some of the show's regular characters yet continue to be recurring, then they'll wind up being a FakeGuestStar.

No examples -- almost every show is going to feature recurring characters in one way or another. (The exceptions would be anthology shows like ''Series/BlackMirror''.)

A character that does not appear in every episode, but is in enough of them to affect the storyline on a regular basis.

No examples -- almost every show is going to feature recurring characters in one way or another. (The exceptions would be AnthologyShow like ''Series/BlackMirror''.

No examples -- almost every show is going to feature recurring characters in one way or another. (The exceptions would be AnthologyShows like ''Series/BlackMirror''.

No examples - every show is going to feature recurring characters in one way or another.

If they are popular enough to become a regular, they get a PromotionToOpeningTitles. For a character who starts out as a regular but becomes recurring over time, see CommutingOnABus. If they appear in most (or all, in some cases) episodes and get more appearances than even some of the show's regular characters yet continue to be recurring, then they'll wind up being a FakeGuestStar.

See also EnsembleDarkhorse, BreakoutCharacter. Compare InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals, RegularCharacter, OneShotCharacter, RecurringExtra.

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!!Examples:

[[AC:{{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]
* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' has a large cast of recurring characters. The only character who shows up in every story is the [=titular=] character. His romantic foil and fiancee Akane shows up in every story except one.
* ''Anime/FullmetalAlchemist'' loathes to use a character just once. If you see anyone, no matter how minor an extra they may be, expect to see them again in a later episode, often in a fairly central role (and often meeting a grisly end, but that's beside the point). TheMovie, of course, took this even further.
* ''Manga/GetBackers'' has a nice habit of switching up which characters appear from arc to arc, meaning that pretty much everyone besides Ban, Ginji, and their 'support staff' at the Honky Tonk is one of these. The most frequently-recurring characters are Himiko, Kazuki, Shido, and Akabane; once they were introduced, at least one of them appeared in every story line, and they all have some kind of connection to the MythArc.
* Jellal from ''Manga/FairyTail'' crosses between this and MalignantPlotTumor.
* If a character shows up once in ''Manga/OnePiece'', they'll show up again. And again. [[ChekhovsBoomerang And again.]]

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* The Deaf Man, in Creator/EdMcBain's ''Literature/EightySeventhPrecinct'' novels.
* ''Literature/HarryPotter'' has so many it's almost hard to count, but they include: Seamus, Dean, Parvati, Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy, Grawp, Charlie, Luna, Professor Binns, Susan Bones, Professor Sprout, Ginny (in the first few books), Mundungus Fletcher, Tonks, Lupin, Trelawney, etc.
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' has loads of them, the most notable probably being CMOT Dibbler (''Discworld/MovingPictures'' is arguably his DayInTheLimelight novel), Foul Ole Ron and the Canting Crew, and the Lancre Morris Men, and recurring wizards who may or may not count as part of "the Faculty" depending on how big it needs to be in a given book. Most recently, any novel calling for a sensible watchman who isn't a main character will probably use Constable "Kipper" Haddock.
* Erek King and Toby Hamee are the main ones in ''{{Literature/Animorphs}}''.
* Melvin Sneedly in ''Literature/CaptainUnderpants''.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* Peter Florrick, played by Chris Noth, on ''Series/TheGoodWife''
* Mac on ''Series/MagnumPI'' is an example of this.
** ''Series/MagnumPI'' had a lot of recurring characters -- Robin Masters (TheVoice), Lt. Tanaka, Icepick, Buck Green, Agatha Chumly, Keoki, etc.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' has many of these characters. Some of the more notable ones are Joyce Summers, Buffy's mother; Faith, a second slayer; and Tara Maclay, Willow's girlfriend.
** Gotta give the shout out to Jonathan and Harmony, if only for being there from the very beginning to the very end.
** On the ''Series/{{Angel}}'' end, Lorne started recurring, then graduated to regular later. Before him was Gunn who appeared in a few first season episodes and became a regular early in season 2.
* Janice on ''{{Friends}}'', who makes an appearance in all but one season.
** Also some of the main characters' families. Particularly the Gellers.
* ''{{Seinfeld}}'' had a few, Newman being the most common.
* Jack Dalton and Penny Parker on ''Series/MacGyver''.
** And who can forget the enigmatic, albeit evil, Murdoc?
** Or Mac's grandfather, Harry Jackson?
** Or the Colton brothers? ... Or perhaps everyone would rather forget them.
** Pete was downgraded to this role in later episodes, probably due to Dana Elcar's unfortunate progressive loss of vision.
* ''Series/{{Mash}}'' had once-per-season appearances from psychiatrist Dr. Sidney Freedman and intelligence agent Col. Flagg.
* Almost all villains in an ActionSeries, especially SuperHero based series, will be recurring. The ensemble of recurring villains is sometimes called a RoguesGallery, after the police term for a collection of known criminals' photographs used to assist in identification. The use of the term to refer to a fictional hero's cast of recurring villains was popularized by ''ComicStrip/DickTracy'' and emulated by ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' among others.
* Miles O'Brien started as a SpearCarrier on ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' (there's still some dispute as to whether Colm Meaney's Season One LivingProp ''was'' O'Brien or just [[YouLookFamiliar looked like him]]), was bumped up to RecurringCharacter, and finally became a main cast member on ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''.
** ''[[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine Deep Space Nine]]'' had a massive list of recurring characters, from Garak (easily one of the best characters in the entire franchise), to the various sinister and not-so-sinister Cardassians, to the Bajoran officials and civilans around the station, to the Dominion villains, to the various Ferengi who made Quark's life Hell.
*** Being set on a space station allowed for plot-convenient run-ins with non-crew that might have seemed contrived on one of the more exploration-oriented series.
** The ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' finale "All Good Things" established that Meaney's battle bridge officer from "Encounter at Farpoint" is indeed Chief O'Brien. Still no word on Meaney's security guard from "Lonely Among Us."
** Also from ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'', we have Q. Appropriately enough, Q appeared in an early first season episode of Deep Space Nine and lamp-shaded O'Brien's move from recurring character to regular cast member.
* ''Series/TheFugitive'' had several of these, the most prominent being the One-Armed Man.
* ''Series/{{House}}'' tends to have one per season for an arc or two: Vogler in season one, Stacy in season two, Tritter in season three, and Lucas in season five.
** Amber could arguably fit this role in series 4.
* Many of the characters who seem to be most central to ''Series/{{Lost}}'''s mythology are recurrers, such as Christian Shephard, Charles Widmore, and Richard Alpert. Thanks to the show's large cast, several prominent recurring characters (among them Ben, Desmond, Ilana, Richard, and Frank) have made the jump to regular.
* ''Series/StargateSG1'' and ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' had quite a few recurring characters mulling about Stargate Command, the Atlantis base, various levels of the US Government, and other planets. Atlantis had, most prominently, Zelenka, who helped [=McKay=] with almost every technological problem on the series. Atlantis and SG-1 both had the various commanders of the Prometheus and the several Daedalus-class battlecruisers (William Ronson, Lionel Pendergast, Steven Caldwell, Abe Ellis, Paul Emerson, Ian Davidson, Col. Chekov). Then there were the commanders of Stargate Command, Generals Hammond, O'Neill, and Landry. Then there were the International Oversight Advisory representatives, chiefly Richard Woolsey. Then there were the doctors, Frasier and Lam at SGC, Beckett and Keller on Atlantis (both of whom got moved to opening credits).
* ''Series/TheOC'' tended to introduce a wave of new characters each season; a couple like Anna or Theresa appeared in later seasons and EnsembleDarkHorse Taylor Townsend actually managed to get a PromotionToOpeningTitles. Most of them only existed for individual arcs and then vanished, often pretty abruptly, [[BrotherChuck never to be mentioned again]].
* ''{{Neighbours}}'' has quite a few, including businesswoman Rosemary Daniels, Janelle's husband Kim Timmins, Mickey's mum Kirsten Gannon, Zeke's girlfriend Taylah Jordan, and Dan's first wife Sam Fitzgerald. Allan Steiger went from SpearCarrier to recurring character.
* ''HomeAndAway'' seems to have more recurring characters than regulars. Some notable ones are evil teacher Angie Russell, gangster brothers Johnny and Rocco Cooper, Jack's wife Sam Holden, Drew's mum Jazz Curtis, and schoolgirl Melody Jones.
* In ''Series/CityOfMen'', [[MsFanservice Power Girl]] appears as a party girl, a drug dealer's girlfriend, and a first conquest...
* ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' has FBI agents Taggart and [=McSweeten=] and Massachusetts State Police officer Bonanno.
** Bonanno's status as a recurring character is justified by the fact that Leverage Inc generally take their evidence to him, so that he can sort things out nice and legally, and make sure that the villain is sent to a deep dark hole to rot.
* On ''{{Casualty}}'', a blonde nurse, only ever referred to as "Cath" or "Kath", who is a semi-regular character (since at least 2008), seems to be popular with the fans, yet never really gets '''any''' storylines (not even a major one). She is never credited in the end credits. More information on this can be found on [[EnsembleDarkhorse/LiveActionTV this page]].
* ''HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'' and ''XenaWarriorPrincess'' both shared the Greek gods (most notably Ares and Aphrodite), Autolycus and Salmoneus. ''HTLJ'' primarily made use of Jason, Morrigan and Alcmene. ''XWP'', meanwhile, had Joxer, Callisto, Meg, Alti, Cyrene, Lila, Ephiny and [[GaiusJuliusCaesar Julius Caesar]].
* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' has built up quite a large contingent of recurring characters over the years: Tobias Fornell, Trent Kort, Mike Franks, Jackson Gibbs, Tony [=DiNozzo=] Sr., Paula Cassidy, Hollis Mann, Abigail Borin, Samantha Ryan, the Directors, and various other agents.
** As did ''Series/{{JAG}}'' too: Caitlin Pike, Thomas Boone, Jason Tiner, Clayton Webb, the [=SecNavs=], Bobbi Latham, Carolyn Imes, Theresa Coulter, Mic Brumby, Victor Galindez, Catherine Gale, and many more.
** Spinoff Series/NCISLosAngeles is an aversion, having very few recurring characters that aren't in the main credits.
* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'', while not necessarily "characters", have had several Hosts that could almost be considered as such. This was highlighted during Tom Hanks' fifth time hosting the show, where his opening monologue included his being inducted in the "5-Timer's Club" with other hosts that hit that milestone, with another such club being referenced, and Creator/SteveMartin making an appearance in a club by himself.
** And just to give an idea - in the earliest days of SNL, Creator/SteveMartin hosted the show so often that people mistakenly thought that he was a full-time cast member.
** You could also consider some of the characters in skits to be recurring characters, even though their actors were regulars. And to go one step further, a few guest hosts have been on so often that they have had recurring characters of their own, like Hanks' Jeff Morrow (Mr. Short Term Memory) and Martin's Georgi Festrunk (one half of the Two Wild and Crazy Guys).
* ''Series/TheRockfordFiles'' had several, including sleazy con man Angel Martin, haples bodyguard Charles Martel, annoying super-detective Lance White, earnest young P.I. Richie Brockleman, and hardass Lieutenant Chapman. Weirdest were the idiot duo of small-time crooks Mickey Long and Ernest Conigliaro, who turned up in two episodes, with the same names, personalities, and actors, but were apparently different people.
* Colonel Richmond turns up repeatedly as a higher-ranking Secret Service agent than the main characters on ''Series/TheWildWildWest''.
* [[Series/MrLucky Mr. Lucky]] has sort-of-steady girlfriend Maggie Shank-Rutherford, as well as FriendOnTheForce Lieutenant Rovacs.
* Angell, Lovato, Peyton and Christine on ''{{CSI NY}}''. Angell was a recurring detective but died, and was replaced by Lovato. Peyton and Christine have been Mac's girlfriends, and Christine's his fiance now. Mac's stepson Reed probably fits too, but to a lesser extend, since he was only seen for two seasons.

[[AC:{{Music}}]]
* Albums of the metal band Zed Yago (Velvet Viper after the namechange) has the eponymous pirate girl as a recurring character.
* Music/RedHotChiliPeppers have the character "Dani". She first appeared in the title track of ''Music/{{Californication}}'', as the "''Teenage bride with a baby inside''" in the second verse. The second time was in "By the Way" off of the album of the same name, and finally in "Dani California", off of ''Music/StadiumArcadium''.

[[AC:VideoGames]]
* ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' has one in the form of Edge, specifically an {{Expy}} of ''VideoGame/RidgeRacer''[='s=] Reiko Nagase (the profile says they're sisters). ''VideoGame/AceCombat2'' had her as an optional wingman, ''VideoGame/AceCombat3Electrosphere'' a cameo as defecting, ''VideoGame/AceCombat04ShatteredSkies'' as a airline pilot caught up in one mission, and ''VideoGame/AceCombat5TheUnsungWar'' as one of the main characters and borderline obsessed love interest. ''VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizon'' has her cameo in cut scenes and kept a CharacterBlog on the game itself, and [[VideoGame/AceCombatAssaultHorizonLegacy the 3DS version]] returns her to the mercenary pilot role, [[NotAsYouKnowThem albeit a less friendly version.]]
* In the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series there is always a character named Cid, but he has many different roles. Everything from an NPC in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIII'', to a playable character in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''. [[spoiler:He's even a boss in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'']].

[[AC:WebAnimation]]
* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'' has ''dozens of'' recurrers, such as Strong Bad lookalike Senor Cardgage, the characters' "1936" (old-timey cartoon) and "20X6" ([[YouGottaHaveBlueHair weird-haired]] anime characters) counterparts, Trogdor the Burninator, Eh! Steve!, Strong Bad's computers and others. Even a poster claiming to have [[TitleDrop "Everybody! Everybody!"]] is actually ''missing'' several characters.

[[AC:{{Webcomics}}]]
* Most minor characters in the webcomic ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan: Oracle for Hire'' tend to recur, by the cartoonist's own admission.
* Many in ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob.'' [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe Princess Voluptua]] is usually listed as part of the main cast, even though she doesn't appear consistently. Other prominent ones include [[TheMenInBlack Agent Ben and Agent Jerry,]] [[DinosaursAreDragons Hibachi the Dragon,]] and alien archcriminal Fructose Riboflavin.
* There are officially only six main characters of ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', but there are dozens of recurring characters, too. While most of the villains qualify (Xykon, Redcloak, Nale, Thog, etc.), the good guys also have O-Chul, Hinjo, Celia, Lord Shojo, Kazumi and Daigo, plus a few recurring gag characters like the lawyers and the flumphs.
* Known mostly for mystery filled story lines and humor, ''Webcomic/SamAndFuzzy'' boasts a unique selection of Recurring characters, Three of the most notable being Skull Panda, Hazel the Thief and Mr. Sin.
* In addition to the 8 main characters and their immediate family and close friends, ''WebComic/ElGoonishShive'', has quite a few recurring characters. Some of them were meant to be {{One Shot Character}}s: the Demonic Duck was created for a LookBehindYou gag and George was created to lampshade a retcon. Both of those characters went on to influence the plot.
* [[TomboyPrincess Yuri Zahard]] and [[MysteriousWaif Hwa Ryun]] from ''Webcomic/TowerOfGod''.

[[AC:WebOriginal]]
* The NewsParody ''[[ElChiguireBipolar Chigüire Bipolar]]'' will bring up the underpaid intern whenever they need someone from the agency to do something (such as holding an interview or time travel), and the poll analyst Erwe Von Esse when they need somebody to speak about statistics.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' are much beloved because of their cast of Springfield characters, from Moe the bartender to the Comic Book Guy.
* The second-string human villains on ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'', while rarely an outright challenge, often pop up to move things along. They even had their own episode in "S.U.V.".
* Jorgen von Strangle is a recurring character in ''WesternAnimation/FairlyOddParents''. Although in later series he was overused and pretty much became a main character. He even had his own episode.
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' has built up a nice supply of these, both as good guys and bad guys -- Jet, Suki, and Sokka's and Katara's father all come to mind, not to mention characters like Admiral Zhao in season one and Combustion Man in season three. [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg Oh, and the cabbage guy.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' has it's own set, such as Tonrak and Senna (Korra's parents), Varrik and Zhu Li, and General Iroh. However, as a result of the show's more compressed storytelling style (four 13 episode seasons vice Avatar's three 26 episode seasons), characters tend to either recur to the point of being nearly main characters during the season in which they're important or be completely obscure during other seasons.
* Monique on ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible''.
* While ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' had many recurring characters, Zapp Brannigan was by far the most prominent.
* Katz from ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'' is the most recurring villain on the show. Le Quack comes in second.
* Bunto, Phaze, Koto, Gates, Bug, Zilla, Cables, the En, Roboto and Ms. Appie in ''WesternAnimation/{{Rollbots}}''.
* Robin (Dick Grayson) in ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' was introduced as a college-age student, allowing the writers to only use him when they needed/wanted to. They did the same with ComicBook/{{Batgirl}}, but slowly began using them more in the second and third seasons (even putting Robin in the second season title).
* A good amount of the ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'' cast, most notably Randall, Cornchip Girl, Menlo, the Ashleys, Miss Grotke, the kindergartners, Lawson, and [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters many more...]]
* There are a number of characters that have made multiple appearances in ''WesternAnimation/PoundPuppies2010''. The most prominent are Rebound, Cupcake, and Patches (AKA the Super Secret Pup Club); dog catcher Lenard [=McLeish=]'s mother and Rebound's human, Agatha; Pound Puppies leader Dolly; and SimilarSquad/occasional rivals, the Happy Valley Shelter Kennel Kittens.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' has LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters, the majority of which are regularly recurring.

** Spinoff Series/NCISLosAngeles is an inversion, having very few recurring characters that aren't in the main credits.

** Spinoff "Series/NCISLosAngeles" is an inversion, having very few recurring characters that aren't in the main credits.

-->-- ''{{Friends}}''

* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'', while not necessarily "characters", have had several Hosts that could almost be considered as such. This was highlighted during Tom Hanks' fifth time hosting the show, where his opening monologue included his being inducted in the "5-Timer's Club" with other hosts that hit that milestone, with another such club being referenced, and SteveMartin making an appearance in a club by himself.
** And just to give an idea - in the earliest days of SNL, SteveMartin hosted the show so often that people mistakenly thought that he was a full-time cast member.

If they are popular enough to become a regular, they get a PromotionToOpeningTitles. For a character who starts out as a regular but becomes recurring over time, see CommutingOnTheBus. If they appear in most (or all, in some cases) episodes and get more appearances than even some of the show's regular characters yet continue to be recurring, then they'll wind up being a FakeGuestStar.

If they are popular enough to become a regular, they get a PromotionToOpeningTitles.

* ''TheRockfordFiles'' had several, including sleazy con man Angel Martin, haples bodyguard Charles Martel, annoying super-detective Lance White, earnest young P.I. Richie Brockleman, and hardass Lieutenant Chapman. Weirdest were the idiot duo of small-time crooks Mickey Long and Ernest Conigliaro, who turned up in two episodes, with the same names, personalities, and actors, but were apparently different people.