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The Huang Family
Eddie Huang
Played By: Hudson Yang
The Narrator of the show, an 11-year-old American-born-Taiwanese kid who is into hip-hop, and trying to fit in when his parents move from Washington, DC to Orlando, FL.
- Age Lift: The real Eddie Huang was born on March 1, 1982. The character was born on November 10, 1983, making him almost two years younger. It's unclear why the character was aged down, although perhaps the tender age of actor Hudson Yang (who was only 10 when they shot the pilot, and whose character turning 12 was filmed before he actually did) might have been a factor.
- Author Avatar: ... by merit of being the author as a kid.
- Berserk Button: Absolutely hates being mistaken for Japanese.
- Broken Pedestal: When he sees his older cousin again, whom he idolized for introducing him to hip-hop, he's horrified to find out he's become into grunge and is basically a proto-emo.
- Decoy Protagonist: He's the narrator, and the book the series is based on was written by the real life Eddie Huang. However, the series itself is just as much, if not more, about his parents. He's made out to be the main character of the first season, but starting in Season 2 the rest of his family get more screen time.
- I Just Want to Have Friends: Eddie wants to fit in with everyone else at school, down to getting "White people lunch."
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Generally acts like a bit of a standoffish slacker, but this is more due to his own frustrations and fears over not being accepted than any genuine malice on his part.
- Likes Older Women: Eddie is convinced that being seen with an attractive, mature woman will win him respect among his peers. He tries to put the moves on his neighbor's young wife before finally meeting her teenage stepdaughter, who seems to hate his guts at first glance but who is at least closer to his age.
- Precocious Crush: On Honey, and then on Nicole. He likes 'em older.
- Pretty Fly for a White Guy: Well, "Pretty Fly For An Asian Guy." His cousin got him super into hiphop, and he wants that lifestyle.
- Supreme Chef: In an obvious nod to the Real Life person he is based on, Eddie is consistently shown to be an excellent chef. In the series finale, he applies to culinary school, and after a Time Skip is shown to be a successful restaurateur (skipping the time the real Eddie Huang spent as a lawyer and fashion designer).
- Your Mom: Tries this on one of the kids who bullies him. It backfires.Trent: Dude, are those nurse's shoes?Eddie: Yeah, they're your mom's.Trent: My mom does happen to be a nurse, and she helps sick people get better!
Jessica Huang
Played By: Constance Wu
Chinese name: Chu Tsai Hsia
Eddie's overbearing mother. Speaks with a distinct accent, and often gets her way through sheer volume and bossiness.
- Adaptational Heroism: In comparison to the original memoir, at least. Her real life counterpart was basically the TV character up to eleven, to the extent that had she not been toned down, the show likely would have been attacked for perpetuating the Asian Tiger Mom stereotype.
- Bad Liar: Is a compulsive liar, but is not very good at it.
- Celeb Crush: She has a thing for Denzel Washington.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: In "Keep 'em Separated," she is quite jealous of Louis's friendship with a woman at a pool hall.
- Comfort Food: Her go-to snack when dealing with stress and anxiety of taking the realtor's exam is a chip-wich.
- Deadpan Snarker: One heck of one.Jessica: (seeing her sons playing basketball) Looks like we're going for academic scholarships.
- Education Mama: When Eddie, who was an average student (at best) in DC, gets straight A's (and Emery and Evan get... whatever those stickers are supposed to represent), she demands to know where the nearest CLC (Chinese Language Center) is. When the principal informs her that there isn't one, she starts homeschooling them for three hours a day.
- Gaydar: Her complete lack of one is a running gag. Even when a pair of gay men refer to themselves as a couple, she didn't get it. Hell, one of her usual hangouts is a lesbian bar. (The staff and patrons of said bar seem to have taken Jessica in as their "pet heterosexual", so to speak, and are very protective of her.)
- Greed: Forces her family to live a less than middle-class lifestyle to save money, made Louis cut down on cheap items like napkins and croutons for his restaurant, tampered with a Thanksgiving raffle by taking out the winning ticket herself (but losing anyways) and as a realtor Jessica discriminated against her potential customers if she suspects they can't afford the house she's selling.
- Improbable Aiming Skills: She's shown that when she throws something at someone, she never misses. The first season involved her beaning a dine and dasher with an onion. Season 2 involves her beaning one of the boys who was gonna egg her real estate property with an egg...in the dark!
- Inscrutable Oriental: Plays this trope the straightest, especially in her interactions with the neighborhood women.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Overbearing, overly strict, and occasionally rude... but also deeply caring for her family and desperate to ensure her kids have a future.
- Last Het Romance: For Oscar. With the twist that she doesn't even realize it, as she had no idea the utterly Camp Gay Oscar was gay, even in the present.
- Malicious Misnaming: She renames people or organizations that she doesn't like the name of with a name she thinks is better. It borders on Accidental Misnaming because after her initial renaming, she seems to have genuinely forgotten that she even did it, and thinks her new names are better.
- Mama Bear: Do NOT threaten her son for defending himself after being called a racial slur or abandon him at a concert venue.
- Never My Fault: Refuses to apologize to Eddie after smothering him with a Hello Kitty plushie, only because she believes he at least should be grateful she even gave birth to him.
- Not Even Bothering with the Accent: When she sings. Justified considering the fact that while singing a song in an accent that is foreign, people can sound remarkably like a native speaker.
- Only Sane Man: Usually this when with the other housewives in her neighbourhood.Jessica: You think I like pretending Samantha isn’t carrying a bag of dog poops in her hand? No, I don’t like this. We ALL see the poop that is rolling around!
- Psychopathic Manchild: She's truculent, selfish and very greedy. She's forced a pregnant Honey to go on a long trip to find Stephen King (the latter getting a restraining order against Jessica for stalking him) and stole Eddie's bed when he refused to do his homework.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The hot-tempered and aggressive red oni to her more laid-back husband's blue.
- Selective Obliviousness: Jessica is very oblivious to tell-tale signs that someone is gay.
- The Scrooge: Both she and her sister are all about being cheap, especially since their mother's an even bigger skinflint than both of them and it's the only way to get her attention. For example, not turning the AC on in the middle of a heatwave.
- In "The Big 1-2," it's revealed Jessica used the same pinata for birthday parties since Eddie was 2-years old.
- Well Done, Daughter Girl: As above, she and her sister constantly vie for their mother's attention.
Louis Huang
Played By: Randall Park
Eddie's father. It's his dream to open a restaurant, and moved to Orlando to do so. His optimism and niceness contrasts his wife's cynicism and rudeness.
- Adaptational Heroism: The real Louis was an abusive parent. TV Louis is a typical kindhearted Bumbling Dad.
- Benevolent Boss: He believes happy employees lead to happy customers.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Not afraid to steal from his competitors to help his business.
- Bumbling Dad: Averted. While a bit goofy and definitely embarrassing, Louis is generally competent, understanding and helpful when dealing with his kids.
- Chick Magnet: Was apparently the most sought after guy in college, but his own Oblivious to Love nature stopped him from realizing this. Jessica is disappointed to learn the it was her, not him, who hooked up with the school hottie.
- Closet Key: He's the one who made Oscar realize he was gay.
- Closer to Earth: Much less pushy and overbearing than his wife.
- Cutting Corners: He's notoriously cheap, though that has a lot to do with his being a struggling business owner.
- Henpecked Husband: Jessica really wears the pants in the relationship. Jessica means well, but she can be a bit overbearing, even at his place of work where she is technically not employed. Though this does not mean Louis lets her control his restaurant and food however she wants, Louis has kicked her out of the restaurant and even banned her from helping him in the chili cook-off. Louis also does correct Jessica's rude behavior at times such as when Jessica kept constantly hurting Honey in "We Done Son".
- Nice Guy: Always friendly and kind to his family and employees. Eddie even says that everyone thought he was the nicest guy in Orlando.
- Not Even Bothering with the Accent: Louis Huang is supposed to be a first-generation Taiwanese-American, but in the show, his actor, Randall Park, attempts at an Asian accent briefly before ignoring it completely.
- Not So Above It All: He's just as superstitious as Jessica is, despite denying it.
- Oblivious to Love: Louis never gets the hint whenever people are flirting with him. Jessica claims that his "love-dar" is broken and that it took her six kayak trips with him for him to understand she likes him.
- Only Sane Man: While his efforts to promote his restaurant get extreme at times, he's generally the most reasonable and competent person around at any given moment.
- The Pollyanna: His naivety and blind trust in others frequently gets him in trouble.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The generally more calm and clear-headed blue oni to his wife's domineering red.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: He's a bit naive, and overly optimistic both about the future, the present, and other people. One of the first things we learn from Eddie is that his dad has "bought into the American dream". His optimism is contrasted with Jessica's cynicism and distrust of the people around her.
Emery Huang
Played By: Forrest Wheeler
The middle child, Emery is fitting in the best of all the Huangs.
- The Ace: Hilariously, the most skilled, well-adjusted, and socially successful member of the family is Emery, a grade schooler.
- Apologetic Attacker: In "Michael Chang Fever," he always shouts "Sorry" when he aces an opponent.
- Asian and Nerdy: Shown to be really bright, and happy to do schoolwork.
- Camp Straight: Very feminine but also a Chick Magnet.
- Chick Magnet: He's shown to be very popular with his female classmates in the early seasons, but this stops when he turns 12 and has a "bad luck year". Post-puberty he is much less successful with girls, and shifts his focus to his hobbies and plans for the future.
- Keet: Infinitely cheerful and the most outgoing of the Huang siblings.
- Kid A Nova: Unlike Eddie, Emery instantly becomes popular with classmates, to the point where he brings two girls as his dates to the neighborhood block party. In "Family Business Trip," he has an autograph table dedicated to signing girls' yearbooks.
- Middle Child Syndrome: Averted early on, when Emery is well-socialized, popular, and the most pleasant and agreeable of the three Huang brothers. But played increasingly straight as the show goes on; after he hits puberty he gradually becomes more sullen and socially awkward to the point that, by the final season, most of his plots focus on his attempts to fit in and find out what he wants to do with his life, and his parents are usually dissatisfied with his attempts to do so.
- Mistaken for Gay: When busted for watching movies with buff men, Louis's choice of words heavily implied this.
- Mr. Fanservice: Somehow turn into this in later seasons, giving him more scenes that involved him in tight shirts, sleeveless, or just plain shirtless. Eventually culminates in an episode in the final season where he got a job to be a shirtless male model covered in slick oil to attract customers.
- Rage Breaking Point: Hits one in "Jessica Place" after Eddie cheats at a breath-holding contest between the two of them. Louis explains that Emery tends to hold back on anything bothering him before unleashing any anger.
- Those Two Guys: In the first season, Emery and Evan usually share scenes. The only time they don't is usually a gag about how Emery has a new girlfriend. They grow out of it later on when Emery ages and acts more like Eddie.
Evan Huang
Played By: Ian Chen
Chinese name: Chih Fu
The youngest child in the Huang household.
- Adorably Precocious Child: He's clearly wise beyond his years. To the point where he regularly hangs out with the neighborhood women and they listen to his suggestions. He even runs the Home Owners' Association. He even applies to Harvard at the age of 12.
- Ambiguously Gay: He's very stereotypically feminine and campy and gets along with the other housewives much better than Jessica does.
- Averted come the final season, when Evan hits puberty and starts showing interest in girls.
- Asian and Nerdy: Even more than Emery, he really enjoys his schoolwork, and seems to be more naturally brilliant and innovative than his two older brothers.
- Enfant Terrible: Briefly during Science Fair week when he infected Emery with his chicken-pox so he wouldn't win first prize.
- Like Mother Like Son: In "Doing It Right", Evan temporarily absorbs his mother's personality by becoming bossy and aggressive towards his friend Jay Jay due to all these years of being pushed around by everyone in his family from his grandmother to Eddie.
- Momma's Boy: His studious, A-grabbing personality fits to Jessica's model for her ideal child and is usually the one kissing up to her.Evan: (to Jessica) Your discipline is the only reward I need!
- The Reliable One: The parents often rely on him to get the inside knowledge on the neighborhood. In one instance, he even mentions that his parents rely on him before being dragged out of a store.
- Teacher's Pet: Even (especially) when their mom is the teacher.
- Those Two Guys: Emery and Evan usually share scenes in the first season. They grow out of it by the second season.
- Why Couldn't You Be Different?: Jessica and Louis reference a couple of times that they wanted Evan to be a girl. Though Evan does act very girly.
Grandma Huang
Played By: Lucille Soong
Full English name: Jenny Huang
Louis' mother, she lives in the same house as the rest of the Huangs. She's a big fan of Garfield.
- The Ace: If there's a game that involves some form of gambling, Grandma has mastered it.
- Agony of the Feet: Wheelchair-bound because she had her feet, uh... bound. Played for laughs, of course.
- Bilingual Dialogue: In earlier seasons she only speaks Mandarin, but others in her family talk to her in English and she seems to understand. She even speaks Mandarin to the white characters, who sometimes understand (Marvin spent time in Macau) and are sometimes hopelessly lost (poor Honey, who shares several scenes with Jenny). In later seasons, she starts taking English classes, and puts in a real effort to start speaking English even at home with her family. In season 6 she speaks English almost exclusively.
- Cloud Cuckoo Lander: She's a little out there. For one thing, she believes that OJ Simpson is free and his lookalike is on trial. She also thought that Eddie's football phone was a hatching egg, and she stole a potted plant from a bank (and tried to get the pens, too).
- Cool Old Lady: Happily embraces being used as a prop for Eddie's pimpwalk entrances by holding his boombox and playing them when he comes in.
- Hidden Depths: At least in Jessica's eyes. Grandma Huang has an extremely active social life that every other character knew about.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Her grandsons learn this the hard way during an afternoon of poker with her.
- Parents as People: As an older woman, she has her quirks, but her intervention of Louis' behavior in one episode implies that she's fully aware that whatever way her husband treated Louis shouldn't be a reference of how Louis should treat Eddie.
Cattleman Ranch staff
Mitch
Played By: Paul Scheer
A host hired for Louis' steakhouse in the first episode.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Stops appearing after the show's third season. A Flash Back later reveals that this is because he and Nancy decided to run off together.
- The Face: Of Louis' steakhouse. He was hired to be the host because Louis (rightfully) suspected people would be more comfortable dealing with a white guy. Like many of Louis' business decisions it's still quite misguided, as Mitch isn't terribly charismatic.
- The Klutz: Once squirted lime juice into both of his eyes at the same time.Mitch: Oh God! The limes! They've turned on their handler!
- Nice Guy: Very affable, and incredibly loyal to Louis.
- Office Romance: Slept with Nancy at some point. He brings it up at times that's utterly irrelevant.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: When Golden Saddle offered him double his pay, he suddenly became a jerkass to Louis.
Nancy
Played By: Jillian Armenante
A waitress at Cattleman's Ranch.
- Cannot Tell a Lie: When putting up a front to convince Louis' brother-in-law everything is fine, she's the one who breaks the facade. And when she does, she cheerily points out that she still did way better than anyone could expect her to.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Stops appearing after the show's third season. A Flash Back later reveals that this is because she and Mitch decided to run off together.
- Good Is Dumb: She's probably nicer than Mitch, but she seems pretty much incapable of thinking on her own.
- Office Romance: Slept with Mitch. She regrets it.
The Neighborhood
Honey Ellis
Played by: Chelsey Crisp
The Huang's next-door neighbor, and Jessica's first and closest friend in Orlando.
- Adoptive Peer Parent: By merit of being a step-mother.
- All the Other Reindeer: The rest of the women in the neighborhood hate her for being so young and pretty... and for being the other woman when Marvin was still married to his first (technically second) wife.
- Butt-Monkey: At times, especially when she gets taken advantage of by Nicole or Jessica.
- Happily Married: There is never any doubt that Honey really does love Marvin, and their marriage remains a functional one throughout the show's run (though there are a few disagreements).
- Male Gaze: As the resident Ms. Fanservice, she gets a lot of it.
- May–December Romance: She's considerably younger (at least 32 years) than her husband, played by Ray Wise. Louis thought she was his daughter at first.
- Ms. Fanservice: Skimpiest dresser in the show, and most women don't want their husbands to even be around her because of it. Scenes have included putting lotion on, and her jogging while wearing a sports bra.
- Nice Girl: She genuinely has Jessica's back and Jessica even considers her family.
- So Beautiful, It's a Curse: Her youth and beauty are the cause of a lot of her problems from the neighbourhood wives excluding her to Eddie mistaking her for a stripper.
- Token White: She's the most prominent Caucasian character in the show.
- Trophy Wife: Marvin's young, blonde wife.
- Where da White Women At?: Honey often mentions that, before Marvin, she'd only ever dated black guys.
Marvin Ellis, D.D.S.
Played by: Ray Wise
The Huang's next-door neighbor, dentist, and eventual best friend to Louis.
- Born in the Wrong Century: Frequently espouses viewpoints that are offensive and dated relative to the era the series is set in. To viewers watching 20+ years later, he comes off as an absolute dinosaur.
- Dad the Veteran: Marvin is a Navy veteran and frequently waxes nostalgic about his time at sea.
- Depraved Dentist: Subverted! He's actually one of the most pleasant and jovial characters on the show. His worst crime is indulging in too much gossip on the job.
- Happily Married: Marvin adores his wife and their marriage is always shown to be a happy one. Their only real tiff - over whether or not to have more children - blew over in the space of one episode.
- Innocent Bigot: One of the most likeable characters on the show, despite his dated views on women and other social issues.
- May–December Romance: He is the December to Honey's May. He was older than his previous wife Sarah as well (Ray Wise has almost 15 years on Heather Locklear, who played her in a guest appearance) but not by nearly as much.
- The Nicknamer: Louis is always "Lou", Jessica is always "Jess", and his wife Honey is addressed by all kinds of pet names.
Nicole Ellis
Played By: Luna Blaise
Honey's teenaged step-daughter, she's Eddie's neighbor and crush.
- Bratty Teenage Daughter: She's a mild delinquent, and refers to her step-mother as "slut" in lieu of her name or "mom."
- Daddy's Girl: In contrast to how she treats her step-mother, she is sweet and bubbly to her daddy.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: She didn't even give Eddie the time of day initially, but very gradually is warming up to him. She even refers to him as a "friend" at the end of "Family Business Trip."
- Establishing Character Moment: She struts into the scene, swats a ball thrown by a kid playing a game, does an odd little booty dance, and calls her step-mother "slut." Clearly Eddie's battle for her affection will be an uphill one.
- Lipstick Lesbian: Realizes that she is lesbian in Season 4.
- Odd Friendship: It takes a couple years, but once Eddie gets over his crush on her and she mellows a bit, she and Eddie become very close.
- Pet the Dog: Her occasional sympathetic actions towards Eddie, starting with a simple "hey" on the bus.
- In "Miracle on Dead Street", she and her friend aid Jessica in scaring off the teenage boys who threatened to egg Jessica's investment house.
- Precocious Crush: She's the object of Eddie's affection despite being considerably older than him. (Two years being "considerably" older to a middle schooler.)
- Put on a Bus: Leaves in the fifth season premiere after her baby half-sister is born to live with her mother and give her dad and stepmom space to raise their new daughter. (Actually left because Luna Blaise was cast in a starring role on Manifest.) One of the few departed characters to get a proper exit storyline.
Deirdre
Played by: Rachel Cannon
The head of the neighborhood Homeowners' Association.
- Alpha Bitch: A rare adult example. Rules the HOA with an iron fist and dominates the other women in the neighborhood except for Jessica (who would never let anyone dominate her) and Honey (because of their longtime vendetta).
- Book Ends: Along with Walter and Hector (the cook at the restaurant), she is one of three minor characters who appears in both the series premiere and the series finale.
- Innocently Insensitive: Most of the white characters are like this to some degree but she's probably the most pronounced, in a very '90s "socially aware" fake and condescending kind of way.
Eddie's friends and classmates
Walter Stone
Played By: Prophet Bolden
The black kid at Eddie's school.
- Acting Your Intellectual Age: He's basically a grumpy old man in a kid's body.
- Book Ends: One of three minor characters (Dierdre and Hector, the cook at the restaurant, are the others) to appear in both the series premiere and the series finale.
- Catchphrase: "This school/cafeteria is ridiculous," which occasionally is borrowed by others.
- Commonality Connection: Eventually bonds with Eddie over Beastie Boys.
- Defeat Equals Friendship: It takes a while, but he apparently harbors no ill-will towards Eddie for beating him up.
- Intergenerational Friendship: His best friend is 40 years old. Jessica and Louis think this is weird.
- N-Word Privileges: Apparently has them, as he didn't get in any trouble for calling Eddie a "chink."
- Only One Name: Subverted when all of Eddie's friends' last names are read out at once on the field trip in "Gotta Be Me" - "Huang, Masterson, Stone, Selby, Pugh" - and by process of elimination, we know Dave's last name to be Selby and Trent's last name to be Masterson, and Trent is surprised to learn Brian's last name is Pugh. Therefore, Walter's last name must be Stone.
- Out of Focus:
- Walter gets much more attention as an antagonist to Eddie in season 1 than he does as part of Eddie's crew from season 2 onward.
- Like all of Eddie's friends except for Trent, he is pretty scarce in the last couple seasons, appearing only four times in season 5 and just twice in season 6.
- Token Minority: Was this until Eddie came around. He's ecstatic there's someone lower on the pecking order now.
Brock
Played by: Brady Tutton
A kid in Eddie's school who constantly clashes with him.
- Alpha Bitch: A Rare Male Example. He seems to lead the clique that Eddie tries to join. It's almost parodied, as though Brock ticks of all the standard Jerk Jock Big Man on Campus criteria, his friend group is made up of socially awkward losers.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Brock makes his final appearance in the second season premiere, after which he is never seen again without any explanation for his absence.
- For the Evulz: Really doesn't have much of a reason for being mean to Eddie or excluding him.
- Jerkass: More or less mean for the sake of being mean.
- Spoiled Brat: His parents keep buying him expensive things, and he's not afraid to flaunt it to his classmates. He tries to win the Student Council Presidency by bringing in a Street Fighter II cabinet.
"Barefoot Dave" Selby
Played by: Evan Hannemann
One of Eddie's neighbors, and a member of his crew. In early seasons he is considered Eddie's best friend.
- But Not Too White: When Dave is on the basketball team, his old-fashioned basketball shorts expose so much pasty thigh that it reflects the light and blinds his opponents on the court.
- Crack Defeat: In the Shaq Fu episode, Dave's mom gets him a game based off the fifteen-year-old film 9 to 5. It winds up being way better than Shaq Fu, despite the fact that everyone expected that Dave's game would be awful.
- Disappeared Dad: His dad walked out on him, which distresses him to no end. Many jokes are made about it.
- Embarrassing Nickname: Barefoot Dave. Never actually used by anyone in-series; as an apparent production in-joke, several characters were listed by embarrassing nicknames in the end credits during season 1 (for example, "Bed-Wetter Doug"), but Dave was the only one who survived the first season. However, Evan Hannemann was credited "as Barefoot Dave" throughout.
- Hilariously Abusive Childhood: Jokes about his Disappeared Dad make up the majority of his screentime. His mother is very hands-off and Dave is basically raising himself. This becomes a plot point in a later episode when Louis realizes that Dave has no real authority figures in his life and tries to take Dave under his wing.
- Out of Focus: Dave doesn't show up much in the last couple seasons, appearing in five episodes in season 5 and just two in season 6. (By contrast he appeared in more than half the episodes in seasons 2 and 3.)
Trent Masterson
Played by: Trevor Larcom
A member of Eddie's crew (though initially part of Brock's crew, the only character to "switch sides"). The two grow closer in later seasons and Trent is usually reckoned as Eddie's best friend. He starts working as a host at Cattleman's Ranch in the fifth season.
- But Not Too White: It comes with being a ginger (although, this being The '90s, nobody calls him that). The "whitest condiment", mayonnaise, is also a personal favorite.
- Hidden Depths: A proud member of the Rhythm Nation.
- Limited Wardrobe: In the early seasons, he is seldom seen without his Cleveland Browns sports jacket. In Orlando.
- Number Two: To Louis at Cattleman's Ranch. Impressive considering he's only a high school student. In the Grand Finale he's shown to have become this to Eddie in his career as a restaurateur as well.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: For reasons unexplained, Brian seems to get on his nerves; most of their interactions are Trent yelling at him for some perceived slight.
Brian Dunlop/Pugh
Played by: Dash Williams
The smallest member of Eddie's crew.
- Hormone-Addled Teenager: For comic effect, the smallest member of Eddie's crew is also the randiest.
- Only One Name: Subverted. Weirdly, he has two different last names, each mentioned exactly once.
- In the season one episode "So Chineez", Trent refers to Brian by his full name, Brian Dunlop.
- In "Gotta Be Me", Trent (again) is surprised to learn that Brian's last name is Pugh, though he doesn't remark that this is because he thought it was Dunlop. (In response, Brian remarks "How long have we been friends?")
- Out of Focus: Even by the standards of Eddie's other friends, Brian makes few appearances in the last couple seasons, showing up only three times in season 5 and just twice in season 6. This is partly because Dash Williams was cast in another show (Perpetual Grace, LTD).
- Plucky Comic Relief: Brian basically exists to set up and/or deliver punchlines; unlike Dave, Trent, and Walter, he is never relied upon to carry dramatic plots.
- Tiny Schoolboy: All the other boys in the crew are at least a head taller than Brian. Ironically, he's the oldest of them (he was held back a year) and is the first to get his driver's license.
Phillip Goldstein
Played By: Albert Tsai
The other Asian kid in the school, he was adopted by a Jewish family.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: He seems really nice at first, but promptly reveals himself as a Jerkass to Eddie.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Disappears after season 2, due to actor unavailability (Tsai was cast in Dr. Ken, and then in Coop & Cami Ask the World).
- Happily Adopted: The Goldsteins love him very much and he reciprocates.
- Jewish and Nerdy: He’s almost as devout to musical theatre as he is to Judaism.
- Twofer Token Minority: He’s both Asian and Jewish.
- Why Are You Not My Son?: When Jessica meets him for the first time, she can’t stop berating Eddie for not being more like him.
- Yiddish as a Second Language: Purportedly spoke Yiddish to his mother, except it was just bad German for "Have you seen my...?"
Alison Olsen
Played By: Isabella Alexander
Eddie's first girlfriend.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Abruptly disappears after season 4.
- Informed Judaism: Informs Eddie - after they have already broken up - that she is Jewish.
- Odd Friendship: With Evan. The two had agreed they would remain friends even if she and Eddie broke up.
