20 TV characters who would have made awesome dads

Everyone on Friends wound up having a kid at some point, whether for themselves or as a surrogate — all except Joey Tribbiani. A kid wouldn’t have made sense for him at the time, as he was a swinging single bachelor with a sporadic acting career, but there’s no doubt to any Friends fanatic that Joey would’ve been a fun character to watch handle parenting.

Beloved by 99.9% of those who tuned into Criminal Minds, Spencer Reid would have been adorable as a father figure.

Well, he, um, he had a kid on the way, but um…things just didn’t work out for Glenn on The Walking Dead, and for those that don’t know why, congrats on avoiding one of the biggest heartbreaks in modern-day television.

Fans of House would argue that Dr. Wilson was a dad as he had to constantly keep his best friend, Dr. House, out of trouble. However, Wilson never did have any children of his own, and in the end, likely never could as the series wrapped with a terminal diagnosis for him.

Modern Family quickly became the sitcom for ABC in 2009, and at that time, the world was introduced to Manny Delgado. He was 10 going on 45 with his Charlie Harper ensembles, love of the finer things in life, and overall maturity. And while the series bid farewell 11 seasons later with Manny being a full-fledged adult, it would’ve been out of character for Manny to have a child at that time. If the series ever wanted to make a comeback and focus on Manny and the other kids who grew up on the show, that’d be the perfect time for fans to finally see him embody the cool dad ways of his bio dad, Javier, and the traditional fatherly ways of his stepdad, Jay.

Leonard and Penny were the couple at the center of The Big Bang Theory when it premiered in 2007, and while the show went on to have a couple of more important pairings, fans were forever invested in how the OG relationship of the show would pan out. They did marry, but there was a back-and-forth over having kids. In the finale, fans learned Penny was pregnant, but with the show ending, those same fans never got to see how Leonard as a dad would’ve panned out. Would he have let the torment of his mother rock his parenting style? That remains a mystery.  

The Hickey brothers weren’t always the best people, but through Earl’s karma venture, both eventually bettered themselves. Earl had a kid, but there’s no doubt that Randy would’ve been one of the most caring dads to ever grace the small screen.

In a perfect world, The Righteous Gemstones would’ve run for at least a decade, with Kelvin and Keefe eventually starting their own family. They would’ve definitely kept up with the Kardashians, and given their kids all names that start with “K” too.

Noah Wyle just gives “best dad” vibes, but sadly, his character on ER, Dr. John Carter, lost his chance at being a father in a moment that will forever rock fans of the medical drama.

Given that Will Smith had such a tumultuous relationship with his own father, but then realized what fatherhood meant thanks to watching his Uncle Phil, Smith would’ve likely been an amazing dad who respected fatherhood and the responsibilities that came with it.

Sam Malone should have been used in contraceptive commercials because, as much as he got around Boston (and beyond), in 11 seasons, he never once had a child. A pregnancy for Sam would’ve been a hilarious way to cap the bar-set series.

Michael Scott left Scranton, PA, before The Office ended, but his appearance in the series finale still makes fans teary-eyed. In the finale, he does mention having kids. It’s just a shame fans never got to see him and Holly in parent mode. He would’ve been a fun dad, but also the king of bad dad jokes.

A real-life scandal led to the final season of Martin being awkward with the titular character and his onscreen beau, Gina, never really interacting anymore. Had things panned out differently, adding a baby to Martin and Gina’s lives would’ve only added another layer of comedy to the already hilarious sitcom.

Degrassi: The Next Generation never failed to “go there” as their infamous tagline said, so when one of their most goody-two-shoes characters wound up pregnant, it was a shocker. Liberty and J.T. Yorke were set to be teen parents, but eventually decided adoption was the route they needed to take. Eventually, the pair was set to reunite, and perhaps might’ve had kids in the future, but J.T. was taken out by a student from a rival school. Leaving Degrassi fans absolutely devastated.

Throughout Frasier’s 11-season run, Niles Crane was a father on screen twice. Once, he got attached to a bag of flour in an experiment to see if he could handle parenting, and then at the end of the series. Unfortunately, the baby being born at the curtain call means his fatherly ways were never explored fully. Fans who tuned into the Frasier reboot on Paramount+ were hopeful to see Niles as a dad in the present day, but only his now-grown son appeared on the show.

Omar Little remains one of the best-written characters of all time. With so many layers to his being, it would’ve been interesting to see him as a father as well in some capacity.

Teddy is already a great family friend to the Belchers, but has proven to be not-so-great with love. Hopefully, before Bob’s Burgers closes shop, Teddy will have a wife and kids.

Daya and John Bennett’s relationship was a driving force for early fans of Orange is the New Black, but the correctional officer left those same fans in their feels when he opted to just run away from the inmate he knocked up, and their child. This left people wondering just how the show would’ve panned out had he stayed.

Jason Mendoza, the sweetest himbo in the afterlife, couldn’t have ever been a dad because he was, well, deceased, and in love with a robot. However, if there was a possibility he and Janet could’ve had kids, it would’ve been awesome to see.

Imagine watching an older Alex P. Keaton raise a house full of kids who were just like his hippy parents.