Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
This Thanksgiving, we’ll all settle down for a meticulously cooked, perfectly seasoned, liberally basted, succulently browned turkey for dinner. And, just like every year, the best part of our Thanksgiving meal will still be the sides. Sorry, turkey, but you’re just not sweet potatoes.
Similarly, no matter how much we love the lead characters on TV, we will always save our greatest affection for our favorite side dishes: the sidekicks who are there to support the leads. In 2016, a dozen sidekicks made themselves the most invaluable to our favorite TV shows. Some of them were around for every episode, others showed up just once. Their common bond: just like sweet potatoes, they shined in small portions.
Lindsay (Kether Donohue) is ultimately too selfish to be a proper sidekick to Gretchen. Lindsay is ultimately too selfish to do a lot of things, really. But within the You're the Worst universe, Lindsay is a valuable counterpart to Gretchen. When Gretchen's pain is too real, Lindsay's antics are surreal. She teeters on the edge of being too unbelievable at times -- mostly the times when she's stabbing her husband in the back -- but by the end of every season, Lindsay bas pulled out a moment of true poignancy and emotion.
[Where To Stream You're the Worst]
We should say upfront that Jimmy doesn't deserve Edgar (Desmin Borges) as a sidekick. Jimmy is preening, sarcastic, and gleefully mean to Edgar, and Edgar deserves better. That said, for as long as Edgar does stick around, he's a peerless sidekick. For his making-breakfast game alone! And in You're the Worst's thrd season, Edgar got to step up and take the forefront in an episode of his own. The best sidekicks can stand on their own when called upon, and this season, Edgar proved that he can.
[Where To Stream You're the Worst]
Ser Davos's entire personality is wrapped up in the notion of being a sidekick. With Stannis Baratheon, Davos was the loyal Onion Knight, standing by his one true king even after Stannis had his fingertips chopped off. Even after Stannis started listening to Melisandre and acting really mean to Davos. After Stannis kicked the bucket, did Davos finally take the lead? Nope! As a good and loyal professional sidekick, Ser Davos gravitated to the next One True King, Jon Snow. Here's hoping Jon knows what a loyal second-in-command he has. If Jon ever does take that Iron Throne, Davos would be an ideal Hand of the King.
[Where To Stream Game of Thrones]
If Ser Davos Seaworth was born to be the perfect sidekick in Westeros, then Gary Walsh (Tony Hale) was born to be the perfect sidekick here in America. Or at least the lunatic mirror-America where Selina Meyer's presidential administration could bumble and grimace their way through the White House. Gary is the ultimate toady, catering to Selina's every need, absorbing all her insults, fetching every snack. It's tough to say whether or not Gary is good at his job; we'll never have anyone else to compare him to, because Gary would lay himself down on train tracks before he'd allow anyone else to assume his spot at Selina's side.
[Where To Stream Veep]
So is Mel the sidekick to Sue? Or is Sue the sidekick to Mel? It's the great mystery of our time, the dynamic between Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins. All we know is that in tandem, these two ladies manage to be the Frick and Frack of genial British baking competitions, gently encouraging the bakers while silently devising some of the best/worst food puns in all the British Isles.
[Where To Stream The Great British Bake Off]
Teddy (voiced by Larry Murphy) is the perfect sidekick for Bob and Linda Belcher. He's always around, for one thing; bellied-up to the counter at Bob's burger joint, cheerful of disposition, always more than ready to tumble down whatever rabbit hole the Belchers have in front of them. Teddy can sometimes behave like an overgrown toddler; other times he provides an unexpected voice of reason. Mostly, he's just an endless font of delightfully strange responses and affable loyalty, two great qualities in a sidekick.
[Where To Stream Bob's Burgers]
You'd never have predicted it based on Eddie's lonely first days in his new Orlando school, but Eddie has a pretty great crew now that Fresh Off the Boat is in its third season. Make no mistake: it is a supremely nerdy crew, but that's what we love about it. Eddie can be a pretty abrasive character when he wants to be, so having a crew of lovable dorks standing by him has been a nice tonal contrast. Plus, they really do make a great crew, sticking up for each other, bantering during their free time, and supporting Eddie in his various schemes. Props, then, to Walter, Trent, Dave, Brian, and Doug for being the best that Orlando has to offer.
[Where To Stream Fresh Off the Boat]
Trevor (Tom Lenk) only showed up for one episode, the third season finale of Transparent. But he proved himself to be an invaluable and humane sidekick for Shelly (Judith Light). As "the gay who came with my room," Trevor's talents as a pianist helped bring Shelly's one-woman show To Shell and Back to life, and in the waning moments of the season, as Shelly sang a tender and emotional rendition of "Hand in My Pocket," Trevor was right there, backing her up.
[Where To Stream Transparent]
Amazon has only aired the pilot episode of this latest version of The Tick, but this version has been the best yet at fleshing out the character of Arthur (Griffin Newman), the bespectacled sidekick of the big blue weirdo. Arthur's tragic backstory gives him a strong motivation to fight the crime that The Tick is able to thwart with ease. Arthur has to work harder at it, though. He needs his brains and his plans and his walls full of sketches and clippings. He's going to be the brains behind the Tick's brawn, and that should make them a pretty great team when The Tick premieres its full season.
[Where To Stream The Tick]
Melissa McCarthy will likely be back only briefly in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, but it'll be enough for Sookie to re-assert herself as the best sidekick in Stars Hollow. With Lorelai apt to spin off into her own tornado of caffeine and pop-culture references, Sookie managed to hold it down in the kitchen. Her kitchen is her kingdom, and when Lorelai steps into that kingdom, she's apt to get the best advice she gets in a given week. Sookie's essential to keeping Lorelai on track, which is the mark of a great sidekick.
[Where To Stream Gilmore Girls]
In all the excitement for the return of Gilmore Girls, we've gotten psyched for Lorelai and Luke, for Rory and her cadre of crappy boyfriends, and most especially for Emily. But what of the Gilmore sidekicks?? Remember how Rory went off to college and left Lane (Keiko Agena) behind in Stars Hollow to star in her own isolated subplot about her band and Zach and babies. Lane was such a great sidekick for Rory in her high-school days! Hopefully the revived series will remember that.
[Where To Stream Gilmore Girls]
When Rory went to Yale and so cruelly left Lane behind, the job of her sidekick immediately transferred to Paris (Lza Weil), the sour-faced former enemy of Rory. Old enemies often make great sidekicks, though, and while Paris was always far more set on her own path to ever truly play backing vocals to Rory's mumbly solos, she was often enough a sounding board and partner in crime to be truly valuable to Rory.
[Where To Stream Gilmore Girls]
