5 TV Characters Who Were Intended For Brief Arcs But Became Fan Favorites

Like people, television characters are all different. Some are created to be protagonists but fail to earn the audience's love, often resulting in show cancellation or major cast changes.

Others are given only a few minutes of secondary storyline and still manage to attract a small army of fans. This is usually due to the brilliant performances of the actors who play these characters. Here are seven examples to prove it.

Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer)

Cheers (1982-1993)

Frasier is the prime example of this phenomenon. He was introduced in Cheers Season 3 as a rebound for Diane Chambers and was only supposed to appear in a few episodes. But he ended up becoming a recurring character, starring for eight more seasons and then getting 11 seasons in a hugely successful solo spinoff titled after him, which recently returned 20 years later. Behold the power of Kelsey Grammer's line delivery and audience love.

Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal)

Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

Oberyn only had 29 minutes of screen time in Season 4 of Game of Thrones. But it was enough to make him one of the show's most popular characters. If you see a fan top without Oberyn's name on it, it must be fake. Unfortunately, the end of Oberyn's arc made it impossible for Pedro Pascal to return in later seasons. But he was probably okay with that, because the role made him a star and the ultimate dilf of modern pop culture. You could even say that after this performance, his career burst with success and headed for the eye-popping heights of stardom.

Steve Harrington (Joe Keery)

Stranger Things (2016-present)

The Duffer Brothers said in an interview that Steve was originally going to be killed off in the first few episodes of Stranger Things, and viewers wouldn't regret it because he was an antagonistic character. But when Keery entered the picture, the creators fell in love with his fresh take on the jock stereotype and gave him a more nuanced arc, which ultimately became a fan favorite and helped Steve stick around until the very last season.

Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus)

The Walking Dead (2010-2022)

Daryl wasn't even a part of the original Walking Dead graphic novels. The role of the hotheaded hunter was written specifically for Norman Reedus as a recurring cast member whose exit could occur in any episode. However, Daryl quickly grew on viewers and was promoted to series regular, replacing Rick Grimes as the protagonist for the past three seasons and getting his own spinoff, which premiered last year.

Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul)

Breaking Bad (2008-2013)

Did you know that Jesse Pinkman was supposed to serve as Walter White's first moral conundrum by being murdered at the end of Breaking Bad Season 1? Yes, series creator Vince Gilligan said as much in one of his interviews. But Aaron Paul's performance convinced the showrunner to give Jesse a much bigger role, and his character development remains one of the best in television history.