10 Beloved TV Show Characters Who Only Appeared In 1 Season

Summary

• Great TV characters can make a lasting impression in just one season, leaving fans wanting more.
• Villains or supporting characters can shine and enrich a show’s world with a single memorable season.
• Characters like The Priest in “Fleabag” or Wilf in “Doctor Who” quickly become fan favorites in just one season.

Great TV characters don’t always need a lot of time to leave their mark, and they can feel like they’ve been part of a show for much longer than they actually have been. One season is plenty of time for a character to create a lasting impression, especially if the writers and the actor are on the same page. Sometimes, leaving fans wanting more makes a character even more popular.

Characters of all different types can shine in just one season. Often, it can be a villain who provides a temporary challenge, but it can also be a character who drops into a show to reveal more about the main characters. Some of the best TV shows of all time, including Breaking Bad and Mad Men, have had outstanding single-season characters who have helped create a more vivid and complex picture of the world.

10 The Priest

Played by Andrew Scott in Fleabag Season 2

After a groundbreaking first season which set a new standard for quirky, introspective sitcoms, Fleabag managed to create a second season which was just as popular. Key to the success of this second season was the addition of Irish actor Andrew Scott, who plays the Priest. The Priest, also known as “Hot Priest” for obvious reasons, is the ultimate forbidden fruit for Fleabag.

After a groundbreaking first season which set a new standard for quirky, introspective sitcoms,
Fleabag
managed to create a second season which was just as popular.

The Priest is the first character other than Fleabag’s sister Claire who seems to actually understand her. However, there are times when he seems to know her even better than she knows herself. When Fleabag aims a look at the audience, the Priest is able to break the fourth wall and sense that she is off somewhere else in a world of fantasy that shields her from her real-world choices. He’s also key to Fleabag‘s emotional ending, as he forces Fleabag into some uncomfortable self-reflection.

9 David Schwimmer

Played by David Schwimmer in Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 4

David Schwimmer is one of countless guest stars on Curb Your Enthusiasm who play a self-deprecating role, but he does plenty to stand out during season 4. Schwimmer is brought in to star alongside Larry in a new production of The Producers, and it doesn’t take long for him to tire of Larry’s antics. What’s interesting about Schwimmer’s self-parody in Curb is that he and Larry actually have a lot in common.

What’s interesting about Schwimmer’s self-parody in
Curb
is that he and Larry actually have a lot in common.

The Friends star has two of Larry’s most obnoxious traits: his combative personality and his unwillingness to let things go. First, Schwimmer dismisses Larry’s ideas about nut-based snacks, and he also ropes the entire production into his own delusional drama about his missing watch. Schwimmer’s willingness to be the butt of the joke contributes to season 4 being one of the best seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

8 Alexei Volkoff

Played by Timothy Dalton in Chuck Season 4

Former James Bond Timothy Dalton was one of Chuck‘s best guest stars, but unlike Mark Hamill and Christopher Lloyd, he stuck around for long enough to have a real impact on the show. Chuck always treated its fans to cameos from big names. Dalton was much more than that, and he took to the role of Alexei Volkoff with complete commitment, making him one of the show’s best villains.

He is supremely menacing throughout season 4, both when he’s face-to-face with Team Bartowski or when he’s pulling the strings from behind the scenes.

Dalton seems to enjoy playing the slimy arms dealer. He is supremely menacing throughout season 4, both when he’s face-to-face with Team Bartowski or when he’s pulling the strings from behind the scenes. Later, Volkoff’s big twist allows Dalton to play a completely different type of character, but he handles this just as easily. Very few of Chuck‘s many illustrious guest stars lived up to their reputation quite like Dalton.

7 Jenna

Played by Beanie Feldstein in What We Do In The Shadows Season 1

Beanie Feldstein soon outgrew her role in What We Do In the Shadows, but Jenna had the potential to be one of the show’s most interesting supporting characters. Jenna is originally brought into the household by Guillermo as a sacrifice for the vampires. However, rather than being ripped to shreds like most house guests, Jenna gets turned into a vampire, and she begins her slow transformation.

Beanie Feldstein soon outgrew her role in
What We Do In the Shadows,
but Jenna had the potential to be one of the show’s most interesting supporting characters.

As a baby vampire, Jenna provides a different kind of story to the centuries-old stars of the show. This is most evident in her endearing relationship with Nadja, as they teach one another in different ways. She also brings the best out of Guillermo in season one, as he sees someone else living his lifelong dream of becoming a vampire, even though Jenna never wanted or asked for it. There’s still a slim chance Jenna could return in the final season of What We Do In the Shadows. It would be interesting to see how she has grown into the vampire lifestyle.

6 Denholm Reynholm

Played by Chris Morris in The IT Crowd Season 1

The first season of British sitcom The IT Crowd starts with the blustering business executive Denholm Reynholm leading the boardroom. Chris Morris is one of Britain’s finest satirists, and he makes Denholm a caricature of the self-serious business world. He only values profits and his own massive ego, which makes him the perfect counterpoint to the humble losers in the IT department.

Denholm signed off in the most spectacular way possible, with an unforgettable death scene as the ultimate punch line to his ridiculous lifestyle.

Matt Berry takes over from Morris in season 2 as a different kind of CEO who’s just as stupid and entitled, but a little less convinced of his own unique brilliance. Denholm is such a powerful comedic presence in season 1 that it’s impressive the show managed to sustain itself in any way after Morris left the show. Denholm signed off in the most spectacular way possible, with an unforgettable death scene as the ultimate punch line to his ridiculous lifestyle.

5 Zava

Played by Maximilian Osinski in Ted Lasso Season 3

Zava is one of several Ted Lasso characters based on real soccer players. Just like his real-life inspiration, Zlatan Ibrahimović, he is a mercurial striker with an arrogant streak who nevertheless backs up his talk with results. Ted is the only person in the world of professional soccer who has never heard of him when he becomes available for a transfer at the start of season 3. Zava immediately becomes Richmond’s best player.

Zava’s entire character is a great in-joke for any soccer fans who know Ibrahimović, but his role is hugely important in the story.

Zava’s entire character is a great in-joke for any soccer fans who know Ibrahimović, but his role is hugely important in the story. His ludicrous arrogance emboldens Ted to redouble his efforts to creating a collective philosophy for the team. AFC Richmond’s tactical shift away from relying on a superstar to embracing total football is representative of the team’s growth. Zava casts a long shadow, even though his meditation and his giant avocados seem like inconsequential distractions at first.

4 Todd Alquist

Played by Jesse Plemons in Breaking Bad Season 5

Following the death of Gus Fring, Breaking Bad desperately needed a villain who could be just as captivating. Jesse Plemons’ Todd Alquist is a different prospect, but he’s just as cold-blooded when he needs to be. He initially comes across as charming and agreeable, but he shows his true colors in one of the show’s most shocking moments as he dispassionately shoots a child who witnesses the train robbery.

The most chilling aspect of Todd’s character is that, unlike some other sociopathic villains in the show, his nice-guy personality is not some phony facade.

The most chilling aspect of Todd’s character is that, unlike some other sociopathic villains in the show, his nice-guy personality is not some phony facade. Even while he is threatening or torturing people, he still has the same attitude, as if he is simply doing any other job. He doesn’t distinguish between right and wrong, and he doesn’t care if his actions cause suffering to other people.

3 Faye Miller

Played by Cara Buono in Mad Men Season 4

Don Draper never really finds the perfect woman for him. He wants more freedom and fun when he’s with Betty, and he wants more control and respect when he’s with Megan. Between these two marriages, he strikes up a relationship with Faye that reveals a lot about his character. This is a more equitable relationship than he’s used to, as she first meets him at work. Don rejects Faye’s social psychology, but he still finds her fascinating.

Faye is intelligent and driven, but she still compromises her integrity for Don.

Cara Buono delivers an exceptional performance as Faye. In just a few episodes, she lays bare the character’s conflict between her career goals and her deeply-held need for male validation. This is the confused state of Mad Men‘s representation of feminism in the early 1960s, where women want to break free from their domestic shackles, but find it hard to unlearn the aspirations of motherhood that society has drilled into them. Faye is intelligent and driven, but she still compromises her integrity for Don.

2 Madelyn Stillwell

Played by Elisabeth Shue in The Boys Season 1

As The Boys has developed over the years, Homelander has become more violent and less tethered to the world of humans. This change never would have begun without Madelyn Stillwell. Vought’s leader of Hero Management is more than just Homelander’s boss, she’s also a stern but loving mother figure to him. She finds out the hard way that she is playing with fire. Homelander’s strangely tender murder of her is still one of the show’s most shocking deaths.

Vought’s leader of Hero Management is more than just Homelander’s boss, she’s also a stern but loving mother figure to him.

As opposed to the frantic energy of Ashley, Madelyn goes about her business with the minimum of fuss. She exerts a much more composed style of power, much like Stan Edgar. So far, she and Stormfront have been the only characters able to exploit Homelander’s insatiable need for approval and affection, especially from women. Madelyn ultimately had to be cast aside to drive Homelander further toward his dark side, but she left a lasting imprint on The Boys.

1 Wilfred Mott

Played by Bernard Cribbins in Doctor Who Season 4

Thanks to Bernard Cribbins’ heartwarming performance, Wilfred “Wilf” Mott quickly became a fan-favorite character in the fourth season of Doctor Who‘s reboot. Donna Noble’s grandfather is kind and charming, even when faced with a Dalek invasion or the prospect of his beloved granddaughter being whisked across the universe on dangerous adventures.

Thanks to Bernard Cribbins’ heartwarming performance, Wilfred “Wilf” Mott quickly became a fan-favorite character in the fourth season of
Doctor Who
‘s reboot.

Over the course of season 4, Wilf develops from mere comic relief into so much more. His outstanding moment comes in “The End of Time,” in which he gets to spend some time as the Doctor’s companion before tragedy strikes. Cribbins gets to show that he’s also a superb dramatic actor, as Wilf quietly contemplates his death before the Doctor sacrifices himself to save him. It’s the perfect end for the Tenth Doctor, and it shows how important and beloved Wilf became in just one season.