BLOGS
Too often, our precious airwaves are filled with children who scream and give us migraines, precocious kids who try too hard to be cute, spoiled rich teenagers and temper-tantrum-throwing brats who make us want to seriously reconsider ever procreating. The majority of the offspring on Parenthood are really not helping this cause, for example. Nor is watching the sociopathic Sally Draper. However, there are a select few kids and teens on scripted shows who give us hope for the next generation. In fact, we'd actually consider spending time with these kids willingly... and that's saying a lot.
10. Cecilia Halpert (The Office)
While we worry that in the future this may change, so far this infant hasn't done anything particularly offensive. It's not her fault that her moron parents don't understand how breast-feeding or baby car seats work. At any rate, odds are she'll be less annoying than Jim and Pam are as a couple... fingers crossed.
9. Stewie (Family Guy)
He might have murderous intentions, but at least he's honest about it. And funny. Funny goes a long way in allowing us tolerate such maliciousness and maliciousness goes a long way in allowing us to tolerate toddlers.
8. Emily Lightman (Lie to Me
Her parents have a strange on-again, off-again relationship, her mom is an assistant to the Attorney General and her dad has the ability to tell if you are ever lying to him. That makes sneaking out with her boyfriend, or hiding just about anything from him, a problem. And while sometimes she does try to slip one past him (she wouldn't be realistic if she didn't) she's pretty well-adjusted and not the whiny teen that she easily could've been.
7. Zach Florrick (The Good Wife)
At first, the kids didn't seem to contribute all that much to this hit show, aside from crying about how their loyalties are torn between their parents. That all changed when Zach stepped up and started trying to track down the people who were blackmailing his dad. Now, he's kinda quietly badass... and we like it.
6. Alex (Modern Family)
While we sort of adore the dimwitted Luke, our favorite junior member of the Dunphy clan is Alex. She's smart, sarcastic and very independent. You just get the impression that she came out of the womb being able to handle everything by herself. That's a quality we admire.
5. Travis (Cougar Town)
It's hard when the teenager has to be the grown-up, but when dealing with his divorced parents (his mom is big on the oversharing and his dad lives on a boat... in a parking lot), he's basically forced to be the mature one. And not only does he charm us with his wit, he deserves some sort of a medal for having to see his mother in all manner of inappropriate situations.
4. Will, Simon, Jay & Neil (The Inbetweeners)
These boys are raunchy, occasionally destroy property, have run-ins with the law and out people's fathers, all of which makes them remarkably entertaining. And although they're gross and treat each other brutally, they still manage to remain friends -- unlike some of the ruthless backstabbing teens we normally see on other shows. These British kids are as painfully real as the Freaks & Geeks, albeit far more disgusting and far less cancelled.
3. Kurt (Glee)
He's adorable, well dressed, musically gifted and plays football -- he's like our dream boy. He's sensitive to his father's needs, can be catty when the situation calls for it, is apologetic if necessary and can bravely take a Slushie to the face and still look damned good while doing it.
2. Alexis (Castle)
She's gorgeous. She's smart. She's funny. And she deftly traverses the treacherous waters of high school and social pressures with aplomb. She's really the perfect young lady, and her interactions with her charming dad and her spunky grandma only make us appreciate her more.
1. Manny (Modern Family)
This tender little soul is hilariously wise beyond his years. So much intelligence and passion for life built into one body, it just breaks our hearts to see him fail at love or suffer the death of a beloved pet turtle. He's a romantic to the core, utterly adorable and if he were a few years older (just so we don't get accused of any creepy behavior), we'd love to hang out with him and have in-depth conversations about anything and everything.
See why Castle is TV's funniest crime procedural.
Watch TWoP's editors discuss the best kids on TV in this segment airing on the New York Nonstop cable news channel:
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You forgot Rose from Better Off Ted. Between Veronica's occasionally advice and Lindsay's oddities, Rose has done some hilariously amazing things. It doesn't hurt that she's precocious in the natural way.
Great number one choice! I love that his name is Manny and he's the seemingly most grown-up person on the entire show.
When I saw the title for this article, I immediately thought of Alexis. She is my favorite tv kid right now. Alex, Manny and Travis are pretty awesome too.
I love Marie on Medium. She is adorable!
How bout Isabelle from "Weeds"? She's an awesome character and a great actress.
Instead of Cecilia I would have picked Lily from Modern Family; she is totally able to pull off the deadpan look almost as well as hayday Jim Halpert.
Manny is the one kid on Modern Family that I DON'T like. The "wise beyond his years" shtick? Old as dirt. He's a walking cliche. I prefer all the Dunphy kids
No love for Dexter's Cody and Astor? Astor in particular is nailing teen angst in a realistic way.
How about Sally from Mad Men?
The kids from The Middle beat all of those choices.
Steve and his crew on American Dad. Hayley's 18 so I'd add her to the pile too.
Isabelle from Weeds seconded.
Alexis, Manny and Travis ftw. The Dunphy's are awesome too.
My heart belongs to Shane Botwin. And Lilly from Modern Family.
I thought this site hated Family Guy. Now Stewie makes the list? Interesting.
Love Alexis on Castle! I want to be like her when I grow up...never mind that I'm 29...
Zach Florrick...yeah, he used to be quietly badass, until we found that he's letting his girlfriend manipulate him and now he's probably gonna get her pregnant. And he's protecting her even though he knows she's been putting up that stuff about his mom. Yeah, that's real cool...protect your mom as long as it doesn't stand in the way of getting nookie from the hot blonde.
Glee Kurt is not well dressed. He's a caricature of what well-dressed should be. He looks like he dresses entirely in Project Runway rejects. Not to mention the fact that he's inexplicably always mean to Rachael even though she's nothing but nice to him.
Also, you left out all the kids on South Park.
I think all the MF kids should belong on this list. Like when they storyline cuts to the kid's stories it's still compelling. I wouldn't mind spending an entire episode following Manny's day at school. Him wooing yet another girl, him blowing the waters in a quasi-philosophical debate, and him calling Luke his nephew would be awesome.
Yeh, where's Eric Cartman? or Maggie Simpson? Most of the animated kids on Fox are tolerable. But Stewie is my favorite.
While I agree that the stuff played with Manny has been done before, it's really never been done better (look at the smart kid on The Middle - some kind of character, but poorly executed). That actor pulls the role off SO well that you totally believe the character.
i appreciate that kids and parenting on tv are starting to be good examples sometimes instead of always bad parenting or convenient writing.
i bet the collective parenting skills go up a little as this continues.
(also like how much less smoking is on network tv now)
I think Shane from Weeds should be on here--going off the rails in a very understated way. Plus, even though it's only been a couple of episodes, Max from Parenthood.
Mark another vote for Mad Men's Sally. That kid is fantastic...although I fear for her adulthood issues.
Yeah, I'll third Sally from Mad Men. Her lsp is adorable!
Kinda shocked that the Inbetweeners got a mention. In a good way. That show's awesome.
I haven't seen most of these, but I love Emily from Lie to Me. The relationship between her and her dad is really well done, and one of my favorite parts of the show
Where is the love for Tracy Jr. on 30 Rock? "I came to see the dumbest cracker in New York! Fix this, Donaghey!"
Oh I totally agree; Sally was one of the best parts of the last season of Mad Men.
Love the fact that you mentioned Jay, Simon, Neil, and Will of "The Inbetweeners". They are my favorite teens on TV. And I also love Kurt from "Glee" and your beautiful description of him was spot-on.
Alas none can compare with Doogie Howser, M.D.
I LOVE Travis from Cougar Town. He's so smart and has a great under-the-radar wit that helps him to stand out in a wonderful cast of comedy actors. Love this show.
So Pam is a moron because she couldn't get the baby to breastfeed the very first time she tried as a new mom? Makes total sense to me.
Zach Florrick is a bit of a weasel. Otherwise, the list is pretty good.
Presuming we are referring to the 20-something cast of Glee as kids though? I'd sub Rachel Berry in. She's hated in the context of the show, and loved outside of it by the viewing audience. She's earnest, a bit stuck up but dead honest about it, generous and greedy in equal parts, and just overall heartbreakingly lovable.
Rose from Better Off Ted and Shane from Weeds seconded - both precocious like smart kids with crazy parents, rather than overcoached child models.
Kristen, I'm soooo glad someone else has pointed out Kurt's need to be an ass to Rachel for no reason. That is the one and only reason that I do no really care much for that character.
Manny would definitely be #1 on my kid's list and would probably be #3 on my favorite characters on all of TV list, right behind Abed & Troy and right before Toby on the Office.
Oh, Elsie, of course Pam is an idiot for not being able to get a newborn to breast-feed. See, you can tell because a "lactation consultant" like the one who worked with Pam is a completely fictional job simply made up for the show to display just what a moron Pam is.
*checks Wikipedia*
Oh, wait ... never mind.
*shifts out of sarcasm mode*
Very very glad you mentioned The Inbetweeners! That show is my guilty pleasure, and the boys are just brilliant! Agree with Kristen and sanen85, Kurt has no need to be quite such an arse towards Rachel, she's done nothing to him!
ITA on the boys of The Inbetweeners! Neil is my favorite, but I love them all. Great show.
"Kristen, I'm soooo glad someone else has pointed out Kurt's need to be an ass to Rachel for no reason."
Not for no reason... Kurt is jealous that Rachel gets romantic attention from Finn and he never will.
The kids on "Men of A Certain Age" are great, finally some believable and non-annoying kids on TV.
Amazingly enough, I am NOT hating little Willy Adama on Caprica. (Given how I reacted to season 4.5, this is remarkable.) Maybe it's because he hangs out so much with his cool gangster uncle, but I'm surprised I don't hate him. (Wouldn't necessarily put him on a top ten list, but I don't hate him.)
I know the show is no longer on the air, but THE most awesome kid: Rory Gilmore!!! The show was good while she still was a kid, so when she was still living with her mum, and not going to Yale.
I like all of the kids on Medium - Ariel, Bridget, and Marie - but Bridget is probably my favorite. Ariel's character is very believable however, and props to the writers for letting her have the usual teenage flaws - testing authority, sneaking out sometimes, etc. while at the same time dealing believably with her sometimes disturbing abilities.
I like the entire family dynamic on that show.
I agree with all the comments about Sally Draper from Mad Men. She's a very believable and adorable little girl. The young actress playing her was amazing in the episode where her grandfather died.
It's no longer on the air, but the four boys from The Wire (S4) were my favourite TV kids characters of all time. They all collectively broke my heart.
Glee's Kurt is currently my favourite TV kid ever since he 'auditioned' for the football with a Beyonce dance routine. Chris Colfer is very impressive for an untrained high school graduate. He and his character deserve the recognition (enough with the sour grapes, Rachel fans).
I'm so glad that you picked Alexis and Kurt to be near the top of the list.
Alexis seems to be the grown up in the household and the relationship with her father is a beautiful thing to watch.
Kurt is my favorite teen on television right now. Even though he's been mostly in the background of Glee - when he's brought to the front Chris Colfer shines. He's been impressive every time and he is someone I would love to hang around.
Geez Louise! Sally Draper is not just my favorite kid on TV, she's one of my favorite characters.
Or they just think Kurt would be a better choice if he wasn't always pissy to Rachel. I like Kurt and Rachel but towards the end he went from funny to a little sad. Chris Colfer does a good job I just hope in the back 9 he goes back to funny more and leaves Rachel alone. He should find someone else to crap on, like someone who is against you.
...Rachel is a selfish egomaniac who takes every opportunity to martyr herself, yet simultaneously gobble up all the solos.
Why are we bagging on Kurt for being mean to her?
I cannot STAND Alex from Modern Family, the whole "I'm too clever for my age" has been done repeatedly throughout the years and it has been done MUCH better - Carol Seaver from Growing Pains, Alex P Keaton from Family Ties, etc. Luke and Manny are by FAR the only watchable kids on Modern Family, I roll my eyes every time Alex gets screen time
AMEN TO THAT! I agree 110%. Rachel is an oboxious brat.
How about all of the kids from Modern Family plus Travis from Cougar Town. ABC makes my Wednesday nights feel great.
And he may not count, because he's from an alternate universe and has been on one episode, but you gotta give David Shepherd (Jack's side-timeline kid from Lost) some credit for making Jack seem less like a A-hole.
Ditto on what Night Nymph said. The Medium kids have the best family dynamic on tv these days, bar none. Ariel and Bridget nail it, both as individuals and with their older sister-younger sister vibe. So reminds me of my two oldest daughters. Marie is like my third daughter - coasting on being the baby, and not having to compete.
Yeah, everyone would have us believe that she's an obnoxious brat who gobbles up the solos, but there's really little evidence of that. Yes, she's confident (very very), and yes, she wants to be the star, but she never takes solos that belong to someone else (not since early in the season, anyway). Schue gives them to her, and she was happy to let Mercedes do the Sectionals solo, and she really appreaciates the talent of the other Glee kids. For all her faults, she has a great heart and she recognizes her flaws and tries her very best to be nice. Kurt and Mercedes, on the other hand, are just mean. How about Mercedes yelling at Puck for wanting to be the father to his child or the rest of the Glee kids conspiring to keep that secret from Finn? Whack.
Anyway, Rachel's not my favorite (so you can can the "sour grapes" comment, whoever it was who said that). My favorite is Puck. :)
At least no one's fighting me on the fact that Kurt dresses horribly. Everyone knows that's true. ;)
The tone of your post was sour whoever you're a fan of. And if you're a Puck fan it's ironic that you're complaining about other characters being mean.
I don't agree Kurt or Mercedes are "just mean". The last time we saw these characters they were telling Rachel she was "the best singer" and "their star" and encouraging her to take the Sectionals solo. So forgive me if I don't see Rachel as that hard done by.
Kurt wears clothes made by the world's top fashion designers. If you don't think high fashion is fashionable, fine. But Vogue would disagree with you.
Ew, that kid from Cougar Town has a nauseating voice and is always smirking in the exact same way.
Where's the amazing Marshall from US of Tara?!? Best gay kid ever on TV -- unlike Kurt (whom I love -- GLEE is a totally different style), Marshmallow is painfully relatable.
Totally agree. Brick is my life.
Yeah, that line pissed me off too. I thought Pam's difficulty with breastfeeding was actually the first time I've seen it handled at all realistically on a tv show.
Marshall aka Moosh from United States of Tara is a great character.
I am just happy this list didn't include Lux from "Life Unexpected". She's "Juno" minus the the baby, wit and original thought. Cute girl with an unfortunate dull character.
Okay, Here's the problem. Rose from Better Off Ted, Emily Lightman from Lie to Me, and Alexis Castle from Castle are all cut from basically the same cloth, so having more than one of them on the list tends to raise hackles. Alexis tends to be the best adjusted, the most fun, and the most interesting, so I'd pick her for the list and put her (probably) at #2. It's the same reason if you made a list of TV married couples with best chemistry and your tastes ran that way, you wouldn't have Allison and Joe from Medium and Jim and Melinda from Ghost Whisperer on the same list--it's two spins on very similar characters and the Medium pair work much better (at least in my opinion). The CW did their best to sell Lux as an abandoned Rory Gilmore (who because of the abandonment had a bit of bite) but I'm through even trying to buy that. The DuBois children are all alternately charming and annoying. Marie is mostly just cute, Bridget has gone from the adorable/naive clown to an awkward prepubescence and Ariel has grown up in an interesting way, putting aside the shrill whininess that made her annoying for the first season and a half.
Justin from Ugly Betty is great.
Is she a moron for having a hard time with breastfeeding? Of course not. But accidentally breastfeeding the wrong baby? Yeah, that's pretty stupid.
Same here. I'm glad Alexis and Emily Lightman were on this list. They're definitely two of the best teen actresses on TV right now.
The episode where Alexis helps out with the filing at the police station proves that teenage girls don't have to play mopey and clingy characters to be successful actresses.
Manny, Stewie, Kurt and Jim and Pam's baby are my favorites from this list. Manny is possibly one of the perfect tv kids ever!
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I love Modern Family. Originally I just watched it because Sofia Vergara is hot. I didn't think the show would be good, but it is really funny. The immature dad and the gay couple really make it hilarious!
yeah, all 3 kids from The Middle are pretty good; they should all be on the list
seriously, Julie Taylor, Friday Night Lights. I would have gone with Saracen, but Julie is more recently in high school. and Cecilia Halpert? really? you're just taking a spot away from characters who have had more than five minutes of screen time. and I'm pretty sure the accidental other baby was on screen more than Cecilia
this is a cool article, and i love the positivity! we should all look for the good traits in one another, always! one love.. and i like the votes above for Shane Botwin and Isabelle from weeds :o) peace!
Surprised you counted Kurt on this, but very happy! I love Glee- Kurt has been my favorite since day one, he's just so hilarious and adorkable :D
Great list...I'm a big fan of Travis from Cougar Town & Manny from Modern Family!
where the hell is zoe from caprica on this list
Meh. I loved Arrested Development, but George Michael was an annoying whinepot. I just kept screaming, "Stop bitching and hook up with your damned cousin already!" at the television. :)
Pretty good list!it's great that Manny tops the list!He's my favorite kid ever.I love him.He's so adorable.Modern Family show is really very good and funny to watch.
celebtoast
What about all the kids in Friday Night Lights? I know they're not played by kids, but they do play kids, or at least teenagers... Matt Saracen at the very least is every parent's dream.
If we're talking actual kids on TV, Michael Angarano in "Cover Me" many years ago is still my favourite. He was about ten and he was easily the best actor on the show. (Okay that's not saying MUCH, but still.)
Meh. I loved Arrested Development, but George Michael was an annoying whinepot. I just kept screaming, "Stop bitching and hook up with your damned cousin already!" at the television. :)
Twop 10 kids and teens on tv t.. Slap-up :)
Twop 10 kids and teens on tv t.. Dandy :)
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