One of Hollywood’s oldest in-jokes is that you should never work with children or animals. This is partly because they can be unpredictable, but also because some can be so cute they steal every scene they are in. Many of the most iconic TV pets of all time do exactly that, and it is hard to imagine their respective shows without them, while great dog movies are almost a genre of their own.
Dogs have a special role, being essential family members in some of the best TV sitcoms ever made, and surprisingly versatile as characters. Dogs appear in TV shows of just about every genre and style, including animation and live action, from comedy to sci-fi, with personalities ranging from adorably silly to more intelligent than their human co-stars.
Cheddar – Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Captain Holt’s adored corgi, Cheddar, is hilarious, despite having no dialogue. He is central to some of Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s infamous Halloween heists, and smart enough to carry out heists of his own, like eating a wedding cake, upstaging Jake and Amy on their wedding day. Observant fans pointed out that Cheddar only ate the safe parts for dogs, leaving the chocolate untouched.
Cheddar was mischievous, shredding Holt’s expensive turtlenecks, stealing the all-important NYPD plaques, and commanding every scene he was in, and this was only possible due to his actor. Cheddar was played by Stewart, the Pembrokeshire Welsh Corgi, who learned several new tricks for the show, including running through air vents, with trainer Michael W. Miliotti telling Entertainment Weekly that Stewart was just as food-motivated as his character.
Blue – Blue’s Clues
It has been pointed out that most generations have a defining blue TV dog that teaches life lessons, from Huckleberry Hound to Bluey. Blue of Blue’s Clues defined the 1990s and early 2000s, before a well-received 2019 revival. The show takes the form of a fun detective adventure, with Blue leaving clues in the form of paw prints so that her owners and viewers can discover what she wants to do for the day.
Blue’s Clues won eight consecutive Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award.
The show breaks the fourth wall, encouraging viewers to talk back to the screen, which was a formula that had never been done in this way for a children’s show. Blue’s Clues’ main actor had a hilarious reaction to the premise, telling People Magazine that he felt it could be too strange, comparing it to “The Rocky Horror Children’s Show.” However, it worked, becoming Nickelodeon’s most popular pre-school program, with parents and educators praising the format and its canine star, who could communicate a lot without words.
Scooby-Doo – Scooby-Doo!
Like most canine characters on TV, the perpetually-terrified Great Dane does not speak intelligibly, but conveys a lot through his own signature voice. Scooby-Doo is clumsy, flawed, and an even better character for this. His obsession with snacks and fear of the paranormal makes him relatable, even for his human audience, and he is recognizable even to people who are not familiar with any of the Scooby-Doo TV shows.
Scooby’s friendship and loyalty with Shaggy has turned the “buddy cop” dynamic on its head, with the two getting into trouble, stumbling on clues by chance, and often being as terrified as each other. The cultural impact of Scooby-Doo is still going strong today, with the character being referenced in shows from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Black Mirror, with the Scooby Gang even appearing in the Fortnite video game.
K9 – Doctor Who
The Doctor’s robot dog is the best part of any Doctor Who episode he appears in, which is an impressive feat of character design, as K9 can only move his head, ears, and tail, and while he can speak, he sounds like the robot he is. Despite this, he still comes across as a dog rather than a machine, wagging his tail and cheerfully replying “affirmative” when The Doctor calls him a good dog.
While K9 has not appeared in the recent Doctor Who seasons, he was a regular character in the show’s spinoff, The Sarah Jane Adventures, and a touching Doctor Who season 15 moment paid tribute to K9. The character has been absent due to complex rights and licensing issues, but fans can always hope that this will be resolved, as K9 is such an iconic part of the show.
Lassie – Lassie
Lassie is such a beloved and long-running show that several different dogs have played the titular character, who is a Rough Collie. The TV show began as the bestselling book, Lassie Come-Home, by Eric Knight, which was then turned into a movie. The franchise follows the heroic and loyal dog, who often saves her human family from various dangers.
Lassie is one of only three animals to have received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The Lassie franchise is one of the longest onscreen franchises of all time, with the original movie being released in 1943, and the most recent released installments being 2014’s animated TV show, The New Adventures of Lassie, and the 2023 movie, Lassie: A New Adventure. The 2005 movie is a remake of Lassie Come Home, with an impressive 93% positive critics’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and Lassie steals the show, as should be expected.
Brian Griffin – Family Guy
The cynical, hard-drinking family pet, Brian Griffin, is one of the best Family Guy characters and an essential part of the show, which was made clear when Family Guy killed him off in season 12. While the writers had always intended to bring Brian back with the help of Stewie’s time-traveling ability, his absence was felt, and the fan outcry was loud.
Pets are family, but few characters illustrate this more than Brian, who resembles another human character while also clearly being a dog, with habits and hobbies that conform to his species. Still, he is the voice of reason for Peter, a best friend for Stewie, while also being a tormented writer with a life story as detailed and complex as any of the other human characters in the show.
Seymour – Futurama
The sci-fi sitcom Futurama is generally hilarious, yet the show contains one of the saddest sitcom episodes that will make you cry. It is a common sentiment that we do not deserve dogs, and so it may not be surprising that the heartbreaking episode centers on the tragic loyalty of Fry’s dog, Seymour. “Jurassic Bark” shows Fry getting the chance to resurrect Seymour from a fossil, but he decides to allow him to rest in peace after presumably leading a happy life.
Unfortunately, the end shows that this is not the case, with Seymour waiting outside the pizza shop for the rest of his life. Seymour only appears in a few episodes of the show, notably in flashbacks, but the tragic twist is unforgettable. Futurama later retconned Seymour’s fate in the movie Bender’s Big Score, which had Fry time traveling back and spending 12 years with his dog.
Terror – The Boys
If Terror could talk, he would likely have sounded just like Billy Butcher, complete with profanity and sex jokes. The elderly, surface-humping English bulldog’s antics became a running gag in The Boys, and the character was an essential part of the main characters’ dynamic while having a surprisingly minor role in the series compared to his much larger role in the comics.
The show was never afraid to push boundaries or introduce feats of body horror gore that live rent-free in viewers’ minds, but it appears the one place the writers would not go is recreating Terror’s comic book death. Of all the major deaths in The Boys season 5, Terror was allowed to pass peacefully in his sleep, in his bed, while the people who loved him enjoyed a happy moment outside.
Snoopy – The Charlie Brown And Snoopy Show
Snoopy the beagle first appeared in the phenomenally successful Peanuts comic strip, where he became an iconic character and started a franchise that still continues to this day. The character lives in his imagination, while still being a normal dog and best friend to Charlie Brown in every medium, including the Snoopy TV shows. The character has become an icon of slow living, imagination, and simple friendship, with another unexpected association.
In 2009, The American Kennel Club named Snoopy as the top dog in pop culture.
Snoopy has been NASA’s official mascot for space safety and success since 1968, and astronauts present The Snoopy Award to NASA workers who have made outstanding contributions to this cause. Snoopy’s space connection has, in turn, influenced the franchise, with the TV series Snoopy in Space showing the titular character as a NASA astronaut, carrying out missions with the other Peanuts comic strip characters.
Bluey – Bluey
Bluey deserves its crown as 2024 and 2025’s most streamed show, with the show being popular with viewers of all ages, including people without children, despite being created as a kids’ series. The story follows the Australian Blue Heeler and her family, as they navigate everyday situations and small conflicts in life, conveying wisdom that does not feel too heavy-handed.
Bluey is a fun and playful character, and this focus on play defines the series. Rather than treating each episode as a formulaic lesson, the show illustrates life through the eyes of a child in a way that feels both insightful and funny, without trivializing the concerns children have. Like all great characters, Bluey is flawed and multifaceted, which offers the show endless stories to tell.
Source: Entertainment Weekly
