One of Hollywood’s oldest inside 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 that they steal every scene they are in. Many of the most iconic TV pets of all time do exactly that, and it’s hard to imagine their respective shows without them, while good dog movies are almost their own genre.
Dogs have a special role, as they are essential family members in some of the the best tv sitcoms ever madeand surprisingly versatile as characters. Dogs appear in television shows of almost every genre and style, including animation and live action, from comedy to sci-fi, with personalities ranging from adorably goofy to more intelligent than their human co-stars.
Cheddar – Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Captain Holt’s beloved corgi, Cheddar, is funny even though he has no dialogue. He is central to some of Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s infamous Halloween heistand smart enough to pull off his own heists, like eating a wedding cake, raising 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, ripping Holt’s expensive turtleneck, stealing the all-important NYPD plates, and commanding every scene he was in, and this was only possible because of his acting. Cheddar was played by Stewart, the Pembrokeshire Welsh Corgi, who learned several new tricks for the show, including running through vents, with trainer Michael W. Miliotti telling Weekly entertainment that Stewart was as food-motivated as his character.
Blue – Blue’s Clues
It’s been pointed out that most generations have a defining blue TV dog that teaches life lessons, from Huckleberry Hound to Bluey. Blue off 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 where Blue leaves clues in the form of paw prints so 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 and encourages viewers to talk back to the screen, which was a formula that had never been done this way for a children’s show. Blue’s Clues’ the lead actor had a hilarious reaction to the premisenarrator People Magazine that he felt it might be too strange, compared to “The Rocky Horror Children’s Show.“It worked, though, and it became Nickelodeon’s most popular preschool show, 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 horrified Great Dane does not speak intelligibly, but conveys much through his own signature voice. Scooby-Doo is clumsy, flawed, and an even better character for it. His obsession with snacks and fear of the paranormal make him relatable even to his human audience, and he’s recognizable even to people unfamiliar with either Scooby-Doo TV shows.
Scooby’s friendship and loyalty with Shaggy has turned”fellow officer” upside-down dynamic, with the two getting into trouble, stumbling across clues at random, and often being as terrified as each other. The cultural impact of Scooby-Doo is still going today, with the character being referenced in shows from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Black mirrorin which the Scooby Gang even makes an appearance Fortnite video games.
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 talk, he sounds like the robot he is. Despite this, he still appears 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 performed recently Doctor Who seasons, he was a regular character on the show’s spinoff, Sarah Jane Adventuresand a touching one Doctor Who season 15 moment 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 best-selling book, Lassie Come Homeby Eric Knight, which was then turned into a film. The franchise follows the heroic and loyal dog who often saves his human family from various dangers.
Lassie is one of only three animals to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The Lassie franchise is one of the longest-running on-screen franchises of all time, with the original film released in 1943 and the most recent installments released being 2014’s animated television show, Lassie’s New Adventuresand the movie from 2023, Lassie: A New Adventure. The film from 2005 is a remake of Lassie came homewith an impressive 93% positive critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and Lassie steals the show, as you’d expect.
Brian Griffin – Family Guy
The cynical, hard-drinking family pet, Brian Griffin, is one of the best Family guy characters and a significant part of the show, which was made clear when Family guy killed him in season 12. While the writers had always intended to bring Brian back using Stewie’s time travel ability, his absence was felt and the fan outcry was loud.
Pets are family, but few characters exemplify this more than Brian, who looks like another human character while also clearly being a dog, with habits and hobbies befitting his species. Yet 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 series.
Seymour – Futurama
Sci-fi sitcom Futurama is generally amusing, but the show contains one of the saddest sitcom episodes that will make you cry. It’s a common sentiment that we don’t deserve dogs, so perhaps it’s no surprise that the heartbreaking episode centers on Fry’s dog, Seymour’s tragic loyalty. “Jurassic Bark” shows Fry being given the chance to resurrect Seymour from a fossil, but he decides to let him rest in peace after presumably leading a happy life.
Unfortunately, the ending shows that not to be 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, mostly in flashbacks, but the tragic twist is unforgettable. Futurama later repeated Seymour’s fate in the film Bender’s big scorewhich caused Fry to travel back and spend 12 years with his dog.
Terror – The Boys
If Terror could talk, he’d probably sound like Billy Butcher, complete with profanity and sex jokes. The older, surface-humping English bulldog’s antics turned into a wild yawn The boysand the character was an essential part of the main character 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 that live rent-free in viewers’ minds, but it seems like the one place the writers wouldn’t go is to recreate Terror’s cartoon death. Of all major deaths in The boys season 5Terror was allowed to pass peacefully in his sleep, in his bed, while the people who loved him enjoyed a happy moment outside.
Snoopy – Charlie Brown And Snoopy Show
Snoopy the beagle first appeared in phenomenally successful Peanuts cartoonwhere 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 all media, including Snoopy TV shows. The character has become an icon of slow living, fantasy and simple friendship, with another unexpected association.
In 2009, The American Kennel Club named Snoopy the best dog in pop culture.
Snoopy has been NASA’s official mascot for safety and success in space 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 the room features the titular character as a NASA astronaut performing missions with the other Peanuts cartoon characters.
Bluey – Bluey
Bluey deserves its crown as 2024 and 2025’s most streamed showwhere the show is popular with viewers of all ages, including people without children, despite being created as a children’s series. The story follows Australian Blue Heeler and her family as they navigate everyday situations and small conflicts in life, imparting wisdom that doesn’t feel too heavy-handed.
Bluey is a fun and playful character, and this focus on play defines the series. Instead of treating each episode as a formal lesson, the show illustrates life through a child’s eyes in a way that feels both insightful and funny, without trivializing the concerns children have. Like all great characters, Bluey is flawed and multi-faceted, giving the show endless stories to tell.
Source: Weekly entertainment
