History Characters / AmericanHousewife

* DiscoDan: Still lives like it's TheEighties. Justfied, as he'd been in prison for over 20 years and hasn't had much contact with the outside world.

* OverprotectiveDad: He's horrified at the idea of Taylor growing up and having sex [[spoiler: and in the season 5 finale, getting ''engaged'' to Trip. When the couple happily announces their news, he looks like he's ready to ''kill'' Trip.]]

* AmbiguousDisorder: Franklin's main "problem" is his complete lack of understanding social cues, which could describe any number of mental/social disorders.

* ADateWithRosiePalms: The other characters, particularly his mother, often imply that he masturbates frequently, although he always denies it and nobody ever actually claims to have caught him in the act.

* SuperOCD: The Ottos moved to Westport so that Anna-Kat could attend a local school with an excellent special needs program.

%% Doesn't explain what the reaction is. * Berserk Button: Being called Japanese. Understandable, considering she's Korean.

* BerserkButton: Being called Japanese. Understandable, considering she's Korean.

* OutnumberedSibling: Oliver is the only boy in a family of three kids. Downplayed later on, when the Ottos increasingly take on Taylor's boyfriend Trip and Oliver's own best friend Cooper as surrogate sons.

* ADayInTheLimelight: Before moving in with the Ottos in season 5, Cooper tended to average about [[OnceASeason one of these per season]], where he's the focus of his own plotline and not just Oliver's SecondBanana:

* OnlyOneName: We have yet to learn Doris's surname.

->'''Played by:''' Creator/MegDonnelly; Johnny Sequoyah (pilot only)

->'''Played by:''' Daniel [=DiMaggio=]

->'''Played by:''' Julia Butters (seasons 1-4); Giselle Eisenberg (season 5)

->'''Played by:''' Carly Hughes

->'''Played By:''' Logan Pepper

->'''Played By:''' Evan O'Toole

->'''Played By:''' Leslie Bibb

->'''Played By:''' George Hamilton

* LifeOfTheParty: In her teenage and college years, Katie was a hardcore partier who drank, got high, pulled pranks, ditched class and [[ReallyGetsAround really got around]]. She says her high school nickname was "Anything Goes Katie" among her peers and she kept several boxes of old mementos of the many guys she dated, even though she admits she only remembers a handful of their names. (She threw said boxes out for Greg as it made him uncomfortable.) One of her old college guy friends commented on how she's changed since their party years and is more mature and responsible than her younger self.

->'''Played by:''' Julia Butters (seasons 1-4); Giselle Eisenberg (from season 5)

** "The Walk" in season 1, where Katie, annoyed that he's a terrible influence on her son, picks on him mercilessly; surprisingly, he's so touched by her refusal to defer to him as the son of the richest couple in town that he speaks on her behalf when all the other housewives accuse her of neglecting Anna-Kat after she lets her walk to the library on her own.
** "All Coupled Up" in season 2, where Cooper is the central character in the FriendVersusLover plot when Oliver picks his new girlfriend Gina over him. He seeks out Katie to help him reform so that Gina (a girl from Branford who hates stuck up "Westport kids") will tolerate him spending time with Oliver. He doesn't really pull it off but Oliver's so touched by him trying anyway that he puts in a good word for him.

** "Hip to Be Square" in season 4 has Cooper ready to tell his first serious girlfriend that he loves her, which Oliver protests, because they're both in lockstep in their relationships with their respective girlfriends and Oliver isn't ready to say it yet. Cooper eventually says it anyway after asking Katie and Greg for advice, only to get rejected and heartbroken. (This also means that Oliver's girlfriend dumps ''him'' as well - the girls were in lockstep too.) At the end of the episode, [[spoiler:[[HeterosexualLifePartners he says "I love you" to Oliver, and Oliver reciprocates]]]].

* CharacterDevelopment: Like his best friend Oliver, Cooper goes through a lot of this. In his first appearance Cooper is a vain, AlphaBitch-like character whose only redeeming quality is that he went out of his way to befriend Oliver, one of the "poors" (although even this virtue is undermined by Oliver apparently having pretended to be rich like the rest of them at first). Over the following years, he comes to enjoy spending time with the Ottos, acknowledges that his own parents have been neglectful of him in the extreme, decides to stop being reliant on their money, and takes steps to figure out what to do with his life independently of his wealth.
* FamilyOfChoice: The Ottos are this to Cooper, in lieu of his frequently absent parents.

* TheGhost: Cooper is mentioned several times before he makes his first appearance midway through season 1. His ''parents'', whom Cooper mentions constantly, have yet to make an onscreen appearance at all.[[spoiler:.. until the fifth season finale, when his father, Doyle Bradford, finally appears.]]

* TheNotLoveInterest: To Oliver, though not at first. Initially his appearances were infrequent and much more attention was paid to Oliver's ''actual'' love interests, first Alice [=McCarthy=] and especially Gina Tuscadero. However, once Cooper began making more appearances starting in the show's third season (along with Gina dumping Oliver for ballet school), he then became the most important person in Oliver's life (and vice-versa) with several episodes affirming how much they mean to each other, and how their subsequent love interests are afterthoughts who are completely ancillary to their relationship.

* TokenGoodTeammate: For the rich women in town (excluding Doris and Angela). She's a snob and often thoughtless, but she's rarely malicious and actually likes Katie. Several of her appearances also portray her sympathetically, such as having a neglectful husband and a couple stepchildren who hate her.

* HappilyMarried: Katie adores Greg, despite their many differences, and can always count on him to support her.
* HarmfulToMinors: She's very lenient towards Anna-Kat, allowing her youngest to watch films with mature themes, to Greg's chagrin.

* LifeOfTheParty: In her teenage and college years, Katie was a hardcore partier who drank, got high, pulled pranks, ditched class and [[ReallyGetsAround really got around]]. She says her high school nickname was "Anything Goes Katie" among her peers and she kept several boxes of old mementos of the many guys she dated, even though she admits she only remembers a handful of their names. (She threw said-boxes out for Greg.) One of her old college guy friends commented on how she's changed since their party years and is more mature and responsible.

** In season 4, Chloe (under the mistaken belief her husband is having an affair with Katie due to a misunderstanding) tries to seduce Greg to get back at Katie and tries to initiate a hook-up. He isn't at all tempted and simply tells her to stop and pushes her away.

* NiceGuy: Greg's kindness and attentiveness as a husband and father have garnered the attention of more than a few Westport women. Apparently, Doris gets the first crack at him in the event Katie dies young.
* OverprotectiveDad: He's horrified of Taylor growing up and having sex and, [[spoiler: in the finale, getting ''engaged'' to Trip.]]
* TeacherStudentRomance: He met Katie in college when he was her TA for a class she had. He recounts how he developed a huge crush on her (and occasionally gave her good grades she didn't always deserve because of so) and that, despite her being his polar opposite, was deeply attracted to her for her "vivacious" personality. Due to her being his student, though, it was "strictly forbidden" for him to ask her out. However, he "broke the rules" and asked her out anyway, which she accepted. They started dating sometime afterward and, of course, we know the rest.
* WellDoneSonGuy: "Family Secrets" shows him quite eager to please his parents, but he desperately wants the approval of his father, Thomas. It gets progressively deconstructed, as Thomas continually proves cold to Greg's overtures. Then it's revealed that Thomas had an affair in England and has had a second son for 20 years, so Greg finally blows up at him.

** In a rare example of an unhappy ending for this show, two years later when he finally meets his half-brother in person it's noted that Greg has not spoken with his father ever since.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Katie's generally a nice person. But, if you make Katie mad, ''run.''

* HowTheMightyHaveFallen: She sees living in Westport as this, saying she used to be quite popular back home but is an outsider here.
* LifeOfTheParty: In her teenage and college years, Katie was a hardcore partier who drank, got high, pulled pranks, ditched class and [[ReallyGetsAround really got around]]. She says her high school title was "Anything Goes Katie" among her peers and she kept several boxes of old mementos of the guys she's dated, even though she admits she doesn't remember all of their names (before throwing them out for Greg). One of her old college guy friends commented on how she's changed since their party years and is more mature and responsible.

* ParentalSubstitute: Finds she's this to Cooper (Oliver's snobby friend) in Season 2. She can't stand him, but he really takes to her since his own parents are never around.

* CluelessChickMagnet: He has no idea, but a lot of the women in Westport are attracted to him because of how nice he is and are hoping Katie dies relatively young so they can have a chance at wooing him.

* FriendToAllLivingThings: Greg bought a special grill to roast a pig, but he just didn't have the heart to kill and cook the little guy.
* HappilyMarried: Although Katie pushes him around sometimes and they naturally have little spats, it's clear they truly love each other. In one episode, Katie becomes worried that Greg may eventually leave her due to her mean attitude. He lovingly reassures her that, despite their differences, she's his best friend and he has no intention of ever leaving her.

* TeacherStudentRomance: He met Katie in college when he was her TA for a class she had. He admits in embarrassment to having given her good grades that she didn't always deserve because of his crush on her. They started dating sometime afterward and, of course, we know the rest.

** In a rare example of an unhappy ending for this show, two years later when he finally meets his half-brother in person it's noted that Greg has not spoken with his parents ever since.

* HappilyMarried: Although Katie pushes him around sometimes, it's clear she does love him deeply and the feeling is entirely mutual.

* TeacherStudentRomance: He met Katie in college when he was her TA for a class she had. He admits to having given her good grades that she didn't always deserve because of his crush on her. They started dating sometime afterward and, of course, we know the rest.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: If you make Katie mad, ''run.''

* NiceGuy: Greg's kindness and attentiveness as a husband and father have garnered the attention of more than a few Westport women. Apparently Doris gets first crack at him in the event Katie dies young.
* OverprotectiveDad: He's horrifed of Taylor growing up and having sex and, [[spoiler: in the finale, getting ''engaged'' to Trip.]]

* TheGhost: Cooper is mentioned several times before he makes his first appearance midway through season 1. His ''parents'', whom Cooper mention constantly, have yet to make an onscreen appearance at all.

->'''Played By:''' Peyton Meyer

* HiddenDepths: The richest kid in town cares way less about class differences than a lot of the adults.

->'''Played by:''' Katy Mixon

* OnlyOneName: Angela's surname has yet to be revealed.