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Heck Family

     Frances 'Frankie' Heck Née Spence 
Played by: Patricia Heaton

  • Big Eater: A Running Gag is her eating a lot. She kept her maternity pants to use on Thanksgiving.
  • Blatant Lies: Another running gag is Frankie lying a lot. Typically to avoid embarrassment, get out of doing work, or spare Sue’s feelings. Frankie rarely goes an episode without telling at least one lie. Needless to say, they almost always backfire on her.
  • Butt-Monkey: Very often, though not as much as her daughter Sue. You could argue that it's an entire family of Butt Monkeys, but those two stand out the most.
  • Control Freak: For as much as Frankie complains about how her family stretches her thin, she clearly enjoys being on top of their lives and is convinced that nothing will get done without her intervention. On the occassional episode where she decides to stop getting involved, she inevitably relapses by the end.
  • Determinator: Given her various quests to help out her family (during which she is inevitably faced with several obstacles). Her speech in the dental-assistant class at the end of "The Safe" pretty much confirms it.
  • Digging Yourself Deeper: Happens frequently anytime she's caught lying.
  • Drama Queen: She has a known tendency to overreact, often to what are fairly minor problems, much to Mike's annoyance. One episode had her being emotionally broken because The Bachelor didn't pick the girl she liked.
  • Happily Married: To Mike.
  • Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Tiny Girl to Mike's Huge Guy, though given actor Neil Flynn's height, almost any actress would be this to him.
  • Mama Bear: Frankie serves as this to her kids, no matter how embarrassing or difficult it is for her.
  • Motor Mouth: Frankie tends to babble and overclarify things no one asked about, especially when she's nervous or lying about something.
  • My Beloved Smother: Brick's teacher, Ms. Rinsky, accuses Frankie of being a "smother". Comically ironic considering Rinsky's actress played one on another series Patricia Heaton starred in.
  • Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Energetic Girl to Mike's Savvy Guy.
  • Sweet Tooth: She's known to eat frosting out of a tube as a way to handle stress.
  • Tomboyish Name: Frances "Frankie" Heck.

     Michael 'Mike' Heck, Jr. 
Played by: Neil Flynn

  • Agent Scully: Absolutely won't entertain the notion that Sue saw a vision of The Santa Maria in "Halloween IV"
  • Big Brother Bully: He was this to his brother in their youth.
  • Brutal Honesty: He is known for his straightforward manner.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Especially towards Frankie and Axl.
  • Death Glare: While there was definitely no death implied, his "hostile resting face" (as Frankie called it) was enough to get his children (especially Axl) to behave.
  • The Dreaded: He was the parent whom the kids feared more, due to how strict his punishments were if they got in trouble or went out of line.
    • The kids even thought that Mike "outranked" Frankie due to her "playing the dad card too many times" when they were younger.
    • Sue was quick to realize how much trouble she was in once she saw that he returned to the Quarry (his workplace) and saw a multitude of rambunctious teenagers partying, when he left it under her watch.
    • Axl was terrified of what Mike had in store for him after dropping three college classes.
  • Happily Married: With Frankie.
  • Hidden Depths: He had a cat at work that he loved called Limestone. The family also caught him singing "More than a Feeling" by Boston on his way home from work.
  • Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Huge Guy to Frankie's Tiny Girl.
  • Like Father, Like Son: He's incredibly uncomfortable talking about his feelings, like his own father, he's a great sportsman, like Axl and he is very stoic, blunt and anti-social like Brick.
  • Missing Mom: His mom died when he was younger.
  • Not So Above It All: His family once caught him singing "More Than a Feeling" while driving. Not that he was proud of it once he realized.
  • Not So Stoic: Frankie has a recording of him crying during a period when they were broken up.
  • Only Sane Man: Mike is usually the first to acknowledge the craziness going on in the house.
  • Papa Wolf: Mike has this towards his children.
    • An example toward Sue would would be in season one's Valentine's Day.
    • In season 3, he chastised Rusty for not showing up for Brick's "special friends" presentation at school.
  • Parental Favoritism: Played with. In one episode he admits that Axl is his favorite child because they both like sports. Ironically, he's usually more critical and strict towards Axl than he is towards Sue or Brick.
  • Real Men Hate Affection: Although Mike does have a a softer side, he doesn't like to show it.
  • Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: Savvy Guy to Frankie's Energetic Girl.
  • The Stoic: Not a very emotional person.
  • Straight Man: To the antics of the rest of the family.

     Axl Redford Heck 
Played by: Charlie McDermott

  • The Ace: He's handsome, funny, and charming when he wants to be.
  • Best Her to Bed Her: Tries this on his love interest in Season 6, with a variety of sports: she lets him win at pool.
  • Big Brother Bully: He's horrible to Sue most of the time.
  • Big Brother Instinct: While Axl shows more affection towards his little brother, Brick, he's more emotionally closed off when it comes to his little sister, Sue. He treats her with disdain, taunts and teases her to no end, and belittles her very existence (he never tells anyone in his school that he has a sister)... but when it comes down to it, Axl shows a softer, comforting side of him when it really counts.
  • Big Brother Mentor: To Brick sometimes.
  • Big Eater: Axl has a reputation for having a big appetite.
  • Big Man on Campus: In high school. Not so much in college.
  • Book Dumb: Mostly because he doesn't really care about school and anything academic. The season one finale suggests he may be Brilliant, but Lazy but it's subverted at the end of the episode.
  • Break the Haughty: After going to college he finds out he isn't The Ace he thought he was in Orson.
  • Brilliant, but Lazy: Axl is actually very clever and fast talking, but when it comes to school and being responsible he prefers the easy way out.
  • Character Development: Axl develops into a slightly kinder, mature, and less abrasive person as he enters college and experiences the real world, maturing even further once he enters the working world and realizes he can't be a slacker forever and expect to survive on his own.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Especially towards Sue and his parents. In fact, Axl is known for having a snarky remark ready for anyone at anytime.
  • Dumbass Teenage Son: He's both the oldest and the most immature of the Heck kids.
  • Dumb Jock: He's more unfocused and impulsive than he is dumb.
  • Generation Xerox:
    • There are hints that Mike was a lot like Axl when he was his age.
    • In one episode, Mike points out that Axl and Frankie both constantly complain about things being too hard.
  • Hidden Depths: Axl is actually very smart and quick-thinking when it comes to scheming and has also proven himself capable of making good grades when he applies himself. He has also shown that he arrogantly overcompensates due to his insecurities and fear that he will never be good enough.
  • Important Haircut: While his hair is a medium-length but tangled mess for most of the series, he gives himself the shortest cut he's ever had at the end of the season 9 episode "Eyes Wide Open" to reflect his decision to act more maturely like former college roommate Hutch.
  • Jerkass: He's a rude, slobbish, lazy and rebellious teenager who can also be very arrogant, selfish and narcissistic.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While he usually treats Sue with disdain, he will nevertheless protect her and help her—but only when she'll never know he did.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: The series finale has Frankie lampshading how "Mike and I got the best revenge" in that Axl ends up the father of three sons who are just as rebellious, moody, irresponsible, and lazy as he used to be.
  • Manchild: Although he improves by his early 20s, he still behaves immaturely...at least until he sheds his slacker image in the season 9 episode "Eyes Wide Open".
  • Master of the Mixed Message: Season 8 episode, "Exes and Ohhhs," sees Axl having a chance encounter with three of his ex-girlfriends: Devin, Cassidy, and Weird Ashley. After some advice from his roommate, Axl decides to meet up with the three individually to see why his relationship with them fell apart. They all end up giving him the same answer that he has a habit of sending mix signals and not being direct with how he really feels.
    • Weird Ashley mistakenly believed that she was in a relationship with Axl because Axl never bothered to tell her that he had no interest in her and even took her to prom twice.
    • Axl got offended when Cassidy told her that she believed their relationship would work long distance and broke up with her on the spot despite clearly still wanting to be with her.
    • Axl agreed to Devin's desire to not put a label on their relationship to only completely cut off all contact with her.
  • Mr. Fanservice: Is infamous for his Shirtless Scenes. He's played by a 19-year-old actor.
  • Never My Fault: Practically Axl's catch phrase. He's convinced that his parents only punish him to ruin his life and is oblivious to the fact that his actions are completely selfish. When he gets caught, he blames everyone else for his own stupidity.
  • Official Couple: He and Lexie (referred to by shipper fans as "Lexl") as of Season 8.
  • Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Apparently when he was in school he was asked about his heroes he wrote "mommy, daddy and SpongeBob" he was also said to be very caring of Sue when she was a baby.
  • Walking Shirtless Scene: It's easier to count the number of times Axl has worn a shirt. He's even in his boxers on the cover of the first season DVD set. Downplayed after season 3.

     Sue Sue Heck 
Played by: Eden Sher

  • Annoying Younger Sibling: At least, Axl feels like this about her. It may also be a case of an Inverted Trope with the two.
  • Big Sister Instinct: She can be this to Brick, to both positive and negative effect. But either way, it is clear that she loves her little brother.
  • Born Unlucky: She's the most unpopular person in school, she failed her driving test six times, a deer ran into her and broke her leg and overall, the entire world conspires against her. None of this, though deters her sage-like Pollyanna attitude, and she usually gets a good hand out of it all.
  • Bratty Teenage Daughter: She acts like this after puberty set in for the character, sometimes being as demanding and self-centered as big brother Axl. In fact all the Heck children tend to have bratty phases as the series progressed, though they do each settle a bit in later seasons.
  • Butt-Monkey: Socially awkward, often picked on by her older brother, and she fails at just about everything she tries.
  • The Chew Toy: She has periodically had physical harm come her way, to comedic effect.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Just like her little brother, she's an erratic, odd and socially-awkward dork that acts impulsive due to her childlike naivety.
  • Cute Clumsy Girl: She can be one, due to her awkwardness.
  • Dating What Daddy Hates: When she was dating Darrin.
  • Determinator: No matter how many times she fails to make any team or club, she never gives up. This extends far enough that, in that Season Finale, she "runs" five laps around a cross-country track with a twisted (and possibly broken) ankle, only for it to start raining while she's on her final lap. Then, after being splashed with mud and grass and losing a crutch, she drags herself across the finish line with only her arms.
  • Embarrassing Damp Sheets: Sue pretends to be a bedwetter to make a kid she's babysitting feel about his bedwetting. It backfires as the kid calls her a loser instead.
  • Extracurricular Enthusiast: She tries out for things constantly, but only very rarely succeeds. When she does, she is wildly enthusiastic.
  • Fag Hag: Her friendship with Brad, although he's also her ex-boyfriend.
  • Flanderization: She becomes even more hopelessly naive and clueless later in high school, to the point of ridiculousness. This seems to be reversed in her college years.
  • Genki Girl: She's very perky.
  • Important Haircut: Sue cuts her hair shorter before heading to college for the first time, making her look more mature for a new chapter in her life.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: In "The Telling" episode, Sue was drunk with power in blackmailing Axl into doing whatever she asked him to do. Near the end, Axl got so fed up with her, he not only turned himself in to his parents, he left Sue abandoned on the side of the road. In a way, she deserved it.
  • Messy Hair: For the first six seasons, to further cement her loser status, her hair always looks dead straight, as if she just got out of bed and forgot to brush it.
  • Middle Child Syndrome: Not just because she has a rather generic name while her siblings are named "Axl" and "Brick", but because, as she puts it in an episode, she's not a successful athlete like Axl nor "super-smart" like Brick. Sue seems to be unable to succeed but on the bright side, she at least appears to be cheerfully unaware of it or undaunted.
  • Naïve Everygirl: A textbook example of the eternally naive, cheery, and optimistic teenage girl who always tries her best despite being the world's Butt-Monkey.
  • Nice Girl: As well as the most naive, she's also the nicest in the family.
  • Obsessed with Perfect Attendance: In "The Graduate," it's revealed she has never missed a day of school, even when she was so sick she had to stop to throw up in her locker between classes. When the receptionist won't give her the award at the end of the year because she claims Sue missed a day, Sue fights to prove that she was present, and receives the award at the end...though they misname her as Barb Hecky.
  • Odd Name Out: Axl, Brick, and... Sue.
  • The Pollyanna: Relentlessly optimistic.
  • Pungeon Master: Sue will do this with any word that she can use as a pun on her own name, e.g. "Sue's Babysuetting Service" or "Sue-eet Sixteen".
  • Repetitive Name: Due to a mistake on her birth certificate, her middle name is also Sue.
  • Running Gag:
  • Unfortunate Names: It was pointed out that if she and Darren got married her name would be "Sue Sue McGrew" She then went on and married Sean Donahue, which also rhymes.

     Brick Ismael Heck 
Played by: Atticus Shaffer

  • Adorably Precocious Child: In early seasons. Despite his young age he is very smart and well-read.
  • Bad Liar: He has a pretty obvious tell:
    Brick: (whispering) I'm lying!
  • Big Eater: A lesser extent compared to Axl, but Brick has his moments.
    • In "The Map", he and Axl try and create a model Indiana cake out of brownie mix, pancake mix, and pizzas. The brothers end up devouring all of them. As for the pizza model they ordered two so they could eat one and use the other for the model; they end up eating both of them.
    • Once again demonstrated in the Season Four Halloween episode, he ate 20 pounds of candy in 24 hours. As a result, he started behaving more "normal" for a day until he fainted during dinner. While his parents were glad to have the "old Brick" back, they agreed to giving him a little sugar for "special occasions".
    Mike: He's more sugar than boy. ... Nobody EVER needs to know about this.
    • In "Thanksgiving VIII", he ate five pounds of bacon bits [as a shift meal] while working at Spudsy's, shocking both his boss and his sister.
    Brick: My mom ate my breakfast.
  • Bookworm: One of his defining traits. He enjoys reading and quoting his books.
  • Brilliant, but Lazy:
    • He may be the smartest of the Heck children, but most of the time, his parents end up doing most of the work, such as his paper-route job. He is also known to wait to inform Frankie of special events or homework assignments until the last minute. He is especially distracted when he is reading a book.
    • Brick does invert this in one episode. He fails a few math tests, but it's not because of the teacher or the material. He was just curious what getting an F was like.
    Brick: That's probably because I only answered the first three questions (out of 45).
    Brick: [Ms. Rinski] said we could have free reading time after we finished the test, so I finished in five minutes.
    Mike: You're lucky you got a D.
    Brick: I know. She's the best, right?
  • Character Development: Not only does he slowly become aware of his quirks and start making jokes about them, but he gradually becomes more outgoing and ultimately gains a best friend and a girlfriend, defying his parents' and siblings' expectations.
  • Child Prodigy: He is prone to philosophical thoughts about the meaning of life. He was the only Heck child to have made National Honor Society, an honor that even his siblings never achieved.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: His behavior is downright odd, and is considered the "weird one" in the family.
  • Ditzy Genius: He's by far the smartest of the Heck kids, he loves books, and he has a eidetic memory. He also has tics and social issues, is easily distracted, and tends to forget to give people important information, where he puts his books, or even what he's doing (like reading while riding a bike). At some point he wasn't even able to tie his shoelaces, blow his nose, and couldn't turn off a bathtub faucet.
  • Expy: He's extremely similar appearance and personality wise to Dewey.
  • Idiot Ball: Axl and Sue's stupidity have always been consistent but Brick's intelligence will disappear depending on the episode or situation.
  • Intelligence Equals Isolation: His speech to Axl in "Twenty Years" about how he reads so much because he doesn't have many friends otherwise rather poignantly lampshades the trope.
  • No Social Skills: Which is why he constantly has to attend social skills.
  • Only Sane Man: Believe it or not, Brick gradually evolved into this as he got older, at least between Sue and Axl. While he doesn't completely outgrow all of his quirks, he becomes increasingly more self-aware, especially of his family's own flaws.
  • Super-Strength: It was shown in "The Waiting Game" when he gets angry. He once moved all of Axl's stuff from their room into the dining room.
    Frankie: You moved all of this by yourself?!
    Brick: Hate makes you strong.
  • Switched at Birth: He spent the first month of his life with Anna and Charles Ferguson. His father Mike got distracted while watching a sports game and as a result, he and Frankie brought home the wrong baby, Blake Ferguson. The Fergusons indicated that the authorities pinned the blame on the Hecks.
  • The Load: His cluelessness and forgetfulness sometimes make him a burden to his family, mostly his parents.
  • The Smart Guy: Despite being a naive and scatter-brained child, and possessing a number of quirks and tics, he is very intelligent. Even his older siblings occasionally turn to him for advice.
  • Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: With Cindy, who is almost twice his height.
  • The Un-Favourite: By virtue of being the third child, his own parents often seem to forget he even exists. This goes all the way back to his birth when they managed to take the wrong baby home and not realize it for a month. With both Axl and Sue in college, Mike and Frankie have more or less phoned in the job of parenting him, including forgetting his birthday almost every year. It's to the point that Frankie and Mike rarely even discipline Brick whenever he misbehaves. In one episode, while pointing out the many ways in which they give him the short end of the stick, he points out that it would be nice if they ever yelled at him once like they do to Axl and Sue.
    Mike: (referring to Axl refusing to talk to him because the family disapproves of his girlfriend): Now I don't have a son!
    Brick: What about me?
  • Verbal Tic: Repeating the last words he said. He also starts randomly exclaiming, "Whoop!" from "Bunny Therapy" on.
  • Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?: Frankie regrets naming him Brick, thinking that an unusual name would make him cool (which Brick is anything but).

Others

    Mike's Relatives 

Michael 'Big Mike' Heck, Sr.

Played by: John Cullum

  • Cannot Spit It Out: He will not talk about his feelings under any circumstances. The closest he gets to a tender moment in the show is bluntly pointing out that the last time he and his sons were together on thanksgiving, their mother was alive.
  • Collector of the Strange: He is a hoarder of appliances.
  • I Call It "Vera": Mike says he used to call his belt 'The Enforcer'.
  • The Lost Lenore: It's lightly implied that he threw himself into hoarding and stoicism out of grief at his wife's death.
  • Parents as People: Mike points out that he does love his kids and grandkids, but he's too emotionally stunted to show it.
  • The Stoic: Even more so than Mike.

Orville 'Rusty' Heck

Played by: Norm Macdonald

    Frankie's Relatives 

Tag Spence

Played by: Jerry Van Dyke

  • Abhorrent Admirer: Non-romantic example. Whenever the Spences visit the Hecks, he follows Mike around like a puppy. It probably has something to do with the fact that he never had a son of his own.
  • Dad the Veteran: He was a file clerk in the Korean war.
  • Granola Guy: Goes through a phase of this. He calls crackers poison and claims that refined sugar has killed more people than Al Qaeda.
  • Too Much Information: He has a huge habit of over-sharing, like when he casually told Axl that he got an sti during his freshman year in college... while on speakerphone with the whole family.

Pat Spence

Played by: Marsha Mason

Ginny

Played by: Frances Bay

Edie

Played by: Jeanette Miller

  • Character Death: Dies at the age of 96, the family attend her funeral in "Hecks on a Train".
  • Cool Old Lady: Axl and Sue come to this conclusion after talking to her for a while and hearing her cool stories
  • Never Mess with Granny: In "The Math Class" she sprays a guy with a garden hose.
  • Star-Crossed Lovers:
    Aunt Edie: I loved Dick Peterson, but he was a black man, so it was forbidden! It was a different time.

Paul 'Dutch' Spence

Played by: Dick Van Dyke

    Other Recurring Characters 

Bob Weaver

Played by: Chris Kattan

  • Abhorrent Admirer: Seems to have a crush on Frankie.
  • Demoted to Extra: Bob was a regular for the first season or so, but after the show began to focus more on the Hecks' lives and less on Frankie's job, he had little use on the show and was relegated to the end credits.
  • The Team Wannabe: Tends to treat the Hecks as his surrogate family.
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: As Mike found out after letting him take over the BBQ.

Don Ehlert

Played by: Brian Doyle-Murray

  • Bad Boss: Treats his employees with no respect and makes them work on holidays
  • Hate Sink: Don Ehlert is the owner of Ehlert Motors and a greedy and very unscrupulous businessman. He constantly exhibited sexist and racist behaviors, constantly made Francis "Frankie" Heck's life difficult when she worked for him and encouraged employees to sell to people who were drunk because they'd be easy to take advantage of. By the time Ehlert made his final appearance in the series, his business seemed to be failing and no one cared about or appreciated his attempts to try to force interest in advertising it anymore.
  • It's All About Me: Frankie describes him as "the most selfish man in the world"
  • Jerk with a Heart of Jerk:
    • Frankie once theorized that he made his employees work late on Thanksgiving because he didn't want to spend the holidays alone, then she found out his wife left him because he was always working late on Thanksgiving.
    • He provides the convertible for the Homecoming Queen in the parade....then makes her drive it while he sits on the back seat.
  • Politically Incorrect Villain: He is openly sexist to Frankie, his commercial from the '70s is basically just him shooting various minorities and he has some unexplained animosity towards Rosa Parks...

Brad Bottig

Played by: Brock Ciarlelli

  • Alliterative Name: Brad Bottig.
  • Perpetual Smiler: Being asked not to smile when he wants to smile seems to cause him physical pain.
  • Platonic Life-Partners: With Sue. They became even closer when Brad started going to East Indiana State.
  • Transparent Closet: Frankie and Mike both correctly suspect he is gay; however, both Sue and Brad seem oblivious of their suspicions. In season 7, he comes out as gay to Sue, in a passive way. Sue says that she knows.

Carly

Played by: Blaine Saunders

  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Hasn't been seen since Sue graduated high school.
    • Actually she appeared briefly in "New Year's Revelations," in season 9.
  • She Cleans Up Nicely: In seasons 1 and 3. Her braces were removed mid-Season 1, and she became more popular as a result.

Nancy Donahue

Played by: Jen Ray

Sean Donahue

Played by: Beau Wirick

  • Academic Athlete: Sean is the smartest of him, Axl and Darrin. He gets good grades and was even accepted to Notre Dame.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Has shades of this.
  • Dogged Nice Guy: Sort of. Sean has no romantic interest in Sue but he has twice, out of the kindness of his own heart, driven all the way down from Notre Dame (blowing off his own studies in the process) to be Sue's date only to be rejected because Sue found someone else at the last minute.
  • Foil: To Axl
  • Granola Guy: Became this in season 7, his mother was not impressed. Reverted to normal in season 8 after a pep talk from Frankie encouraging him to pursue medicine again.
  • The Lancer: Nice Guy who can easily be convinced to do the wrong thing to Axl's Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
  • Lovable Jock: He is helpful, polite, and friendly, which makes him outwardly the opposite of Axl.
  • Nice Guy: Like all the Donahues, he’s usually really nice and polite.
  • Stepford Smiler: Claims it's the family motto.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: With Axl.
  • Will They or Won't They?: With Sue, and by the final season, they definitely do.

Darrin McGrew

Played by: John Gammon

Reverend Timothy "Tim-Tom" Thomas

Played by: Paul Hipp

The Glossners

Played by: Brooke Shields, David Chandler, Parker Bolek

Zack

Played by: Andrew J Fishman (Seasons one - four), Carlin James (Season nine)

  • Cloud Cuckoolander: Thinks he's a cat and frequently meows, nearly always wears mittens on his hands.
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Hasn't been seen since Brick moved on to high school.
    • Actually, he reappeared in "Great Heckspectations," and told Frankie he doesn't do that "crazy cat stuff" anymore.
  • He Is All Grown Up: Reappeared in the final season as a handsome 16 year old now over his old quirks.

Morgan Edwards

Played by: Alexa Vega

Matt

Played by: Moisés Arias

  • The Bus Came Back: Averted in "Valentine's Day IV" when Matt leaves a message for Sue to tell her he's back together with his old girlfriend, so he won't be coming back to Orson to take her out to the dance.
  • Grand Romantic Gesture: How he got Sue to like him.
  • Official Couple: With Sue in seasons 2 and 3
  • Put on a Bus: He transferred to another school and left Sue for a girl named Kerry.

Ashley "Weird Ashley" Wyman

Played by: Katlin Mastandrea

Courtney and Debbie

Played by: Brittany Ross and Natalie Lander

  • Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Can never remember Sue exists no matter how often they meet. Made fun of Sue's idea of watching a movie in the pumpkin patch then stole it.
  • Depending on the Writer: Whether their malicious actions, especially towards Sue, are the result of ill will or sheer stupidity varies depending on the episode.
  • Cloudcuckoolanders: Sue greets them while they're waiting on Axl at the Hecks'. Not only do they not remember having ever spoken to her but — because they don't believe Axl has a sister — they tell him that "there's this poor girl who's lost in your house."
  • The Dividual: Axl has a problem when he realizes that he doesn't know which one he's actually dating.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: Can't even sit on separate tables at lunch without yelling about how much they missed each other.
  • Running Gag: No matter how many times they meet Sue, they never remember who she is.

Dr. Fulton

Played by: Dave Foley

Principal Larimer

Played by: Mary-Pat Green

  • Stern Teacher: Is intimidating towards the parents in parent-teacher conferences as well.

Principal Barker

Played by: Rachel Dratch

Ms. Rinsky

Played by: Doris Roberts

  • The Comically Serious: Her surly attitude can be pretty humorous.
  • Casting Gag: Her dynamic with Frankie is an obvious nod to that of Debra and Marie's in Everybody Loves Raymond, though with the roles reversed. Ms. Rinsky is the one who considers Frankie to be a "smother", and believes that no child benefits from helicopter parenting.
  • Cool Teacher: Zig-Zagged. Most of the time when she's on screen, she's usually cranky and sarcastic, but other people like Brick and a school faculty member describe her as "wonderful" and gives her students candy for every question they answer right. She also likes Brick to a certain degree, outright stating to Frankie that he makes her laugh.
  • Jerkass Has a Point: Aside from the way she treats Frankie, giving Brick a D- on his math test for only answering three questions just so he could have free reading time is justified.
  • Jerkass to One: She's very condescending and unpleasant to Frankie.
  • Karma Houdini: She never receives any punishment for the mean way she treats Frankie.
  • Sadist Teacher: Downplayed with her first appearance, where she deliberately makes Brick uncomfortable by giving him "special attention."

Arlo

Played by: Nick Shafer

Dr. Ted Goodwin

Played by: Jack McBrayer

Edwin

Played by: Jimmy Bellinger

  • Hidden Depths: While he's the manager at Spudsy's, Sue and Brick both agree that he is a very good actor, and is auditioning for a role on SNL.
  • Will They or Won't They?: A minor example compared to Sue's other love interests, but he asked her to be his prom date in one episode. It doesn't work out in the end.

Cassidy Finch

Played by: Galadriel Stineman

Kenny

Played by: Tommy Bechtold

  • The Faceless: For many of his appearances, he is shown exclusively from the back or with his face behind a computer screen.
  • Fat Bastard: Implied, since Axl first describes living with him as a dreadful experience, not realizing that Frankie and Mike feel the same way about living with Axl.
  • The Ghost: Sort of. He can always be seen but hardly ever speaks and seemingly doesn't do anything except sit there with his back to the camera playing video games.
  • Hidden Depths: In season 7, he reveals to Frankie the his family situation isn't typical. He's also skilled in IT since he helps Frankie with her computer and wi-fi and is extremely talented at making grilled cheese sandwiches.
    • In the season 8 finale, it's revealed that he's been developing apps in between games the whole time and has a high enough net worth from them that he will be able to retire within one year after leaving college.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: When he was living with Axl for their first year of college, he never talked to him or acknowledged his existence kept him up all night with his bright and loud video games and took his pillow to sit on. However, Axl and Hutch later talked about his good qualities and admitted he was always a good roommate. After spending time at the Hecks' house he sincerely thanked Frankie for her hospitality, she said she enjoyed having him. He's also responsible for bailing out Axl and Hutch multiple times with the various problems they have finding a place to live.
  • Manchild: Became one of these when staying at the Hecks' house.
  • Parental Substitute: Seems to see Frankie as this when he stays at the Hecks' house.
  • Shout-Out: Among other video games, Axl mentions him playing World of Warcraft.
  • The Silent Bob
  • Suddenly Voiced: Spoke for the first time on Halloween to explain the original lore surrounding the Grim Reaper.
  • The Quiet One: Hutch says he only talks when it's important.
  • The Thing That Would Not Leave: He's lived with Axl for about three years now uninvited.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: Seems to have become this with Axl and Hutch.

Charles "Hutch" Hutchinson

Played by: Alphonso Mc Auley

  • Butt-Monkey: He and Axl met getting bullied by the Older Football players.
  • Character Development: In season 9, after graduating college and moving into his own Chicago apartment, he starts acting more like a responsible adult, inspiring Axl to do the same.
  • Heterosexual Life-Partners: Again with Axl especially since they decided to live together.
  • Manchild: When he started staying at the Hecks'.

Devin Levin

Played by: Gia Mantegna

Cynthia "Cindy" Violet Hornberger

Played by: Casey Burke

  • Ax-Crazy: Somewhat, as evidenced by her kicking Mike's car and Brick's nervous, "No, she won't," when Mike says she'll get over him not saving her seat on the bus.
  • Bizarre Taste in Food: When Frankie asked if she wanted something to eat she requested shrimp; for her Thanksgiving meal she had a hunk of cheese. In both cases, she took a single bite then stopped.
  • Cleans Up Nicely: When she gets dressed up for the prom in "Great Heckspectations," she's so stunningly gorgeous that Frankie worries another guy will steal her from Brick. She needn't have worried; Brick and Cindy skip the prom and sneak into the library, having mutually agreed it was a much better use of their time.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Gives Brick a run for his money.
  • Creepy Monotone: At all times.
  • Grim Reaper: Goes as this for Halloween and manages to scare the crap out of Axl, Hutch and Kenny.
  • Happily Married: It's inferred in a Season 7 Halloween episode "Halloween VI: Tick Tick Death", that she and Brick will likely end up married and grow old together...and may be time travellers.
  • Like an Old Married Couple: Brick has been heard talking to her about things like going on couples retreats and where to spend the holidays. They're both still in middle school.
  • Literal-Minded: If she arrives somewhere a few minutes before the set time, she will wait by the front door reading your mail.
  • Never Bareheaded: A Foreign French Legion that she refuses to ever take off.
  • No Social Skills: Sees nothing wrong with walking into the men's room and talking to Brick while he's on the toilet.
  • Official Couple: With Brick.
  • Power Trio: With Brick and Troy.
  • The Stoic
  • Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: She is the huge girl to Brick's tiny guy.
  • Trademark Favorite Food: Shrimp.
  • Violently Protective Girlfriend

Troy

Played by: Jovan Armand

  • Gentle Giant: He comes from a big family where apparently he's the smallest one so he protects Brick from being picked on.
  • Power Trio: With Brick and Cindy.
  • Shrinking Violet: Is quite shy and admits he doesn't make friends very easily.

Lexie Brooks

Played by: Daniela Bobadilla

Logan

Played by: David Hull

Holly Haypek

Played by: Lyndon Smith

Jeremy

Played by: Will Green

  • Derailing Love Interests: It really doesn't take long for Sue to get tired of him and his far left-wing diatribes.
  • Establishing Character Moment: Chained to a tree yelling at Sue through a megaphone.
  • Foil: To Mike, in a way. During Jeremy's first dinner with the Hecks, the two clash on various subjects in a manner reminiscent of a different Mike arguing with a far left-wing love interest of his daughter.
  • Granola Guy: Environmentalist, socialist, vegan, and more. He briefly shaves his hippie beard to flirt with Sue before growing it back in full a few appearances later.
  • Jerkass: First appears yelling at people through a megaphone for no real reason; when Sue calls him out on this, he admits he was only doing this to cope with boredom.
  • Soapbox Sadie: In his first few appearances, he spouts common environmentalist and anti-capitalist protest clichés through a megaphone while chained to a tree until his professor encourages him to come back to class.

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