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Main Characters
As a Whole
- Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: Since Zoey fits all three roles, she can be each one of them depending on who are her current roommates:
- Season 1:
- Beauty - Nicole, the most boy-crazy and the most sensitive.
- Brains - Zoey, a Go-Getter Girl who always gets perfect grades.
- Brawn - Dana, an athletic, intimidating tomboy.
- Season 3 and 4:
- Beauty - Lola, a fashionable Dude Magnet.
- Brains - Quinn, a science-loving Teen Genius.
- Brawn - Zoey, who is good at every sport.
- Season 1:
- Four-Girl Ensemble:
- In season 1, Nicole is the naive one and The Ditz, Dana is the snarky tomboy, fashionable Dude Magnet Zoey is the pretty one, and Quinn is the smart one. Alternatively, Quinn is the naive/quirky one, Nicole is the boy-crazy glamour-obsessed pretty one, and Zoey is the wise, admirable Team Mom (Dana is definitely the snarky tomboy though).
- In season 2, Nicole is the ditzy/naive one, Zoey is the Deadpan Snarker, Lola is the glamour-obsessed pretty one, and Quinn is the smart one.
- In season 3 and 4, Stacey replaces Nicole as the naive one, while Zoey, Lola, and Quinn keep their respective roles.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: The four main boys:
- Free-Range Children: Zoey and her friends are in middle school/high school. But they seem to be able to go out whenever they want, go where ever they want, with no adult supervision or consult. Only on campus, it's mentioned a few times that going off campus without permission is a serious offense.
- Gender-Equal Ensemble: Played straight in the first two seasons, with four girls (Zoey, Dana, Nicole, and Quinn) and four boys (Chase, Michael, Logan, and Dustin), with Lola replacing Dana in season 2. The trope still somewhat applies in season 3 and 4, with only three girls and three boys, since Nicole left the show and Dustin was Demoted to Extra. James replaces Chase in season 4.
- Nice, Mean, and In-Between: Of the main guys, there's the friendly and loyal Michael (nice), the Jerk Jock Logan (mean) and the sweet, but snarky Chase (in-between). Arguably, the first season Chase was the nice guy and Michael was the in-between as he would quickly be roped into Logan's schemes but feel guilty afterwards.
- Town Girls:
- The first season has ditzy, boy-crazy Nicole (femme), bright and friendly Zoey (neither), and aggressive tough girl Dana (butch).
- In Season 3 and 4, aspiring actress Lola takes over the femme role, Bungling Inventor Quinn can qualify as the butch, and Zoey is still the neither.
- True Companions: The main characters form a tightly-knit group. Since they are teenagers living away from their families, they often need to rely on each other.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: Logan always has this vitriolic dynamic with all his friends. In season 1, Dana and Nicole also fit the trope, as they often fight while still being friends.
- With Friends Like These...: Logan and everyone. He's The Friend Nobody Likes and the Token Evil Teammate, so he often becomes the main antagonist of several episodes. Meanwhile, his friends are always ready to humiliate him and punish him, to the point of Disproportionate Retribution.
Zoey Brooks
Portrayed by: Jamie Lynn Spears
- Academic Athlete: Straight A student and great at almost every sport.
- The Ace: Especially in season 1, when she was the only one who was allowed to solve everyone's problems and be perfect at everything. Though this was toned down later where she's more of a Jack of All Trades.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: In the episode "Wrestling", she foiled the coach's plan of using her to "compete" in a school wrestling competition by proving her so-called injury was a fake as she wished to compete as an equal. Her reward? Going up against a ruthless competitor who cared not for her gender and pulverized her and sent her to the infirmary.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Zoey is as loyal and kind-hearted as a friend and girl in general could be, but if you bully her friends or little brother, try to dictate who she can and can't be friends with, rig competitions, or say girls can't do the same things guys can, she'll either chew you out or make you regret it.
- Big Sister Instinct: She's very protective of Dustin. In one episode, when she found out that her brother was being bullied into doing someone else's homework, her first response was to confront the bully.
- Book Smart: Apparently all her friends need her help to study for the exams. Though this was only shown in the episode “Little Beach Party”.
- Character Tics: Zoey has a few subtle ones. Whenever she's mad, she puts her hands on her hips and when she's semi-reluctantly admitting something, she tends to roll her eyes. Zoey also likes to show affection to Chase by ruffling his hair.
- Class Princess: Being a natural leader, she's very popular and respected by all the other students. She's usually a helpful and caring Nice Girl, only showing her snarky side towards people who deserve it, like Logan.
- Dude Magnet: Zig-Zagging Trope. She attracts boys but not a lot more than pretty much any female lead in most similar shows. On occasion, it's even subverted. There's one episode when Zoey is bartering with a guy for a favor and he asks for a date in return: Zoey assumes he wants a date with her, but it turns out he's after her friend Nicole.
- Everyone Loves Blondes: She's blonde and one of the most popular students, and Chase falls for her at first sight. Also Played with, because her brunette friend Lola gets just as much attention from the boys, if not more so.
- Even Girls Want Her: Zig-Zagged a touch. There are a few female PCA students that acknowledge Zoey as quite attractive and desirable. In "Goodbye, Zoey?", Quinn describes the girl Chase uses to replace Zoey after she temporarily leaves for a boarding school in London as "blonde, insanely pretty. She looks like Zoey." Chase's former girlfriend Rebecca notoriously warned Zoey to stay away from Chase and gave Chase the ultimatum that he couldn't be friends with Zoey and be her boyfriend simultaneously. It's possible that Rebecca acknowledges Zoey's good looks and popularity and (wrongfully) views Zoey as a threat. Finally, Nicole and Lola demonstrate many Ship Tease moments with her, especially Nicole who acts like a Hero-Worshipper to Zoey and Lola who around Season 3 takes to bantering with Zoey like a couple.
- The Fashionista: She has a good style and fashion sense, designs clothes for her friends and aims to be a professional fashion designer.
- Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: She's a very fashionable and feminine girl with girly interests, however she's still Zoey, so the writers made her good at almost everything, including sports.
- Go-Getter Girl: Zoey gets good grades, takes part in many school activities, and she's a supportive mother figure not only to her friends, but willing to help anyone in need. In the last episode of season 1, she was tutoring all her friends and other students in different subjects before an important exam.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She's a young, pretty, blonde girl who is caring and compassionate towards people.
- The Heart: She is the mediator and the voice of reason in her group.
- Jack of All Trades: She's good at everything, but rarely the best. She's the best at dancing, but not at acting (Lola), singing (Michael), sports (Dana/Logan) or grades (Nicole/Quinn). She's popular with boys, but it's stated that Lola is the hottest girl in school.
- Last Minute Hook Up: With Chase in the finale.
- The Leader: Of the level-headed, headstrong and charismatic type.
- She lampshades it in season 4:
Lola: And you'll fix it?
Zoey: Yes, I'm Zoey. Are you new? - Magnetic Hero: She's liked by everyone, and her friends and peers often look to her for advice and guidance.
- New Transfer Student: In the first episode.
- Nice Girl: Always willing to help her friends and other students, and she's a nice sister to Dustin.
- Not So Above It All:
- There are times when she can be just as immature and rude as Logan, best shown in “Election”.
- In "Miss PCA", she and Lola end up acting like brats towards each other, both becoming obsessed with winning. It's also the only episode where Zoey and Lola don't get along.
- Not So Invincible After All: In the first two seasons, Zoey is always The Ace at everything she does. In season 3, the writers come up with the episode "Wrestling", probably the one time where Zoey ends up losing a competition (in "Election" and "Miss PCA", she just drops out before the contest). However, her loss is still portrayed in a sympathetic way.
- Oblivious to Love: Despite multiple attempts by Chase to tell her his feelings. However, everyone else on campus has long since figured it out. When bringing it up with her, she refuses to believe them, thinking that Chase's feelings for her solely platonic. It even gets to the point where a random girl (pulled aside by Lola) can tell that Chase likes Zoey, but Zoey cannot tell.Lola: Ginny, could you come here a minute?Ginny: What's up?Lola: 'Blank' is in love with Zoey. Fill in the blank.Ginny: (as though it were the most obvious answer in the world) Chase.Lola: Thanks for playing.
- However, as of Sep. 2015 it is revealed that since the time capsule episode she is well aware of his feelings and is reciprocating inside.
- Off Screen Moment Of Awesome: In the 3rd season episode premier "Surprise", it's revealed Zoey worked a summer job as a pool lifeguard where she saved an elderly lady from drowning by successfully performing CPR at 15 years of age.
- Only Sane Woman: Especially in season 1, when her two roommates, Nicole and Dana, were always fighting. Overall, she is the most levelheaded in the group, though Chase is a close second (but unlike Zoey, he's not without his quirks).
- Pink Means Feminine: She loves that color and owns a lot of pink things.
- Plucky Girl: She never gives up.
- Protagonist Title: The show is named after her.
- Renaissance Woman: While most of her friends have a talent in just one area, Zoey excels at all of them. She's one of the best students, has athletic skills, leadership skills, is good at singing, acting, dancing, and a skilled fashion designer. Whatever sport or activity is the main focus of the episode, she will be great at it. Deconstructed in "Wrestling", where she's quite skilled as a fighter (especially for a girl), but still unable to beat a big, violent, and muscular guy, which is realistic.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: Whenever she disagrees with Dean Rivers about something.
- Sliding Scale of Beauty: Zoey is World Class Beauty, although at a lower level than Lola.. Many people mention how beautiful she is, and she has attracted the attention of many men.
- Team Mom: Acts like a motherly figure to everyone, especially her little brother, Dustin.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Not as obvious as other examples, but one of Zoey's favorite foods are grapes, which she snacks on in a lot of episodes.
- You Go, Girl!: It's the plot of the first episode. Subverted later in the episode "Wrestling", one of the rare instances where Zoey doesn't come out on top.
Dustin Brooks
Portrayed by: Paul Butcher
- Alone Among the Couples: Out of all the major characters who are still around at the end of the show, he's the only one who ends up alone (along with James, the Romantic False Lead who disappears after his break-up with Zoey).
- Advertised Extra: Through he is credited as a main character for all 65 episodes, he only appears in 25 episodes and rarely contributes to the plot in a major way. This is lampshaded in one episode where he said he missed hanging out with Zoey as she spent more time with her friends.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Sometimes, when he needs his sister to get him out of trouble.
- The Artifact: As of season 3. It's not clear why he was still in the opening credits (and always billed second after Zoey, due to Paul Butcher being first alphabetically by).
- Big Sister Worship: Looks up to Zoey, and loves spending time with her.
- Book Smart: According to his sister, he's an academic prodigy compared to the other kids his age.
- Bratty Half-Pint: Sometimes. Very much in the last episode "Chasing Zoey".
- Child Prodigy: He shares an 8th grade geometry class with his elder sister.
- Comically Missing the Point: Is more shocked about the fact that Quinn used him at the prom rather than the fact that her and Logan had declared their love for each other in the finale.
- The Load: Sometimes.
- Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Feminine Boy to Trisha's Masculine Girl.
- Out of Focus: He barely appeared in the last two seasons.
- Tagalong Kid: The only kid in the main cast, and frequently hangs out with Zoey and her friends.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Was a nice kid for most of the show, but in the final movie he becomes a Bratty Half-Pint for no apparent reason.
- Wise Beyond His Years: He's smart for his age.
Chase Matthews
Portrayed by: Sean Flynn
- Back for the Finale: In the last episode and in a touching way.
- Butt-Monkey: He’s extremely clumsy and his Extreme Doormat nature makes him an easy target for jokes and insults.
- Cannot Spit It Out: To a ridiculous extent. He spends 3 seasons pining after Zoey. In one episode, he tries to text his feelings to her, and her cell phone falls into a fountain. After Zoey finds out how he feels...he gets Put on a Bus to England.
- Chick Magnet: Thanks to his dorky charm, he is not bad in this department (Melissa, Lola, Trisha Kirby, Rebecca, Gretchen, and eventually Zoey).
- Deadpan Snarker: Among the male characters, Chase is the biggest one.
- Deuteragonist: Being the male lead and the title character's love interest.
- Distracted by the Sexy: He crashes into a flagpole on his bike due to staring at Zoey.
- Embarrassing Middle Name: Bartholemew.
- Endearingly Dorky: A dorky, clumsy but lovable Nice Guy who is often mocked for his Funny Afro. Many girls find him cute, to the point that even Lola falls for him when he helps her to study biology.
- Extreme Doormat: He puts up with a lot of teasing and doesn't seem to mind getting pushed around. Furthermore he is always eager to please people.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: The Phlegmatic.
- Funny Afro: His bushy "Jewish afro" constantly referenced by the other characters. He tends to shrug it off, but lampshades it himself after Zoey throws a pillow at him that knocks him off his chair. He gets up, pats his head and exclaims "You dented my 'fro!"
- I Don't Want to Ruin Our Friendship: The reason why he won’t tell Zoey he’s in love with her.
- Just Friends: with Zoey in Season 3, after he has convinced everyone (including himself) that he's over his crush.
- The Klutz: He's often prone to falling down.Zoey: Where's Chase?Michael: Oh, you know Chase. He's probably running to see you right now but he fell down a flight of stairs.
- Love Makes You Dumb: Several times, mainly in Season 1
- Meaningful Name: Chase (as in 'pursuit'). Came in handy for naming the series finale TV movie "Chasing Zoey" ("Chase"-ing Zoey, Chase 'n Zoey).
- Nice Guy: A sweet natured, loyal, and honest person, and he gets along with everyone in the group.
- Nice Jewish Boy: His bushy hair is referred to by Michael as a "crazy Jewish afro". Also, his actor is Jewish.
- Odd Friendship: Chase and Logan's friendship seems to fall into this, as they are incredibly different and seem to be the kind of friendship that would not work thanks to their personalities but more than once is showed that they are close friends.
- Official Couple: With Zoey, by the end of the show.
- Only Sane Man: He constantly falls into this, something that is easy when your competition is Logan and Michael.
- Put on a Bus: To England, in the last season.
- Running Gag:
- Him falling down the first time he sees Zoey every season.
- Jokes about his bushy hair.
- Every time he attempts to tell Zoey he loves her or make a date with her, something gets in the way.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The Sensitive Guy to Logan's Manly Man. He's a softie while Logan is a self-proclaimed macho.
- Single-Target Sexuality: He had other girlfriends, but his heart was always with Zoey.
- Stalker with a Crush: Despite being the nice guy, he lapses into this a couple of times in Season 1. He atones for it in Season 2's "Time Capsule" and never goes back.
- Will They or Won't They?: Done to death with Zoey and Chase, with the Running Gag of Chase who can't confess his feelings for Zoey. They do, but not until the last few minutes of the final episode.
Dana Cruz
Portrayed by: Kristin Herrera
- Deadpan Snarker: Out of all characters, Dana definitely wins the snarking trophy, even though she only appears in the first season.
- Hot-Blooded: She can be aggressive at times.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: As arrogant and sarcastic as she is, she's still a good friend to Zoey and the rest of the group.
- Passionate Sports Girl: She is into sports and enjoys skateboarding.
- Put on a Bus: After season 1.
- Ship Tease: With Logan. According to Schneider, she was Logan's original love interest. However, something changed and he made Quinn and Logan end up together.
- Spicy Latina: Mostly implied because of her surname and confrontational attitude.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Though we never really see the sugar part that often, due to her being Put on a Bus too soon.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Tomboy to Nicole's Girly Girl.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Nicole.
- You Go, Girl!: Along with Zoey, she is one of the first girls on the PCA Basketball Team.
Michael Barrett
Portrayed by: Christopher Massey
- Ambiguously Bi: He's described guys as hot before.Logan: Why do you waste your time with the drama club? Why don't you go up for the football team or something?Chase: Because the drama club is loaded with hot girls, and I've seen the football team. They're not hot.Michael: I don't know, man, Dave the quarterback's a pretty handsome dude.(Chase and Logan look at Michael oddly.)Michael: I've said too much.
- Beta Couple: With Lisa.
- Characterization Marches On: Early episodes had him get roped along with Logan such as teasing the girls for their lack of basketball prowess or spying on the girls. Only to have him feel bad and make up for it, this was quickly dropped and he would've never considered doing these in later episodes.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Not as much as Quinn, but he's still a bit eccentric.
- Four-Temperament Ensemble: The Sanguine.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With his best friend Chase, to the point they even have an internet show together. Also becomes this with Logan in season 4.
- Hidden Depths: He's a skilled flutist.
- Jerkass Ball: Happens a few times in season 4, due to being paired with Logan more often and sometimes going along with his jerkish antics. Particularly their shunning James because they don't want a new roommate. James forgives him for this though understanding Michael was just scared he would replace his best friend.
- Large Ham: He can be very dramatic when he wants to.
- Lovable Jock: A natural athlete and Nice Guy, in contrast to Logan's Jerk Jock.
- Love Makes You Dumb: In "Michael Likes Lisa."
- Nice Guy: Always a loyal friend to everyone, no matter what.
- Odd Friendship: With Jerk Jock Logan, especially after Chase is Put on a Bus. While they were always good friends, it's more evident in season 4 where, even without the leader of the Power Trio, they get along perfectly.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Sensitive Guy to Logan's Manly Man.
- Shipper on Deck: For Chase and Zoey.
- Token Black Friend: The only black person in the main cast.
- Token Minority Couple: With Lisa, another black girl, in later episodes.
Nicole Bristow
Portrayed by: Alexa Nikolas
- Ambiguously Bi: She definitely likes boys, but she also fawns over Zoey a lot, even more than everyone else. In "Girls will be Boys," she also says it is hot when Lola talks in her guy voice when she was disguised as a boy.
- Athletically Challenged: Unlike her roommates Zoey and Dana, she can't play basketball. She's also shown to be bad at sports in "Disc Golf" where she keeps throwing up while running, and is seen as The Millstone of the disc golf team.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: She’s prone to space out in the middle of a conversation and start talking about an unrelated topic.
- Book Smart: While it's never mentioned in the first season, the episode "Broadcast Views" reveals that she's a straight-A student and cares about getting high grades, even if she's distracted by her obsession with boys.
- Brainless Beauty: Downplayed, she's flighty and shallow, but apparently a good student.
- The Cutie: Nicole can easily be a predecessor of Cat Valentine, for her cuteness and bubbly attitude.
- Ditzy Genius: She acts like The Ditz but she's a straight A student and lowering that percentage freaks her out.
- Genki Girl: She's very energetic.
- Hidden Depths: For all her boy-crazed ditziness, she does very well in school and gets straight A's.
- Hormone-Addled Teenager: She's so boy crazy she was diagnosed with "Obsessive Male Gender Disorder."
- Naïve Everygirl: Nicole is an insecure and naive girl who is very dependent on her best friend Zoey, but always keeps her happy-go-lucky attitude.
- Nice Girl: She adores Zoey, and in the first season Zoey is not as close to Dana as she is to Nicole, because Nicole is more open and friendly.
- Put on a Bus to Hell: Nicole is an intensely boy-crazy, insecure kid who hates unfamiliar situations. In one episode, she had broken down sobbing when she thought she'd have to transfer to another school. In the third season premiere, it's revealed that Nicole has been shipped to an all-girls boarding school.
- Smarter Than You Look: In one episode of the second season it's revealed that Nicole, of all people, is a straight A student, much to many fans's surprise.
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Girly Girl to Dana's Tomboy.
- Undying Loyalty: To Zoey. She's always the first to support her in everything, and she worships Zoey even more than Chase.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With her roommate Dana. They are very different and fight over everything, though they learned to tolerate each other and are still good friends.
Quinn Pensky
Portrayed by: Erin Sanders
- Animal Lover: She has an alpaca named Otis, a snake named Marvin and a spider named Herman.
- Berserk Button:
- Calling Quinn a spazz is a bad idea.
- Bringing up her past in beauty pageants.
- Don't even let her think one of her friends is being threatened. Rebecca almost learned that the hard way.
- Blind Without 'Em: The few times she's seen not wearing glasses it's obvious her vision is not very good.
- Big Damn Kiss: Quinn and Logan share their first and very unexpected kiss in season 4.
- Book Smart: Due to her high IQ and scientific knowledge.
- Brainy Brunette: She's the smartest girl at PCA.
- Bungling Inventor: Her "Quinnventions" always fail horribly somehow.
- Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Quinn is brilliant and everyone knows it, despite her many personality quirks.
- Butt-Monkey: More so in the early seasons. In one episode Quinn didn't take it well when Logan and the others were making fun of her.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Most girls even interacting with Mark was an obvious Berserk Button for her. Downplayed later with Logan as it's made apparent that she didn't want him going to the prom with anyone she perceived as a threat.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Big time, she has incredibly weird habits and interests (usually science experiments), to the point of being even gross at times, especially in the first season.
- Ditzy Genius: She's very smart, but doesn't have much in terms of social skills.
- Even Nerds Have Standards: As dorky as Quinn is, even she found Stacey annoying and found her cotton swab obsession weird.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Early on the show she was barely tolerated and not even Zoey was too fond of her. It gets better in the last two seasons, when she becomes great friends with Zoey and Lola, as well as their roommate (replacing Nicole).
- Gadgeteer Genius: Sometimes. More often than not, though, her inventions don't seem to work.
- Gadget Watch: Her zap watch.
- Girliness Upgrade: Starting in season 3.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Lola and Zoey. They become close friends in the last two seasons.
- Hidden Depths: She used to compete in beauty pageants when she was little.
- Karma Houdini: She gets away with a lot of things. Most of her inventions and experiments are very dangerous for her and the people around her and yet she’s never held accountable for it. Here are some of the most notable incidents that would result in her being expelled if this wasn’t fiction:
- In one episode, Dustin agrees to help her with one of her experiments. She makes him use a wristband device that shocks him awake if he falls asleep.
- It’s emphasized several times PCA students aren’t allowed to keep pets in their dorms. Quinn has a snake, a spider, a rat and a bee sanctuary. At some point she threw the snake into a pool to scare people. Later, her bees attacked the dorm advisor.
- In “The Great Vince Blake”, the girls put healthy snacks on the school’s vending machines. Quinn puts cactus goo in them to enhance their flavor even though she knows it is addictive.
- She created a new germ, spilled it on her room and all of her friends were quarantined because of it.
- Like Mother, Unlike Daughter: It is shown that while she's intelligent, her mother is shown to be dimwitted and not very bright.
- Mad Scientist: She is obsessed with her "Quinnventions".
- Official Couple: With Logan. Logan and Quinn in season 4. Despite formerly being enemies, Logan and Quinn end up together after starting to date in ""Quinn Misses the Mark".
- Opposites Attract: With Logan. She's a science-loving nerd, while Logan is a Jerk Jock. One episode reveals that Logan is good at chemistry, but this is never brought up when they become a couple.
- Running Gag: Her "Quinnventions" going horribly wrong.
- Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: She often indulges in this.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: She's more of an nerd in the first two seasons, but in later seasons she starts wearing fashionable outfits like her friends, even if she's still supposed to be a nerd.
- Smart People Wear Glasses: Is smart and wears glasses.
- Speaks Fluent Animal: Just ask Otis.Nicole: Quinn speaks alpaca?Zoey: And you're surprised?
- Teen Genius: She has an IQ of 177.
- Took a Level in Badass: Quinn's athletic abilities were laughable early on, but in Season 3 she develops a lot of talent in both basketball and volleyball. She attributes this to being so embarrassed by what happened that she learned to apply her science knowledge in sports.
- TV Genius: Particularly in early seasons, with her extreme nerd and Mad Scientist tendencies.
- What Does She See in Him?: Her crush on Mark didn't seem that strange in early seasons (as Quinn was a nerdy Cloudcuckoolander and just as weird as him), but she was still dating him in season 3 and 4. At that point, Quinn was a much more normal and pretty girl who could easily do much better than him.
- Wrench Wench: Has enough knowledge on mechanics to fix Zoey’s scooter and make improvements on Chase’s kart. Justified as a lot of her Quinnventions require such knowledge.
Logan Reese
Portrayed by: Matthew Underwood
- The Ace: Not as much as Zoey, but he's extremely athletic and good at every sport. He's also a fairly good actor and it is revealed in one episode that he is very gifted in chemistry, smart enough to tutor Zoey.
- Attention Whore: He likes to take pictures of himself and autograph them to give out to girls at PCA.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: To some extent with Zoey (they are frenemies or Vitriolic Best Buds and he has a blatant crush on her) and Dana (who was supposed to be his Love Interest before she left the show). At least until season 4, when he starts dating Quinn.
- Big Bad: He's the main antagonist of certain episodes whenever he's feeling particularly malicious, such as "Hands on a Blix Van", "Webcam", and even the premiere.
- Book Dumb: Not a good student at all (except in chemistry), but he's frequently shown to be rather street smart.
- Break the Haughty: Logan's arrogance and maliciousness often stem from his family's wealth and connections. However, in the episode ''Logan Gets Cut Off,'' his dad cuts him off from his money and credit and confiscates his luxury belongings for a while after Logan buys a six-figure priced car without asking permission in order to teach him a hard lesson. Logan, distraught, broke, and with no amenities, is forced to navigate the world of being an average kid and do things for himself without financial help, which he has a very hard time doing.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: He's Street Smart and good at everything except academics, and only because he thinks School Is for Losers. It's revealed that he is secretly very good at chemistry because he was forced to study the subject by his grandfather when he was a kid, so it's clear that he could be potentially good at the other subjects as well, if he just wanted to.
- The Chew Toy: His anguish is often satisfying due to his generally insufferable behavior.
- Chick Magnet: He's apparently popular with girls and he considers himself sort of a KidAnova. He also gets an Abhorrent Admirer in later seasons.
- Everyone Has Standards: He does have lines he doesn't cross. Despite his underhanded behavior during Zoey and Chase's fight for the class Presidency, he is angry when (he thinks) Zoey made a cruel attack ad against Chase.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Big time. He's a friend due to Proximity. Being Chase and Michael's roommate, he regularly hangs out with the main group, yet Zoey and the others openly dislike him and think he's a jerk.Chase: I know she'd never date a jerk like Logan.Lola: He's one of your best friends!Chase: Which is how I know he's a jerk.
- Handsome Lech: Proud of his good looks and constantly flirts with many girls.
- Hidden Depths: He's quite gifted in chemistry.
- It's All About Me: He's extremely self-absorbed and narcissistic.
- Jerk Jock: A rich, popular, athletic asshole.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite being known as a womanising jerk in the earlier seasons, especially in seasons 1 and 2, Logan started to grow out of this in season 3 and while he still tried to get girls to date him, he showed his really soft side when he found Quinn crying and listened to her after her break up with Mark, which leads Logan to kissing Quinn. It is shown after he started dating Quinn that his player attitude is behind him and is generally a really sweet guy deep down when it comes to being in a relationship with her and is willing to do what makes her happy.
- Karmic Butt-Monkey: Zigzagged. His constant suffering is basically karma's way of telling him that being a colossal jerk towards others has its impeccable amount of consequences, and thus he suffers through karmic retribution whenever he reaches that point. However, while he often deserves it for being an asshole, in some episodes he seems just victim of Disproportionate Retribution from his "friends" (with "Zoey's Tutor", "Rumor of Love" and "Anger Management" being some of the most egregious examples.)
- KidAnova: Though, Dustin points out that this is more of an Informed Ability than anything else.Logan: Do I get a lot of girls?Dustin: You TALK about getting a lot of girls.
- Lady Killer In Love: With Quinn in season 4, if we have in mind his past as a serial dater.
- Millionaire Playboy: How he sees himself.
- Narcissist: He always checks himself out in the mirror, takes an insane amount of pictures of himself and makes a video so all girls can dance with him. Sounds right.
- Official Couple: With Quinn. Quinn and Logan end up together and she is the only girl he has actually admitted to being in love with.
- Opposites Attract: With Quinn.
- Pet the Dog: Has quite a few.
- How his relationship with Quinn starts; he sees her crying and upset over her breakup with Mark and tries to comfort.
- When Zoey got ruffed up by a large wrestler in a wrestling match, Logan went to defend her honor as a friend. He was sent to the same nurses office as Zoey for his troubles, but everyone appreciate the effort.
- He's genuinely concerned when he thinks he accidentally broke Michael's jaw when the two were boxing.
- He shows Dustin sympathy when he says a girl he asked out laughed at him.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: He states outright that he can get away with a lot of things because his dad is rich and donates to the school.
- Second Love: To Quinn. Quinn is in love with Mark for most of the show, until they break up in the final season, so Logan is her second Love Interest. Quinn is also the only girl Logan has actually admitted to being in love with.
- Sensitive Guy and Manly Man:
- The Jerk Jock Manly Man to Michael's Lovable Coward Sensitive Guy, especially in the final season.
- He's also the Manly Man to Chase's nice and dorky Sensitive Guy.
- Sleeves Are for Wimps: He almost always wears sleeveless shirts.
- Sliding Scale of Beauty: Common beauty. Some people describe him as handsome, but not as handsome as he would like to believe.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Not nearly as cool and good looking as he thinks.
- Smug Snake: Played for Laughs, he's smug and overconfident just because he's rich, but not even his friends respect him and things usually backfire in his face.
- Spoiled Brat: An arrogant spoiled rich kid, due to his wealthy family.
- Straw Misogynist: Very sexist towards women.
- Token Evil Teammate: Being Chase and Michael's roommate, Logan regularly hangs out with the main group, yet he ends up being the main villain in a high number of episodes.
- Took a Level in Kindness: After he started dating Quinn.
- Upper-Class Twit: Sort of. But he's much more Book Dumb than outright stupid.
- Villain Protagonist: Serves as the main antagonist in a number of episodes.
- Villainous Valor: A variation of this trope; some of his most heroic moments show that, in spite of his flaws, he's no coward, such as taking on the entire football team and a belligerent, violent wrestler to defend his friends. He loses badly both times but shows no regrets either time.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With EVERYONE.
- With Friends Like These...: He has a very strange relationship with the group, due to him being the Token Evil Teammate and The Friend Nobody Likes. And while Logan is often a jerk to his friends, they aren't exactly kind to him either, often going a bit too far on their payback for Logan's jerkish behavior.
Lola Martinez
Portrayed by: Victoria Justice
- Ambiguously Bi: Though she's more the type to just joke about it. She also has quite a bit of Ship Tease with Quinn and Zoey.Zoey: In love with me? Chase?Lola: (sarcastically) No, me. Marry me, Zoey? Please be my wife?
- Attractive Bent-Gender: Steve. Even Nicole finds "him" attractive.
- Beta Couple: With Vince.
- Butt-Monkey: Often gets the role from time to time, most notably in Zoey's Balloon.
- Characterization Marches On: In her early appearances, Lola could be a bit rude and snarky with her attitude, similar to Dana. From season 3 onwards, Lola becomes more friendly, funny, cheerful, and likable, getting more of a Butt-Monkey, and having more of her own personality. She also starts dressing more normal, and becoming more boy crazy.
- Cloudcuckoolander: Sometimes.Lola: Do you think a duck would make a good pet?
- Contrasting Replacement Character: Replaces Dana in season 2 as a new roommate for Zoey and Nicole but, aside from being both Spicy Latinas, they aren't that similar. Dana was a grumpy, sporty tomboy who doesn't get along with Nicole, Lola is a carefree, girly fashionista who gets along with everyone (sans Rebecca and Logan, who are far from pleasant individuals).
- Cuckoolander Commentator: Falls into this during “Wrestling”.
- Dude Magnet: A lot of male characters bring up how "hot" and "beautiful" she is, including Michael (in the episode "Lola Likes Chase") and Logan. Also, according to Dustin, all the guys in his year have a crush on Lola and think she is hot.
- The Fashionista: She cools off a little in season 3.
- Flanderization: Lola is introduced in season 2 as an independent, trendy girl with an unique style and personality, as well as an original different hairstyle (and sometimes, different hair color) in every episode. By season 3 her unique style is gone, she's fashionable in a more conventional way, and also has stereotypical personality traits of a boy-crazy shallow girl (more or less replacing Nicole, after the latter is Put on a Bus).
- Gender-Concealing Voice: In the episode "Girls Will Be Boys", the girls have Lola disguise herself as a boy to prove to the boys that they can act the same with girls around. Lola lowers her voice several octaves when she's "Steve" and funnily enough, Nicole thinks Lola's guy voice sounds hot.
- Genki Girl: Not to the same extent as Nicole, but she's still pretty energetic.
- Goth: Subverted. Zoey and Nicole thought she was, but she was only acting that way as an acting exercise to see if she could pretend to be someone completely different from herself and have people believe it.
- Guile Heroine: She's not above using The Power of Acting to get what she wants.
- The Heart: Sometimes, like in The Radio:Lola: Okay, we have to decide who gets the radio before this ruins all of our friendships!
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Zoey and Quinn. Being roommates, they become close friends in the last two seasons.
- Hidden Depths: She loves reading Shakespeare, and Hamlet is her second favorite play. (Her first favorite is The Importance of Being Earnest.)
- Iconic Sequel Character: Is introduced in season 2 to replace Dana, and remains a main character for the rest of the show.
- Ms. Fanservice: She's prone to showing lots of skin.
- New Transfer Student: In season 2.
- Sliding Scale of Beauty: Lola is World Class Beauty. Many people mention how beautiful she is, and she has attracted the attention of many fans.
- Spicy Latina: To a lesser extent than Dana, but she's snarky enough to qualify.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: After Nicole is Put on a Bus in season 3, Lola's character assumes more traits of a boy-crazy ditz, becoming more similar to Nicole than to her original character in season 2.
James Garrett
Portrayed by: Austin Butler
- Alone Among the Couples: Out of all the major characters who are still around at the end of the show, he's the only one who ends up alone (along with Dustin, the Tagalong Kid).
- Chick Magnet: In his first appearance he manages to attract all the female students at PCA, including Zoey, Lola, and Quinn.
- The Generic Guy: Other than being a nice pretty boy, he's not that interesting, especially compared to Chase.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: He truly loves Zoey and proved it the series finale. Not only did he give her a gold necklace confessing his love for her, but he let her keep it after they broke up. He even gave her one final kiss before he left her dorm.
- New Transfer Student: In season 4.
- Nice Guy: Friendly to the group, and a nice boyfriend to Zoey.
- Only Sane Man: Much like Chase, as he appears to be the sane one out of the three male characters.
- Pretty Boy: A blond, blue-eyed pretty boy.
- Satellite Love Interest: His role mainly revolves around Zoey. After his break-up with Zoey, he disappears and he is not seen in the second half of the finale.
- Romantic False Lead: To Zoey, in season 4. Until Chase comes back, obviously.
Other Students
Mark Del Figgalo
Portrayed by: Jack Salvatore Jr.
- Butt-Monkey: Sometimes, though not as much as Stacey.
- Collector of the Strange: He collects rocks and antique calendars.
- Kavorka Man: To some extent. He dated more girls than everyone else (including Quinn, Courtney, Brooke and Stacey), despite being an overweight, unattractive, emotionless guy with no personality.
- Last-Name Basis: Quinn is usually the only one who calls him Mark. He's usually referred to as "Del Figgalo" by everyone else.
- Pair the Spares: With Stacey in the last episode.
- Perpetual Frowner: Lampshaded. He mostly seems unable to smile.
- Recurring Character: Who appears in every season.
- Romantic False Lead: He and Quinn date for most of the series, but they broke up in the final season. The cause of it is Mark falling for another girl and Quinn realizing her feelings for Logan.
- The Stoic: Because he has no emotions.
Stacey Dillsen
Portrayed by: Abbie Wilde
- Abhorrent Admirer: To Logan. She has a crush on him, but he's not interested at all.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Her crush on Jerk Jock Logan.
- All of the Other Reindeer: She has no friends, and is usually mistreated or ignored by everyone for no reason. Even Mark, who is even weirder than she is, manages to get along with some people. Stacey doesn't.
- Berserk Button: Using her special cotton swabs
- Breakout Character: Stacey was originally intended as a one-shot character, but ended up becoming the most prominent character outside the main gang. She would even make crossover appearances in iCarly and Sam & Cat.
- Butt-Monkey: To the extreme: her parents change phone numbers without telling her.
- Depending on the Writer: After the finale, her lisp was gone after being knocked out. But her later appearances in "iCarly" and "Sam and Cat" imply that her gained it back. It makes hard to figure out about the changes due to the loose canon between the shows. "Zoey 102" has Stacey without the lisp like it was in the finale, making it imply that it comes and goes whenever she's into an accident.
- Fake Guest Star: She appears in the majority of season 3 and 4 yet is always credited as a guest star. In fact, she appears in more episodes than Dustin, whom is credited as a main star for all four seasons.
- Iconic Sequel Character: She is introduced in the third season, but proved popular enough of a character to earn a guest spot on iCarly and Sam & Cat.
- Out-of-Character Moment: Slightly. Despite her unpopularity, in season 3's episode Quarantine she's seen dating a cute boy who was apparently interested in her. The boy was played by Austin Butler who in Season 4 plays James, considered the hottest guy in the school. Of course, she still has her usual bad luck, so she ends up running away and dumping him just because of a coincidence.
- Pair the Spares: With Mark in the last episode. Since Stacey's prom date Logan and Mark's ex-girlfriend Quinn are now an Official Couple, Mark and Stacey seemingly start dating, as they are happily dancing together at the end.
- The Pollyanna: Remains very upbeat despite her Butt-Monkey status.That's negativity. And I don't swing that way.
- Recurring Character: In season 3 and 4.
- Replacement Flat Character: Stacey seems to exist so there's still a freaky nerd to pick on after Quinn becomes more normal.
- Speech Impediment: She has a lisp and has troubles pronouncing words with the letter "S". It's gone for the last few minutes of the finale. But back in iCarly and Sam & Cat, explained by her suffering a relapse.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: She eventually gets a boyfriend in the last episode. She even loses her Speech Impediment in the series finale.
Rebecca Martin
Portrayed by: Daniella Monet
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Has Chase (and for a much shorter duration, the audience) believing that she's your typical hometown sweetheart. It's eventually revealed that she's a highly possessive Control Freak and consummate Yandere who'll shed any pretense of kindness the second things stop going her way.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: To Chase when they were dating. She wouldn't even let him talk to Zoey! Which is why he dumped her. Of course she blames Zoey and tries to blackmail her later.
- Derailing Love Interests: To make Zoey look better.
- Jerkass: Of the possessive girlfriend variety.
- Manipulative Bitch: In "Zoey's Balloon", when she tries to blackmail Zoey.
- Never My Fault: Has the nerve to blame Zoey for her break up with Chase. Never mind any of that possessive and controlling crap that she threw around.
- Psycho Ex-Girlfriend: She goes so far as to blackmail Zoey because she thinks Zoey "stole" Chase from her.
- Romantic False Lead: To Chase, basically a textbook example. When Zoey finally decides to ask Chase about his feelings for her, Chase suddenly reveals that he has another girlfriend, Rebecca. Their relationship doesn't last long, obviosuly.
- Yandere: She seemed nice at first, but she's later revealed to be an evil and manipulative Clingy Jealous Girl.
Jeremiah Trottman
Portrayed by: Creagen Dow
- KidAnova: He's frequently seen impressing girls with his journalism prospects. And he was ready to dump his date for Zoey in the series finale.
- School Newspaper News Hound: Subverted as he's not in it for the hard-hitting journalism, but to become a well-paid anchorman.
Vincent "Vince" Blake
Portrayed by: Brando Eaton
- The Atoner: When he comes back in season 4.
- Beta Couple: With Lola in season 4.
- Big Man on Campus: He's a very popular football player.
- The Bus Came Back: After being expelled, he comes back to PCA in season 4.
- Cheaters Never Prosper: What brings his downfall.
- Chick Magnet: Is popular with a lot of the girls on campus.
- Dumb Jock: Like any scumbag athlete, he resorted to cheating by taking pictures of an upcoming test on his phone but unlike any clever cheater, he forgot to remove the evidence from his phone. When being told on in front on the class by Chase, who lampshaded how Vince is an example of the trope.
- Easily Forgiven: By Lola at least. She tried to ignore him for a few seconds but then ends up forgiving him (and kissing him) almost immediately.
- Heel–Face Turn: He goes from a violent Jerk Jock in season 3 to a reformed Nice Guy in season 4.
- Jerk Jock: In his first appearance, before his Heel–Face Turn.
- Nice Guy: Like you wouldn't believe in Season 4. He understands that the guys were still angry at him and was even willing to accept the punishment.
- The Nicknamer: Initially. Logan even referred to him as the "Nicknaming Master".
- Smug Snake: His first appearance reeks of this. He gets better.
- Took a Level in Kindness: In season 4, after his Heel–Face Turn, he's no longer a Jerk Jock.
Lisa Perkins
Portrayed by: Lisa Tucker
- Satellite Love Interest: Only exists to be a love interest to Michael, and in fact she doesn't appear in many episodes.
- Token Minority Couple: With Michael. She is a black girl who serves as a Love Interest to the only black guy of the group.
Wayne "Firewire" Gilbert
Portrayed by: Allen Evangelista
- Berserk Button: He gets upset when you don't call him by his nickname.
- Geek: Firewire’s defining trait.
- Straw Misogynist: He and his nerdy friends have this attitude, according to them girls are useless when it comes to science and they look down at Quinn and Zoey for being girls. However, they are proven wrong when Quinn destroys their robot with her tiny one.
Gretchen
Portrayed by: Madison Riley
- The Lad-ette: She's very rude, a slob, and has many gross habits.
- Replacement Goldfish: Replacing Zoey for Chase because she looks like her (physically), and pointed out by all other characters.
- Straw Loser: Pretty much only appears to be disgusting and remind the other characters how much Zoey was better than her.
Adults
Coco Wexler
Portrayed by: Jessica Chaffin
- Adults Are Useless: As a dorm advisor, she's terrible at her job. She once stole pies the girls were selling to raise money, she spends half of her time eating or crying over something and once cancelled a planned school trip with the students so that she could drive the school owned van all the way to confront her boyfriend. In one episode, she's even fired and Zoey tries to get her rehired. Literally no one wanted her back, not even Zoey's friends. The only reason she was rehired is because her replacement was a kleptomaniac.
- Big Eater: When it comes to ravioli. To the point where she would not stop eating ravioli not even if she is being chased by bees.
- Butt-Monkey: Especially in the episode where she is chased by bees. She also seems to have love problems and a troubled life. Played for Laughs.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: People mostly associate with her due to Zoey. Outside of that, nobody respects her, much less likes her. They've mocked her repeatedly and make it clear when she's fired they prefer their new dorm advisor, since she's not a mess of a human being (at least until she's revealed to be a kleptomaniac). While Zoey is aware Coco isn't perfect, she's the only one who is in any way nice to her. Everyone else would prefer not to have to be around her.
- Inelegant BlubberingDean Rivers: Every time she takes one of our vans, it comes back smelling like fried chicken and tears.
- Informed Deformity: She's not nearly as fat and hideous as they say in the series.
- Relationship Revolving Door: With her boyfriend Carl. At some point after the series, the did marry... only to divorce. Her appearance in Sam & Cat reveals he's now engaged to her mother.
- Trademark Favourite Food: She is often shown to carry a can of raviolis with her.
Dean Charles Rivers
Portrayed by: Christopher Murray
- Hypocrite: He bans coffee carts in one episode due to an accident with one involving his wife. He is later found out to be violating his own ban by secretly having coffee machines and coffee in his office. Which Zoey and the others use against him to get him to lift the ban.
- Henpecked Husband: Shown a couple of times in Season 4.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: His main goal is to just keep the school running.
Coach Keller
- Jerkass: Not only does he push students to exhaustion in his gym class, but he made Chase and Michael's lives Hell when Sushi Rox burned down, despite it not being their fault.
- No Indoor Voice: Is always yelling, even on the rare occasion that he's happy.
