Iconic Sequel Character / Live-Action TV

• The 100: While mentioned indirectly in Season 1, the Commander of the Grounders, Lexa, didn't make a proper debut until midway thru Season 2. However, she almost instantly became one of the show's most popular and iconic characters due to the fact that she was seen as great LGBT representation, being a lesbian who was allowed to be more than just their sexuality, and her interesting dynamic with Clarke. She was eventually made Clarke's main love interest and her One True Love, even being brought back years after she died as the form the Judge takes when talking to Clarke.
• 24:
  • Chloe O'Brien is one of the best known characters, serving as Jack's primary source of information who always has his back. She doesn't appear until season three and doesn't even get promoted to the main cast until season five.
  • Jack's boss Bill Buchanan doesn't show up until halfway through the fourth season.
  • Charles Logan, arguably the show's most iconic villain, is likewise introduced in the same season in the episode immediately after Bill's introduction.
  • Despite being some of the best remembered characters in the show, Renee Walker and Allison Taylor don't appear until Season 7.
• 9-1-1 introduces Maddie Buckley and Eddie Díaz in the second season, both of whom become integral to the show at large and Buck's development (since the former is his sister, and the latter becomes his best friend).
• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.:
  • Mack didn't join until a general cast expansion in Season 2, and remained part of the main cast for the rest of the show's run. (The other cast members who joined at that time, Bobbi Morse and Lance Hunter, were written out a season and a half later to free them up for a Spin-Off that never materialized.)
  • Elena "Yo-Yo" Rodriguez is introduced in the third season before growing more prominent and becoming a series mainstay in the second half of the series.
• American Horror Story introduces Sister Mary Eunice McKee and Pepper during its second season.
• America's Next Top Model: Nigel Barker, the show's longest serving judge after host Tyra Banks herself, was introduced during its second cycle. Other long term judges were introduced later on. Twiggy, in particular, wasn't introduced until the fifth cycle.
• In Angel, of the core cast for the majority of the show's run while Angel himself and Cordelia were there from the very beginning, and Wesley and Gunn both joined the team later on in the show's first season, neither Lorne nor Fred appeared until season two. In Lorne's case, he appeared as early as the premiere, but similar to Spike wasn't promoted to the main cast until halfway through season four, even though he was in nearly every episode since his debut. Fred meanwhile had to wait until the final four episodes of the season before her introduction.
• Arrowverse:
  • Nyssa Al-Ghul, Amanda Waller, Sin, Caitlin Snow, Cisco Ramon, and Barry Allen were all introduced during Arrow Season 2, with the last three only making an Early-Bird Cameo before their stint as main characters in their then upcoming spin-off show. In Waller's case, her legs were briefly glimpsed near the end of the first season but that's about it. And despite Sara Lance appearing in the season premiere, this was the season that saw Caity Lotz officially taking over as the character.
  • Ray Palmer, Ra's al Ghul, and Tatsu Yamashiro were all introduced during Arrow Season 3. Palmer and Breakout Character Sara Lance would later star on their own spin-off show.
  • The Earth-2 Harrison "Harry" Wells, Hunter Zolomon, Jay Garrick, Jesse Quick, Jefferson Jackson, the Earth-2 Laurel Lance, the Earth-2 Caitlin Snow, King Shark, and Wally West were all introduced during The Flash (2014) Season 2. Jackson would later star on one of the spin-off shows, while Earth-2 Laurel would join Arrow starting its fifth season.
  • Lena and Lillian Luthor, M'gann M'orrz, Eve Tessmacher and Maggie Sawyer were all introduced during Supergirl (2015) Season 2. Samantha Arias aka Reign made her debut in the Season Finale, but wasn't formally introduced until the Season 3 premiere. This was also the season where Superman finally stopped being The Faceless.
  • Superman's Arch-Enemy Lex Luthor is the Big Bad in season 2 and continues being a threat to Supergirl going on and Lois Lane first appears in the Elseworlds-crossover.
  • Nate Heywood (Steel) and Amaya Jiwe (Vixen) in Season 2 of Legends of Tomorrow, both replacing Captain Cold and the Hawks who left at the end of Season 1.
  • Prometheus, Ragman and Talia al Ghul were all introduced during Arrow Season 5. Averted with the Team Arrow recruits other than the aforementioned Ragman, who all never really caught on to the viewers.
  • The Earth-19 Harrison "H.R." Wells, Julian Albert and Gypsy were all introduced during The Flash (2014) Season 3.
  • Technically, every character who made their debut in the first season of their respective series (as the spin-offs started showing since the parent show's third year) such as Iris and Joe West, Henry and Nora Allen, Eobard and Eddie Thawne, Rip Hunter, Martin Stein, Ronnie Raymond, Linda Park, Mick Rory, Grodd, Lisa and Leonard Snart, both versions of Gideon and the entire original cast of Supergirl (2015).
• John Steed's original partner in The Avengers was Dr. David Keel. Emma Peel, his third, longest and most famous partner, does not appear until the fourth season. Peel's predecessor, the not as iconic but still very popular Cathy Gale, was first introduced in the second season.
• Captain Sheridan, the hero of Babylon 5 and main protagonist of the whole series' Myth Arc, doesn't appear or become the commander of the titular station until the second season.
• Barney Miller: Two of the most popular characters on the show, Deadpan Snarker Detective Dietrich and ambitious beat cop Officer Levitt, didn't join the cast until Season 3. They essentially replaced Detective Chano Amengual (actor Gregory Sierra left the show after two season) and Detective Fish (Abe Vigoda left after Season 3 for an ill-advised spinoff, Fish).
• Baywatch: C.J Parker despite becoming one of the most iconic characters of the series, didn't debut until Season 3.
• Bewitched: Two of the series most notable recurring characters were Samantha's prankster uncle Arthur and lookalike cousin Serena. They both made their first appearances in the second season.
• The Big Bang Theory: Amy and Bernadette were introduced only in Season 3 (Bernadette as a recurring character and Amy as a Last Episode, New Character) and have become part of the core cast since season 4.
• Bones:
  • Camille "Cam" Saroyan, the Jeffersonian team's boss and Only Sane Woman, didn't debut until Season 2 premiered.
  • Lance Sweets, the FBI psychologist who ends up working with the team, was introduced mid-Season 3.
  • The many rotating "squinterns" (such as Wendell, Daisy, and Arastoo, to name a few) didn't appear until Season 4, after Zack left. (Only one, Clark Edison, had been seen before, and even he only first appeared in Season 3).
• Breaking Bad:
  • Breaking Bad (the show):
    • Saul Goodman has his own spin-off, but doesn't appear until the middle of season 2.
    • Gus Fring and Mike Ehrmntraut are two of the show's most iconic characters and don't appear until the very end of season 2. Simialarly, Hector Salamanca is also an iconic character from the show, but first appears in Season 2.
  • Better Call Saul: The series as a whole is an extreme example, particularly if one also takes the parent series into account. Specifically:
    • Eduardo "Lalo" Salamanca was given a single name drop in the second season of Breaking Bad, only to finally appear near the end of Season 4 of Saul nearly 10 years later, where he has become one of the most popular villains of either series. Ditto for Ignacio "Nacho" Varga, who was only name-dropped once as "Ignacio" in the same episode Lalo was first name-dropped, yet he's also become an iconic character from either series.
    • Kim Wexler, Chuck McGill, and Howard Hamlin are all characters that are only relevant to Saul Goodman/Jimmy McGill's arc and not to the overarching plotline of the southwest drug trade, but have become just as iconic as other main characters from the parent show - despite not even appearing proper or being alluded to in Breaking Bad at all.
• Several of the iconic characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer do not make their first appearances until after the first season:
  • It takes until the beginning of the second season for Spike to appear, and he doesn't join the main cast until several episodes into the fourth season (meaning he's only credited as such for the latter half of the series). Regardless, he's frequently considered to be one of the more iconic figures of the show, thanks in part to his debut being seen as the point where the show started Growing the Beard.
  • Seth Green joined in early Season 2 as Oz, providing Willow with her first primary love interest. He would be promoted to the main cast in Season 3.
  • Faith, Buffy's Slayer counterpart, is introduced in early Season 3, becoming one of the season's primary antagonists, before returning for a two-part guest spot in Season 4. She returns again for the last arc of the final season after pulling a Heel–Face Turn on Angel.
  • Anya first appears midway into Season 3 as a Villain of the Week before popping up again in the last few episodes of the season as a villain again and then as a love interest to Xander. She gets brought back again on a fuller recurring basis in Season 4 before her Promotion to Opening Titles in Season 5 where she remains for the rest of the series.
  • Tara, who becomes Willow's girlfriend in what was seen as a milestone of LGBTQ representation at the time of airing, is not brought in until Season 4's "Hush" and remains a recurring character until Season 6's "Seeing Red" (where she is killed off).
  • Buffy's sister Dawn isn't introduced until the beginning of Season 5, and remains a main character for the rest of the show.
• Castle:
  • Season 3 introduces two major characters: Victoria Gates, who replaces the recently deceased Roy Montgomery as Da Chief. And Jerry Tyson aka 3XK, a prominent antagonist. Both will be major players throughout the series.
  • Season 5 introduces two prominent characters: Beckett's Arch-Enemy William Bracken, and Castle's long-lost father Jackson Hunt.
• Charlie's Angels: Kris Munroe didn't show up until the Season 2 premiere, replacing her sister Jill (though she will return in guest roles in the next two seasons). Despite this, Kris is as fondly remembered as the original Power Trio and is definitely the most popular of the subsequent replacement Angels.
• Charmed:
  • Paige Matthews does not appear in the series until the Season 4 premiere, replacing the recently deceased Prue who was killed off in the previous Season Finale.
  • Cole Turner/Belthazor does not appear until Season 3.
• Cheers:
  • Frasier Crane is one of the best known characters on the show, thanks in no small part to his own series that spun off from it, but doesn't appear until the third season (ironically, he was one of the least popular cast members when Cheers was airing, with only 1% of polled viewers expressing interest in a spinoff surrounding him; said spinoff became popular enough to skyrocket Frasier's prominence among the franchise's cast).
  • Woody Boyd, who was brought in to replace the deceased Coach, was introduced in Season 4, and remained a permanent fixture on the show to the end of its run.
  • Rebecca, who takes Diane's place as the female lead and remains just as signature a character as her, is introduced in Season 6, close to halfway through the show's run.
• Cobra Kai: Tory Nichols didn't appear until partway through the second season. Nevertheless, she quickly established herself as a core part of the show, becoming Sam LaRusso's Arch-Enemy and a sort of Morality Pet to John Kreese.
• Community:
  • Five prominent recurring characters were absent in the first season; Neil, Vicki and Magnitude debuted midway through Season 2, while Todd and Annie Kim debuted in the third.
  • Season 5 and 6 saw the departures of Pierce, Troy, and Shirley from The Study Group, and the additions of Buzz, Elroy, and Frankie - all three characters managed to avert Replacement Scrappy status.
• Criminal Minds:
  • One of the most well-known female profilers from the show is Emily Prentiss, who didn't join the team until partway through Season 2, to replace Elle Greenaway (who is much less remembered, and not nearly as popular with the fandom).
  • David Rossi, who's basically the Old Master of the BAU, didn't join until partway through Season 3, to replace Jason Gideon.
• Curb Your Enthusiasm: Leon first appeared in season 6.
• Daredevil (2015) officially introduces The Punisher and Elektra to the Marvel Cinematic Universe during its second season.
• Dawson's Creek: The McPhee siblings, Andie and Jack, are added in the second season, rounding out the teen cast ensemble.
• Degrassi: The Next Generation: Craig, Ellie, and Marco are very well-known characters in the show's history, the first two for their tumultuous love-lives and Marco for being one of the earliest gay teen characters on television. None of them appeared until the second season, and Marco and Ellie weren't promoted to series regular until season three.
  • Clare and Eli are probably the show's most well-known and notorious couple, but Clare didn't appear until season 6 and wasn't a regular until season 8, and Eli didn't show up until season 10.
• Doctor Who:
  • Even though they're now considered to be one of the most iconic villains of the series, the Master didn't appear until Season 8 during Jon Pertwee's tenure as the Doctor.
  • Likewise with most of the monsters. The only recurring monsters from the first three seasons are the Daleks. The Cybermen are introduced in William Hartnell's last story, and in the Troughton era we get the Ice Warriors and the Great Intelligence. The Autons and Silurians make their first appearance in Season 7, the Sea Devils in Season 9, the Sontarans in Season 11, Davros in Season 12, the Zygons in Season 13, and of course the Slitheen, Silence, Weeping Angels and Ood don't appear until the new series - the Slitheen in Series 1, the Ood in Series 2, the Weeping Angels in Series 3, and the Silence in Series 6.
  • Ask anyone unfamiliar with the show what "Dr. Who" looks like and they'll probably tell you he is tall with curly brown hair and a really long scarf. Tom Baker's Doctor did not show up for real until Season 12, a whopping eleven years after the show started, and promptly eclipsed all of his predecessors and all of his successors until the revival for sheer recognizability.
  • And before the Fourth Doctor was the Second, as portrayed by Patrick Troughton. While less recognizable in pop culture terms (due to a considerable amount of his run being discarded by the BBC), his performance is widely regarded as what cemented the idea of the Doctor that we have today, with several of his successors citing him as inspiration.
  • When the original run first premiered, the Doctor and Susan weren't originally identified as Time Lords, and it wasn't until the last serial of the Second Doctor's run that they were named. Continuing on with this, their home planet, Gallifrey, wasn't named until the Third Doctor's run, Rassilon was first mentioned in "The Deadly Assassin", made his first appearance more than half a decade later in "The Five Doctors", and didn't even become a villain (in the TV run, at least), until the revival series' "The End of Time".
  • Regarding the revival, there's the Tenth Doctor, who didn't appear until the final moments of Season 1 and ended up becoming far more recognized than the Ninth, joining the Fourth as one of the most popular Doctors in the franchise.
  • The Weeping Angels are often included among the show's most iconic monsters, despite first appearing in Season 3 of the revival series.
  • Kate Stewart, daughter of the Brigadier, is one of the most popular supporting characters in the franchise — so popular that she got her own Big Finish audio drama spinoff. She doesn't appear until series 7 of the revival.
• Dynasty (1981): Arguably the show's most iconic character is Blake Carrington's scheming ex-wife Alexis Colby, but she's only introduced in the first season finale's cliffhanger ending, and doesn't become a proper character until the second season premier, "Enter Alexis."
• ER:
  • Kerry Weaver, whose antics and prickly demeanor helped her standout amongst the other cast members, was a long-time member of the show — but only appeared for the first time in the second season (in a recurring role), only being Promoted to Opening Credits in the third season. Despite that, she remained on the show for eleven seasons and was popular enough to return for the series finale.
  • Abby Lockhart is introduced as a minor character — an OB/GYN who assists Carol with the birth of her twins in Season 6's "Great Expectations". Actress Maura Tierney's performance impressed the producers so much that she would return as a main character, having switched to a medical rotation and appearing from the seventh season onwards. As the show continued and more and more long-time characters left, Abby (and by extension, Luka Kovac, her romantic interest also introduced in the sixth season) became the de facto lead character, even getting her own send-off episode, "The Book of Abby," in the fifteenth and final season.
  • Archie Morris is only introduced in the tenth season — as a bumbling medical resident who runs afoul of other doctors and continually botches patient work, to such an extent that an early incident has him sitting around stoned while the ER staff attempt to deal with a helicopter that crashed in front of the hospital. As the seasons go on, however, and after some Arc Words delivered to him by the departing Carter, Archie works to get himself together and, by the time of the final season, assumes the role of lead character within County.
• The Facts of Life: Jo Polniaczek is a fan favorite character and one of the most iconic characters from the show due to her well liked enemies-turned-friends dynamic with Blair Warner. So, it comes as a surprise to many newer fans that she is only introduced in Season 2 as a replacement for the four girls who were written out after the staff decided to overhaul the show following Season 1.
• The longest running host of Family Feud, Steve Harvey, would not start hosting the show until 2010, a whopping 34 years after the series premiere. As of 2022, Harvey remains the host of Family Feud, and his version of show is the only one that GSN reruns anymore.
• Family Matters: While Steve Urkel (the show's most famous Breakout Character) is not an example since he debuted midway through Season 1, there are other characters who fit the trope:
  • Eddie's best friend Waldo Faldo is first seen in Season 2 (unless you count Shawn Harrison's appearance in the Season 1 episode "The Party," where he was credited as "Guy in Towel"), where he was actually a minor antagonist. Only in Season 3 he became the Bumbling Sidekick to Eddie we all know him as.
  • Laura's best friend Maxine is introduced in Season 2, and remained on the show until the last season.
  • Myra Monkhouse would not appear until Season 4, but like Steve and Waldo before her, she would eventually join the main cast, thanks to her role in the Love Triangle with Steve and Laura.
• Game of Thrones:
  • Stannis Baratheon, Davos Seaworth, Melisandre, Brienne of Tarth, Eddison Tollett, Gilly, Margaery Tyrell, Ygritte, Podrick Payne, Balon Greyjoy, Yara Greyjoy, Rickard Karstark, Talissa Maegyr/Stark and Roose Bolton were all introduced during Season 2. Jaqen H'ghar was also officially introduced this season despite his "appearance" in the first Season Finale, though it is heavily implied that the one who appears later in Season 5 is a different character using the same face.
  • Missandei, Olenna Tyrell, Grey Worm, Mance Ryder, Tormund Giantsbane, Daario Naharis, Qyburn, Thoros of Myr, Locke, Edmure Tully, Brynden "Blackfish" Tully, Shireen Baratheon, Jojeen Reed, Meera Reed, and Ramsay Snow/Bolton were all introduced during Season 3. Selyse Baratheon is also officially introduced in this season after a cameo at the Season 2 premiere (played by a different actress).
  • Oberyn Martell, the Three-Eyed Raven, Mace Tyrell, Leaf, Olly, Ellaria Sand and the Night's King were all introduced during Season 4.
  • Doran Martell, Areo Hotah, the Waif, the Sand Snakes, Wun-Wun and the High Sparrow were all introduced during Season 5.
  • Euron Greyjoy, Lyanna Stark, Randyll Tarly, Smalljon Umber, Lady Crane, Kinvara, Aerys II Targaryen, and Lyanna Mormont were all introduced during Season 6. In Lyanna Stark and Aerys II Targaryen's cases, they were mentioned several times before but this was the first time they actually appear (albeit in flashback visions).
  • Rhaegar Targaryen was introduced during Season 7 via flashback visions. Much like Lyanna Stark and his father's cases, he was mentioned several times before but this was the first time he actually appears.
• Gilmore Girls has the two major examples in Jess and Logan, who have become Rory’s two most popular Love Interests among the fandom (with the Ship-to-Ship Combat between the two sides being the longest-standing and most passionate). Jess is introduced in season 2 and then is Put on a Bus at the end of season 3, while Logan doesn’t appear even until season 5 and he and Rory stay together until the end of the series in season 7.
• Glee: Sam and Blaine were both introduced in Season 2, Sam being the Glee Club's newest member at the start of the season, and Blaine was introduced as a Love Interest for Kurt before joining the Glee Club himself in Season 3. They were the only new characters to have significant storylines after their introductory season, and both are given a sort of "Honorary Original" status.
• In The Good Place, Gen is the judge who handles matters in the afterlife, and she plays a major role in Seasons 3 and 4. However, she only debuts in the penultimate episode of Season 2, even though she is mentioned earlier in the season.
• Some of the iconic characters from Grey's Anatomy like Callie Torres and Mark Sloan didn't appear until the show's second season, and weren't series regulars until its third. And because of Long-Runner Cast Turnover, major fan-favourites from the modern era show up even later - Jackson Avery and April Kepner don't appear until season 6, and Jo Wilson not until season 9.
• Happy Days:
  • Al Delvecchio doesn't appear until Season 4, but became one of the prominent main characters of the show after whom the main hangout is even named.
  • Chachi Arcola doesn't appear until Season 5, yet ends up as one of the most prominent protagonists on the show, to the point that he and his Love Interest Joanie even get a brief spinoff.
• The titular mother in How I Met Your Mother isn't formally introduced until the Season 8 finale. Even if you factor her being The Faceless in-between during occasional Flash Forward scenes, those won't start happening until Season 2.
• Sex-crazed boss Douglas Reynholm became a major part of The IT Crowd very quickly since his introduction to the point where, until the release of The Internet is Coming, he held the distinction of being the focal character of the show' final episode. It took him until the second episode of the second series to make his first appearance.
• Frank, a main character from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, is introduced in the second season.
• Jeremiah: Enormously popular apparent Angel Unaware Mr. Smith debuts in the first episode of the second and final season (which is also shorter than season 1).
• Kikaider: Although both were introduced in the Sequel Series Kikaider 01, Bijinder and Waruder have gone on to become two of the most iconic characters in the franchise. Bijinder even appears in the Kikaider Reboot film, even though Kikaider 01 himself doesn't.
• The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson began in 2005 and ended in 2014, but it wasn't until 2010, which was about halfway through the show's run, when Craig's most well-known sidekicks, Geoff Peterson and Secretariat, made their debut. Geoff first showed up in April 5th, while Secretariat wouldn't make her debut until October 11th, which was shortly after the film Secretariat made its wide theatrical debut.
• Law & Order:
  • Most of the the parent series' longest running and most iconic characters weren't introduced until after the first season. Most notably, Lennie Briscoe, Anita Van Buren, Jack McCoy and Ed Green weren't introduced until season 3, season 4, season 5 and season 10 respectively.
  • Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Odafin Tutuola, Alexandra Cabot, Melinda Warner and George Huang did not appear until Season 2. Casey Novak did not appear until Season 5. Nick Amaro and Amanda Rollins did not appear until Season 13. Rafael Barba did not appear until Season 14. Sonny Carisi did not appear until Season 16.
• Ben, Desmond and Juliet in Lost. It's significant that Juliet is the only character introduced after the second season to appear in the church scene in the Grand Finale.
• Modern Family:
  • Joe Pritchett was not born until Season 4, as such has the distinction of being the only main cast member not introduced in the Pilot.
  • Andy Bailey, Haley Dunphy's most popular Love Interest, wasn't introduced until Season 5. Despite his introduction midway though the show, he and Haley's pairing easily overshadows that of her original love interest Dylan in popularity. Andy and Haley not getting together in the end, with Haley later ending up back together with Dylan, has left many fans of the show disappointed.
• Beaker on The Muppet Show didn't appear until season 2. Rizzo the Rat, as performed by Steve Whitmire, wasn't featured on the show until season 5. And to a lesser extent Pepe the Prawn didn't join the Muppet cast until Muppets Tonight.
• Mike Nelson, a well known Mystery Science Theater 3000 host, was part of the writing team early on but didn't join the main cast until midway through season 5. Which makes it odd to see "Mike" show up in bit parts in earlier seasons as Morrisey, the Amazing Colossal Man, and many others.
• NCIS:
  • Jimmy Palmer didn't debut until Season 2, and remained a Fake Guest Star for a decade until finally getting his Promotion to Opening Titles with Season 10.
  • Ziva David does not appear until Season 3, replacing the recently deceased original cast member Kate Todd. Along with Ziva appears Jenny Sheperd, who will serve as Da Chief of The Team until her death in Season 5.
  • Leon Vance does not appear until Season 5, replacing the recently deceased Jenny Sheperd as Da Chief and holds the position as of Season 15.
• Night Court had a lot of turnover in the first three seasons before many of the signature cast began appearing.
  • Christine Sullivan, the public defender, resident sexpot, potential love interest for Judge Stone and perennial lust interest for prosecutor Dan Fielding— Markie Post didn't join the show until Season 3. Season 1 had a different love interest for Judge Stone in the person of Lana the court clerk, and a different public defender. Season 2 brought in a few random public defenders in the early episodes, with Christine being one of them in one episode, before a different public defender, Billie, who was the love interest for Judge Stone, was brought in the for the remainder of the season. Finally Christine pops up in Season 3 for good and filled the part for the rest of the show's nine-season run.
  • As noted above, Karen the court clerk left after the first season. Various court clerks guest starred in Season 2 before easygoing Mac (Charles Robinson) took the role and stayed for the rest of the run.
  • Selma the wisecracking elderly bailiff starred in the first two seasons before actress Selma Diamond died of cancer. Florence the Suspiciously Similar Substitute bailiff starred in Season 3 before actress Florence Halop also died of cancer. Then much younger Marsha Warfield was brought in as Roz the tough, no-nonsense bailiff, and stayed for the rest of the run.
• Several prominent characters in NYPD Blue were not introduced until after the first season:
  • Bobby Simone, arguably Andy's most iconic partner on the show, didn't make his first appearance until the beginning of Season 2 to replace the departing John Kelly.
  • Diane Russell debuted at the end of Season 2 before being promoted to the main cast in Season 3.
  • John Irvin began as a recurring character in the second season before eventually joining the main cast in Season 6.
  • Baldwin Jones wouldn't make his first appearance until Season 7 but remained for the the rest of the series from there, becoming one of the show's longest-serving characters.
  • Connie McDowell wouldn't make her first appearance until Season 8 and would remain in the show until the penultimate season (11), but is still one of the most remembered characters in show (equally for being Andy's endgame and for being the resident Ms. Fanservice).
• In The Office (US), Andy Bernard quickly became a fairly prominent character since his introduction, even replacing Michael as regional manager after he leaves, but he didn't appear until Season 3. Erin Hannon, who also becomes a major character, doesn't appear until Season 5.
• The Once Upon a Time version of Captain Hook doesn't show up until early on in the second season.
• One Tree Hill:
  • Chris Keller, Haley's cool Hopeless Suitor, does not appear in the series until Season 2.
  • Breakout Villains Rachel Gatina and Carrie do not appear until Season 3 and Season 5 respectively.
  • Jamie Scott, son of series’ Supercouple Nathan and Haley, does not appear until his mother gave birth to him in the Season 4 finale, then formally in Season 5.
  • Millie Huxtable, initially Breakout Character Brooke Davis' Sidekick then turned Mouth McFadden's Love Interest, doesn't appear until Season 5 which was the Retool after the four year Time Skip.
  • Julian Baker, Breakout Character Brooke's major Love Interest and eventual husband, doesn't appear until Season 6.
  • Averted with Clay and Quinn, who never really caught on to the viewers and are seen as a Replacement Scrappy to Lucas and Peyton, the series’ other Supercouple.
• Orphan Black:
  • Charlotte Bowles, the youngest of The Hero's clone sisters at Project Leda, does not appear until the Season 2 finale.
  • Krystal Goderitch, one of The Hero's clone sisters at Project Leda, does not appear until Season 3.
  • Veera Suominen aka M.K., another one of The Hero's clone sisters at Project Leda, does not appear until Season 4.
  • The Castor clones are absent in Season 1. Mark Rollins first appeared in the Season 2 premiere, while both Rudy and Miller do not appear until the Season Finale. Seth and Parsons do not appear until Season 3, while the last clone introduced, Ira Blair, does not appear until Season 4.
  • Both Dr. Virginia Coady and Ferdinand Chevalier, two of the show's most prominent antagonists, do not appear until Season 3.
  • Cal Morrison, The Hero's estranged lover and father of her child, does not appear until Season 2.
  • The Johanssen family, Henrik, Bonnie, and especially Gracie, do not appear until Season 2.
  • Kendall Malone, The Hero's foster grandmother who also turns out to be the genetic source of both the Leda and Castor clones, does not appear until Season 3.
• Two of the main characters from Parks and Recreation, Chris Traeger and Ben Wyatt, weren't introduced until the tail end of season 2.
• In Person of Interest Root only appears at the end of the first season, played by Amy Acker, Bear DaHond debuts in the next episode and Sameen Shaw is introduced near the end of Season 2, making some first season episodes rather strange to watch.
  • The second season introduces a new, sleeker view of The Machine, the one that has become recognisable and iconic, causing serious Early-Installment Weirdness when revisiting first season episodes. The series itself even had to work around this in the Season 3 Whole Episode Flashback "RAM".
• Power Rangers:
  • Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers:
    • Lord Zedd is introduced in the second season, but is still one of the most remembered villains in the franchise to this day. His return in episode 14 of Power Rangers Dino Fury was met with much rejoicing.
    • Adam Park is introduced during the second season as the replacement black ranger, but nonetheless becomes one of the most beloved and recognizable characters in the entire franchise.
    • Katherine Hillard is introduced in Season 3 as a Brainwashed and Crazy villain and then the replacement pink ranger. She then went on to become one of the most recognizable rangers in the franchise.
  • Power Rangers in Space
    • This season introduces The Psycho Rangers, the first recurring team of evil rangers, who went on to have roles in the comics.
    • Karone also qualifies due to her journey from villain to hero across two seasons. She also got an expanded role in the Boom comics.
  • Power Rangers Time Force: Jen Scotts, the pink ranger and Eric Myers, the Quantum Ranger, both qualify. Both Jen and Eric were playable characters in Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid, and Eric is one of the most beloved Rangers in the franchise due to his unique characterization and arc. Jen was also a main character in the comics' Shattered Grid arc, and the star of a graphic novel.
  • Doggie Cruger from Power Rangers S.P.D. is considered one of the best mentors in the franchise. He's had multiple appearances in the comics, was also a playable character in Battle for the Grid, and was one of the first characters to get a Lightning Collection figure.
• Psych:
  • Woody the Coroner is one of the most popular side characters of the show due to his amusingly creepy demeanor, and is just as important to Psych's investigations as Lassie and Jules. However, the character was only introduced in the Season 4 episode "High Top Fade Out", and has been a permanent fixture in the series even during the films.
  • Shawn's mother Madeline is introduced in the last episode of Season 2 and is formally introduced in the Season 3 premier. She would continue to appear throughout the series.
  • Despite being two of Shawn's most iconic enemies, Mr. Yang doesn't appear till the Season 3 finale, and her mentor doesn't appear till the Season 4 finale.
  • Pierre Despereaux is another iconic character from the show, but his first appearance is in the Season 4 premiere.
• In Red Dwarf, Kryten is as much an iconic character of the series as Lister, Rimmer, and Cat, but doesn't appear until the second series - and even then, it's only in one episode, and not even by his regular actor. It isn't until the third series where he becomes a regular character and is played by Robert Llewellyn.
• On RuPaul's Drag Race, 90s pop singer and Ru's Fag Hag Michelle Visage didn't join the show as a main judge until the third season, but she has since become a beloved fan favorite due to being every bit as campy as the drag queens themselves.
• Saved by the Bell: A.C. Slater, Kelly Kapowski and Jessie Spano don't appear in the original incarnation of the show, known as Good Morning, Miss Bliss.
• Scandal: Jake Ballard is one third of the main Love Triangle of the show, but his first appearance wasn't until the second half of season two. Likewise for his boss and Olivia's father "Rowan"/Eli Pope, who made sporadic appearances in the same span and wasn't even fully identified until the second season finale.
• Schitt's Creek: Patrick Brewer, played by Noah Reid, doesn't join the show until Episode 8 of Season 3 as a potential Love Interest for David, but the character caught on immediately and became hugely popular once after the iconic "Open Mic" episode.
• Seinfeld is remembered for some truly iconic supporting characters but many of them didn't show up until late in the series run. George's father Frank Costanza didn't show up until the very end of Season 4 (and even then was played by a different actor than Jerry Stiller so arguably didn't really show up until the start Season 5.) Others debuted even later; Elaine's on again off again boyfriend David Puddy only first appeared towards the end of Season 6.
• Elmo first appeared in 1984, 15 years after the premiere of Sesame Street. He became a breakout star 12 more years later in 1996 as a result of the Tickle Me Elmo craze.
• Smallville: Lois Lane and Bart Allen did not appear until Season 4. Brainiac and Arthur Curry did not appear until Season 5. Oliver Queen and Jimmy Olsen did not appear until Season 6. Kara Zor-El and Dinah Lance did not appear until Season 7. Tess Mercer and Zatanna did not appear until Season 8. Carter Hall did not appear until Season 9.
• The Spartacus series:
  • Gannicus does not appear until the second installment prequel Mini Series.
  • Nasir, Donar, Lugo, Nemetes and Saxa do not appear until Season 2. Nasir was given the Second Episode Introduction while the rest were introduced in Episode 7.
  • Marcus Crassus and Julius Caesar do not appear until the Finale Season.
• Star Trek:
  • Even most non-fans of the franchise will recognize Pavel Chekov as one of the core seven characters from the original show. Several of them may be more surprised to learn he wasn't added to the show until season 2.
  • The Borg are one of the most iconic villains, but they never appeared till "Q Who", the 16th episode of the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
  • Seven of Nine is probably the most well known Voyager character outside the fandom, for reasons. She was first introduced in the season 4 premiere.
• Stranger Things:
  • Max, her step-brother Billy and Murray made their debut in Season 2. The Mind Flayer also got its first full appearance.
  • Robin Buckley made her debut in Season 3.
  • Eddie Munson, Jason Carver, Argyle and Vecna are some of the most popular characters in Stranger Things, but they appear from the beginning of Season 4. Even more for Vecna, he is the true Big Bad of the show and the master of the aforementioned Mind Flayer.
• Supernatural:
  • Castiel is so popular in fandom that many new viewers are surprised he doesn't appear until the beginning of the fourth season.
  • Crowley is easily the most recognizable antagonist in the series, but doesn't show up until halfway through season five.
• Super Sentai: Although introduced in the second season, J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai, Big One was sp popular for his dandy and charismatic personality that he's gone on to become nearly as much of a Series Mascot as Akarenger, the first Sentai red.
• Taxi:
  • Reverend Jim is a guest character in the eighth episode, but isn't seen again until three episodes into Season 2, at which point he becomes a regular.
  • Simka is a one-episode love interest for Latka in Season 2, but it's not until Season 4 that she comes back and marries him.
• Leo is one of the most recognizable characters in That '70s Show. He didn't appear until eight episodes into Season 2.
• Most of True Blood's main characters have been around since the first season. However, werewolf Alcide didn't appear until the third. Despite such a late appearance, he was made a main character and eventually became a long-term love interest for Sookie.
• Ultra Series: Though the franchise started with Ultra Q the next 2 installments: Ultraman and Ultraseven are far more well-known world-wide, Ultraseven in particular stood out for originally being a separate canon to the first two installments but then being integrated into it, with the series receiving multiple unique sequels and continuations all with the original Ultraseven still being the protagonist. Seven was iconic to receive his own Spin-Offspring in the form of Ultraman Zero.
• The Walking Dead:
  • Maggie, Hershel, and Beth first appeared in the second episode of Season 2.
  • Michonne makes a cameo in the second Season Finale before becoming a main character in Season 3.
  • Tyreese, Sasha, Judith, and The Governor do not appear until Season 3, with the first two only appearing during the middle of it.
  • Abraham, Eugene, Rosita and Tara do not appear until Season 4, with the first three only appearing during the middle of it.
  • Father Gabriel Stokes, Enid, and Aaron first appeared in Season 5, with the first getting the Second Episode Introduction.
  • Paul "Jesus" Rovia, Dwight and Negan do not appear until Season 6, with the last being the Last Episode, New Character.
  • Ezekiel and his pet tiger Shiva do not appear until Season 7.
  • Alpha, Beta, and Lydia do not appear until Season 9.
  • Juanita "Princess" Sanchez first appears in Season 10.
  • Mercer in Season 11.
• Warehouse 13: H. G. Wells doesn't make a proper debut until season 2 as the Big Bad. However, she quickly became one of the show's most popular and iconic characters, forming a deep friendship with the lead female agent Myka Bering, redeeming herself, saving the lives of the main agents in the season 3 finale, and even being revived after dying to allow her to make more appearances in season 4.
• Wings: Sad sack cab driver Antonio appears as a guest character (as a waiter, although it is explicitly confirmed that it is the same character) in two early episodes, but he doesn't doesn't start appearing regularly until later before eventually joining the main cast. Played by Tony Shalhoub, Antonio features in some of the show's funniest storylines and moments.
• Omar, the most well known character from The Wire, first appears in episode 3.

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