History EnsembleDarkhorse / TotalDrama

* Although not to the extent of the aforementioned three, Damien is also quite popular for his reactions to the hostility of the show leading to lots of funny moments, being a chill NiceGuy, his subtle ShipTease with Priya, and his [[DeathByIrony ironic elimination]].

* Zee is well-loved by the fanbase because of his chill personality and wacky antics he gets himself into.

* Samey the [[PolarOppositeTwins Good Twin]]. Despite being yet another [[HairOfGoldHeartOfGold lovable blonde]] that the series is fond of doing, Samey caught the attention of many through the significant amount of CharacterDevelopment she received in the span of just five episodes. Her {{moe}} status evoked sympathy to a fair share of the fandom and how she eventually [[TheDogBitesBack got back at her]] [[BigSisterBully bully sister]], although her actual act of revenge by pulling a TwinSwitch has received mixed reception.

* Scary Girl is the prime example. She gained a large fanbase and has had a huge number of fan art dedicated to her from the very moment of her character design being revealed. It helps that she reminds a lot of fans of other popular characters, such as Harley Quinn from the Batman series or another EnsembleDarkHorse mentioned on this page - Izzy.

* Scary Girl is the prime example. She gained a large fanbase and has had a huge number of fan art dedicated to her from the very moment of her character design being revealed. It helps that she reminds a lot of fans of other popular characters, such as Harley Quinn from Batman series or another EnsembleDarkHorse mentioned on this page - Izzy.

* Although not to the extent of aforementioned three, Damien is also quite popular for his reactions to the hostility of the show leading to lots of funny moments, being a chill NiceGuy, his subtle ShipTease with Priya, and his [[DeathByIrony ironic elimination]].

* Although not to the extent of aforementioned three, Damien is also quite popular for his reactions to the hostility of the show, being a chill NiceGuy, his subtle ShipTease with Priya, and his [[DeathByIrony ironic elimination]].

* [[OverlyLongName The Escaped Psycho Killer with a Chainsaw and Hook]]. He's a ShoutOut to [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason Voorhees]], and had one of the most acclaimed episode from ''Island''.

* Scary Girl is the prime example. She gained a large fanbase and has had a huge number of fan art dedicated to her from the very moment of her character design being revealed. It helps that she reminds a lot of fans of other popular characters, such as Harley Quinn from Batman series or another EnsembleDarhorse mentioned on this page - Izzy.

** Jo. The only ''All-Stars'' contestant who was completely in-character and true to her original self. She continued to show off her strategic smarts of [[AsskickingEqualsAuthority establishing leadership]], while forming the start of a rivalry with Heather, and orchestrated Lightning's elimination within two episodes. Plus, [[TheNicknamer her zingers]] this season are even more loved, with "Alehandwalker" gaining [[MemeticMutation memetic status]].

* Cody was a relatively unimportant character in ''Island'', with his only notable role being his crush on Gwen and subsequent [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy backing-off]] upon being rejected. Despite his lack of screentime, he quickly developed quite the fanbase due to many seeing him as a very {{adorkable}} character and admiring his IJustWantMyBelovedToBeHappy decision. In fact, he was popular enough to earn a spot in ''World Tour'', where he went on to become an AscendedExtra and [[spoiler:a member of the final three.]] Unfortunately, his time on ''World Tour'' caused his popularity to take a hit, and he went from a fan favorite to a BaseBreakingCharacter due to his controversial handling in the season.

* Anne Maria is also incredibly popular, often considered one of the most entertaining characters in the season due to her sass and her over-the-top ''Series/JerseyShore'' parody stereotype. While she does have her detractors, there still remains a huge amount of loyal fans who are begging for her return.

Due to the LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters that have appeared throughout the ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' series, it is only to be expected for there to be many {{Ensemble Darkhorse}}s being spawned.

Due to the LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters that have appeared throughout the ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'' series, it is only to be expected for there to be many {{Ensemble Darkhorse}}s being spawned.

%% Before adding an EnsembleDarkhorse example, please note that the trope is about unimportant characters who are unexpectedly popular. Fan-favorite main characters are not Ensemble Darkhorses.

* Brick is very well-liked by the fanbase, with reasons ranging from being a [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass clumsy but badass cadet]], having UndyingLoyalty to his friends, his socially {{adorkable}} personality, his [[BullyAndWimpPairing dynamic]] with Jo, and inheriting Tyler's [[IronButtMonkey pain magnet]] status. Despite only competing for half a season, he remains one of the most popular second generation characters. In fact, as Dawn's popularity has waned over time, Brick is currently the most popular second generation character of all.

** Duncan's cameo is pretty well liked, because he actually ''refuses'' to go along with Chris's nonsense(Chris brought him back because he "owed camera time" from skipping out on ''World Tour''). He also isn't involved in a romantic plot, keeping him likeable. Duncan also ends the his time on the episode by blowing up Mount Chrismore, giving Chris a much needed kick to the pants.

* Izzy is an undisputed fan favorite. Never a main character in a season, but continuously steals the show. Her CrazyAwesome comic relief style is the one thing that everyone can agree on is funny. Her moments are typically among the most memorable and she quite often ends up as the spotlight in a dull episode. She's actually a good contender for most universally loved character on the show, as it's near impossible to find someone who hates Izzy, with even immensely popular characters like Heather having detractors somewhere.

* Katie is surprisingly popular despite being the fifth contestant out and [[ThoseTwoGuys not getting any focus outside of her friendship with Sadie]]. This is probably due to her being [[TheCutie very kind and attractive]], which makes her more popular than Sadie (who had a few {{Jerkass}} moments despite being very kind overall) even though they are more or less [[TheDividual the same character]]. Sadly, this was not enough to ever get her back as a contestant.

Due to the LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters that have appeared throughout the ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'', series it is only to be expected for there to be many {{Ensemble Darkhorse}}s being spawned.

Due to the LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters that have appeared throughout the ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'', it is only to be expected for there to be many {{Ensemble Darkhorse}}s being spawned.

* Trent is one of the less focused-on characters in the series beyond his romance with Gwen, and he fell completely OutOfFocus after they broke up. Regardless, he still has a sizeable fanbase that loves his friendly OnlySaneMan personality and his heartwarming relationship with Gwen in ''Island'' (not to mention his handsome appearance giving him a lot of fangirls). In fact, he and Geoff were the most heavily requested characters to have return to the competition during ''World Tour''.

** Lightning. He had a [[BaseBreakingCharacter mixed reception]] back in ''Revenge of the Island'', due to his lack of relevance in the season prior to the merge. However his performance in ''All-Stars'' [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap redeemed him]] in the eyes of many detractors. Not only did Lightning heavily interact with the rest of the cast, he also lost the [[TemporarilyAVillain brief period of villainy]] he gained at the end of the season, and was back to his original arrogant DumbJock personality. The fact that he's [[TookALevelInDumbass even dumber]] now just made for even more hilarious moments.

* Gwen's goth friends, Marilyn, Pixie Corpse, and Reaper, show up an awful lot in fan work.

* Max, while quite a BaseBreakingCharacter in some circles, has a very loyal fanbase due to his hilarity. Being a BigBadWannabe with a HarmlessVillain schtick gave rise to many of the more funny moments in ''Pahkitew Island'', along with being the season's designated "[[ButtMonkey pain magnet]]".

!!''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama''
Due to the LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters that have appeared throughout the show, it is only to be expected for there to be many {{Ensemble Darkhorse}}s being spawned.

* Geoff, who is at best a supporting character, remains one of the most beloved characters in ''Island'' for being an incredibly fun party animal and one of the nicest characters on the show. ''Action'' however dampened his reputation due to his constant makeout sessions with Bridgette annoying fans and his hosting of the Aftermath causing him to [[TookALevelInJerkass take levels in jerkass]]. ''World Tour'' and especially ''Ridonculous Race'' however did see him go through CharacterRerailment and return him to his more likeable and less hormonal personality.
* Bridgette, like Geoff, is a supporting character at most in all three seasons she's been in (and the first girl eliminated in two of them[[note]]for comparison, [[ButtMonkey Ezekiel]] is the only other player to be the first of their gender eliminated more than once[[/note]]) and rarely gets much focus beyond her relationship with Geoff. However, this doesn't stop her from having plenty of fans, thanks to her sweet-natured and down-to-earth GranolaGirl surfer character making her very easy to like and her attractive appearance earning her a lot of fanboys.
* DJ had no focus or plotline of his own in the first season (despite making it pretty far), and was eliminated before the halfway point in the second and third seasons, but he does have a pretty good-sized fanbase on account of being one of the nicest characters in the series, being downright hilarious with his {{Freak Out}}s, and his occasional moments of genuine badassery in the first two seasons (like overcoming his fear of water or standing up to Chef for forcing him into an illegal alliance).
* Trent is one of the less focused-on characters in the series beyond his romance with Gwen, and he fell completely OutOfFocus after they broke up. Regardless, he still has a large fanbase who love his friendly OnlySaneMan personality and his heartwarming relationship with Gwen in ''Island'' (not to mention his handsome appearance giving him a lot of fangirls). In fact, he and Geoff were the most heavily requested characters to have return to the competition during ''World Tour''.

* Although his time on ''All-Stars'' was poorly received, Sam definitely gained a lot of fans in his debut season despite being a relatively early elimination. Many found his love of video games and NiceGuy personality appealing, saw his ButtMonkey moments and self-deprecative humour as being very funny, and admired the sweetness of his OddFriendship and eventual RelationshipUpgrade with Dakota.

* [[WackySoundEffect Beardo]], [[WeHardlyKnewYe of all characters]], has a decent-sized fanbase. The one episode he appeared in was highly entertaining due to the silly sound effects he made at inopportune times. His audition tape, which shows some HiddenDepths in that he uses his sound effects because he's shy, further endeared him to the fanbase. It's pretty common for fanfiction to promote him to an AscendedExtra.

* Max, while quite a BaseBreakingCharacter in some circles, has a very loyal fanbase due to his hilarity. Being a BigBadWannabe well has a HarmlessVillain schtick gave rise to many of the more funny moments in ''Pahkitew Island'', along with being the season's designated painmagnet.