Ensemble Dark Horse / Total Drama

Due to the number of characters that have appeared throughout the Total Drama series, it is only to be expected for there to be many Ensemble Darkhorses being spawned.

Island

• Cody was a relatively unimportant character in Island, with his only notable role being his crush on Gwen and subsequent 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 I Want My Beloved to Be Happy decision. In fact, he was popular enough to earn a spot in World Tour, where he went on to become an Ascended Extra and 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 Base-Breaking Character due to his controversial handling in the season.
• Noah is incredibly popular with the fandom for his hilarious Deadpan Snarker demeanour, despite being introduced as one of the most minor contestants in the series (he was booted off third in the first season, wasn't even a contestant in the second, and got kicked out half-way in the third). His status is lampshaded by Chris, who introduces him and Cody as "returning favorites" in the first episode of World Tour. He later goes on to become a Breakout Character as of The Ridonculous Race, where he returns with Owen, and was given extended screentime and a lot more character focus, including the main romantic plot of the season.
• Harold has been a fan favorite since Island, where he had a great blend of being hilarious comic relief, showing off hidden badass, and a fair amount of Character Development. While he wasn't expected to make it far, he was out earlier than most would have liked and many vouched for his return. Come Action he became a far more prominent character which was very well received, with many rooting for him to win the season. However World Tour sought to make him an early elimination once more, being out second, despite being one of the most loved members of Team Victory. However, he does go on to have heavy focus in the Aftermaths.
• Justin. Before his time on Action where he divided the fanbase with his failure as a villain, he was reasonably popular as an early elimination in Island. Despite never saying a word after his debut episode, his "powers" of making females fall for him and being capable of controlling animals was received very well and considered some of the best humor in the show.
• Izzy is an undisputed fan favorite. Never a main character in a season, but continuously steals the show. Her Crazy Is Cool 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.
• Geoff, who is at best a supporting character, remains one of the most beloved characters in Island due to his incredibly fun party animal and Nice Guy characterization making him very easy to like. Action however dampened his reputation due to his constant makeout sessions with Bridgette annoying fans and his hosting of the Aftermath causing him to take levels in jerkass. World Tour and especially Ridonculous Race however did see him go through Character Rerailment and return him to his more likeable and less hormonal personality.
• 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 Outs, and his occasional moments of genuine badassery in the first two seasons (like overcoming his fear of water to win a challenge for his team or standing up to Chef for forcing him into an illegal alliance).
• Katie is surprisingly popular despite being the fifth contestant out and not getting any focus outside of her friendship with Sadie. This is probably due to her being 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 the same character. Sadly, this was not enough to ever get her back as a contestant, although she did get multiple cameos in Total DramaRama most likely because of this.

World Tour

• Tyler. He was largely ignored by fans during Island (which is lampshaded by him in one episode of World Tour), but his time on World Tour transformed him into a major fan-favorite. His adorkableness in trying to woo Lindsay, hilarious pain magnet status, and lovable Dumb Jock stereotype endeared him to the fandom. Like with Noah, many were very mad when he got the boot halfway through the season as a result of the return of Base-Breaking Character and Spotlight-Stealing Squad member Duncan and the Gwen x Duncan x Courtney love triangle.
• Eva. While she was divisive in Island at best and completely ignored at worst (except in the special, where she developed a well-received Odd Friendship with the immensely popular Izzy and Noah), she got made into a One-Scene Wonder in the Aftermaths of World Tour with her “Agh, forget this!” Running Gag. Because of these loved scenes, she became one of the most heavily requested contestants to be brought back during the season.

Revenge of the Island

• Dawn's design made her popular before Revenge of the Island even aired. Her mysterious background, the hints of her having supernatural powers, her kind personality, her adorable appearance and voice, and her tendency to freak out other characters, allowed her to easily become the most beloved second generation cast member (only rivaled by Brick). Many pitched her for making it far that season, and were very disappointed to find out she was an early elimination. She's one of the most heavily used characters for fanfiction and Fan Art.
• Dakota was considered by many to be a very interesting character, with her Attention Whore Daddy's Girl characterization being due to a desire to be loved. She also received a substantial amount of Character Development when forced to be Chris' intern and getting into a relationship with Sam. Her horrendous mutation in "The Treasure Island of Dr. McLean" garnered her a lot of sympathy and requests for her to be restored to normal.
• Brick is very well-liked by the fanbase, with reasons ranging from being a clumsy but badass cadet, having Undying Loyalty to his friends, his socially adorkable personality, his dynamic with Jo, and inheriting Tyler's 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 and him getting replaced by Sam for the All-Stars cast is widely considered to be one of the season's biggest mistakes.
• 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 Jersey Shore parody stereotype as well as putting much-needed tension in the otherwise milquetoast relationship between Mike and Zoey. While she does have her detractors, there still remains a huge amount of loyal fans who are begging for her return.
• Several of Mike’s alternate personalities are extremely popular, even among those who don’t like Mike himself. With Manitoba Smith and Vito seem to be among the most beloved both due to their interesting characters and the fact they are parodies of pop culture icons.
• B was the third eliminated in the season and never talks, but still has a decent-sized fanbase. His Gadgeteer Genius status and ability to wordlessly come up with some very creative strategies made for some of the coolest moments in the early part of the season, and many also liked his confident attitude and the aura of mystery that his muteness gave him. He's a pretty popular contestant for competition fics and often makes it far in those stories. His friendship, and potential Ship Tease with fan-favorite Dawn, only amplifies his popularity.
• 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 Nice Guy personality appealing, found his Butt-Monkey moments and self-deprecative humour very funny, and admired the sweetness of his Odd Friendship and eventual Relationship Upgrade with Dakota.
• Among the first generation contestant cameos
  • Heather was probably the best received. Unlike many other cameos where the contestant was just there for the sake of it, Heather played a crucial role to the plot of the episode, even serving as the antagonist.
  • Lindsay's cameo, for similar reason. Not only did it bring back another fan-favorite, but also it was possibly the second most important cameo for its episode's plot, only after Heather's.
  • Izzy's cameo is also pretty well-liked by fans, due to her previously stated Ensemble Dark Horse status and the fact that it was pretty much the only cameo that season in which the contestant was not further tortured and humiliated. The unexpectedness of it and the mere fact that she was playing a Giant Spider for the episode certainly helps as well.
  • 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 his time on the episode by blowing up Mount Chrismore, giving Chris a much-needed kick to the pants.

All-Stars

• While the season was mainly composed of major characters from previous seasons, several of them were Demoted to Extra this time round while maintaining a high level of popularity.
  • Lindsay. The fan-favorite didn't fail to deliver her classic Dumb Blonde humor and gave many memorable lines in her single episode of the season. She was also one of the few who wasn't ruined by All-Stars as many other characters were. Many were also disappointed that she got the boot first after her very well-received performances in Island and Action and a more mixed performance in World Tour that were all ended in very unfair manners in the eyes of her fans.
  • Lightning. He had a 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 redeemed him in the eyes of many detractors. Not only did Lightning heavily interact with the rest of the cast, he also lost the brief period of villainy he gained at the end of the season, and was back to his original arrogant Dumb Jock personality. The fact that he's even dumber now just made for even more hilarious moments.
  • 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 establishing leadership, while forming the start of a rivalry with Heather, and orchestrated Lightning's elimination within two episodes. Plus, her zingers this season are even more loved, with "Alehandwalker" gaining memetic status.

Pahkitew Island

• Beardo, 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 Hidden Depths 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 Ascended Extra and flesh out his character.
• Ella has had a similar reception to Dawn. She's a blessing to music lovers with her incessant singing, showing off the talent of Sunday Muse and leading to many funny moments. There's also the fact she is probably the nicest character in the entire franchise, with a complete avoidance of violence and aggressiveness. Her elimination is considered one of the best (and saddest) in the series, where she departs on a song.
• Scarlett, while allegedly the Big Bad, was severely underused. She's one of the more loved 'nerd' characters, both design wise and due to her Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness character shtick. Her hidden psychotic antagonistic side was also a pretty refreshing take for some fans, even if it only lasted one episode. She proved to be one of, if not the darkest, villain in the series. There are some still vouching for her return despite the difficult circumstances given her likely arrest (although the creators have hinted it's still possible for her to come back).

Island (2023) Part 1

• Lauren, better known as 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 Ensemble Dark Horse mentioned on this page - Izzy.
• Axel for being a useful survivalist on par with Shawn. Many fans were upset when she was cut in favor of Ripper and she would ultimately play a fairly decent role in the second season of the reboot, even getting a romance plot with, ironically enough, Ripper.
• Damien is also quite popular for his reactions to the hostility of the show leading to lots of funny moments, being a chill Nice Guy, his subtle Ship Tease with Priya, his hilarious interactions with Scary Girl, and his ironic elimination. Again, much like Axel, he would go on to become a major character in the reboot's second season with many fans pegging him as the winner and his elimination was widely regarded as one of the biggest cop outs in a season full of them.
• There's also Raj and Wayne, for being easily the friendliest competitors of the season and their charming friendship. Individually, Raj gets love for his well-received romance with Bowie, while Wayne gets love for his strong leadership and full-on supporting Raj coming out. Again, the second season had them go much further in the season with Wayne ultimately becoming the season's winner.
• Zee is well-loved by the fanbase because of his chill personality, with many finding the wacky antics he gets himself into very funny, as well as representing amputees in a positive light.

Non-contestants

• Mr. Coconut. While not strictly a character, he is still immensely beloved by the fandom, and the biggest source of memes for a long time. His random cameos are one of the few things that was liked in All-Stars.
• Gwen's goth friends, Marilyn, Pixie Corpse, and Reaper, only appeared very briefly in photos during the Island reunion special. They appear surprisingly often in fanfics, especially ones about Gwen's life back home.
• The Escaped Psycho Killer with a Chainsaw and Hook. He's a Shout-Out to Jason Voorhees, and had one of the most acclaimed episodes from Island.
• DJ's Mother is quite liked for her cooking skills, relationship with DJ, and somewhat sassy attitude. It also helps that out of all the casts' families she gets the most mentions and appearances.
• Leshaniqua, Leshawna's cousin who appeared in Action. She's just as sassy as Leshawna, but without her unlikable qualities of betraying friends that Leshawna received criticism for. It's been quite popular to suggest her and Leshawna as a team for The Ridonculous Race.
• "Billy" the intern, a blonde-haired character who appears frequently in Aftermath episodes, speaks only once, and doesn't even have a confirmed name.
• The currently unnamed, purple-haired female intern debuting in Island (2023) has managed to amass a notable fanbase despite her rather short screentime, mainly thanks to her cute and unique design that wouldn't look out of place as a contestant and subtle Ship Tease with Caleb.
• "Emily," the flight attendant from the fourth aftermath of Action is quite popular. She reappears in World Tour and The Ridonculous Race.
• Scruffy, Duncan's pet tarantula, also has this going for him.
• The alien Cody from "The EX-Files", he even gained a nickname: Evil Alien Cody Clone, EACC for short.
• Speaking of "The EX-Files", the Facehugger aliens are also quite loved by the fandom.
• Cody 1 and 2, mainly for continuing the Running Gag of Sierra adopting pets and naming them Cody.
• Scuba Bear was considered one of the more interesting gimmicks in Pahkitew Island.
• The cat-bot from Pahkitew Island that shoots lasers/flames from its mouth.
• Larry's baby that resembles Chris gets its share of fanart due to the shocking implications of its existence.

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