Father’s Day: Honoring Famous TV Dads

Father’s Day was created to compliment Mother’s Day, and to honor male parenting around the world. Here in the U.S., we celebrate our dads this weekend. Fathers have as many faces as mothers, in the world of television. Nice Girl Angela and I want to share our lists of TV dads we think deserve a spotlight.

Angela’s picks:

The Eager to Please Dad: Louis Huang (Fresh Off the Boat) – While his wife Jessica is always pushing their children to be better than they are, Louis prefers to be the good cop to her bad cop and be more of a friend to his kids than a parent. He means well though and just wants his kids to be happy and love him.

The Protective Dad: Eric Taylor (Friday Night Lights) – At times Eric can appear tough and no-nonsense but he’s protective of his girls and really is just a father who doesn’t want to see his baby girl grow up. Remember how paranoid he got when oldest daughter Julie started dating Matt Saracen, who really is a sweet and shy guy that any parent would love their daughter to bring home. Eric has also acted as a father figure for many of his football players over the years including Jason Street, Tim Riggins, Matt Saracen and Vince Howard.

The Protective Dad: Deacon Claybourne (Nashville) – Although Deacon was late to the parenting game, the role of protective father came naturally to him. Yes Deacon has a bit of a temper sometimes, but the times he has beat up drunk and leering guys or paparazzi is because they were inappropriate to his daughter Maddie and he was just defending her honor. Thankfully, as seen in the finale, Deacon is learning how to handle his temper better.

The Traditional Dad: Danny Castellano (The Mindy Project) – Even before baby Leo was born, we’ve always had a sense that Danny Castellano is a traditional man and believes in old school ways when it comes to raising children. He believes that the mother should stop working once having children and stay at home full time to raise them. At the end of the day, he believes this because he just wants his son to have the best life he can have and not worry about things the way he had to while he was growing up and being raised by a single mother.

The Well-Meaning Dad:Rogelio de la Vega (Jane the Virgin) – It wasn’t until she was well and truly an adult that Rogelio discovered he had a daughter and it’s probably because of that reason that he goes over the top with grand gestures when showing his love for Jane, to make up for all that lost time. Sure he can be a bit over the top but that’s the person Rogelio is – he loves fiercely and deeply and daughter Jane knows it and accepts him as he is.

The Trying His Best Dad: Rafael Solano (Jane the Virgin) – Rafael is not the most perfect person and has definitely made his fair share of mistakes (and is still making them), but it is fatherhood that inspired him to become a better person and to keep on trying. Rafael is trying to change his ways so he can leave behind a positive legacy for son Matteo and daughters Elsa and Anna.

The Level Headed Dad: Joe West (The Flash) – Let’s face it, when it comes to TV dads, Joe West is definitely up there for dads we wish we had. He’s kind, funny, supportive and smart. He’s always looking out for children Iris, Wally and surrogate son Barry. When Barry in particular has tough decisions to make, unlike others Joe never pushes him to make one decision over the other, simply telling him to do what he believes is best and that he’ll be there to support him.

The Cool Dad: Sandy Cohen (The OC) – Not only does Sandy have a great sense of humour and surfs, but he was also pretty smart being a lawyer and all and also full of good advice. (Even if son Seth didn’t always want it.) He also cares, as shown when he took in street kid Ryan Atwood, gave him a home and inspired him to change his rebel without a cause ways.

The Dedicated Dad: Avery Barkley (Nashville) – A talented musician and producer, Avery put his career on hold once daughter Cadence was born so he could look after her, especially after Juliette went off the rails when she was unknowingly suffering from post-partum depression. When Avery does take jobs, he always thinks about Cadence first and how it will affect her.

The Tough Dad: Hank Voight (Chicago PD) – He may be a reformed crooked cop but if you mess with his son Justin or surrogate daughter Erin, he won’t hesitate to come after you and put you in your place, even if it may not be 100% legal or by the books. Heck, if you mess with his Intelligence unit family, he’ll come after you!

The Supportive Dad: Burt Hummel (Glee) – Living in a small town where people fear what they don’t know can be tough, but as soon as his son Kurt admitted to him that he was gay, Burt was there for him 100% and not afraid to go up against anyone who mistreated his son. Burt also fought for his son and his support never faltered.

The Patient Dad: Sheriff Stilinski (Teen Wolf) – It’s not easy being a single father and it’s especially harder when you’re father to a teenage son who can’t help but get himself into all sorts of trouble involving supernatural creatures. Yet Sheriff Stilinski is always there for his son Stiles and often finds himself having to help Stiles and his friends, even at the cost of his job.

The Dorky Dad: Danny Tanner (Full House) – From his dad jokes, dancing, tame ideas of fun and extreme cleanliness – we wouldn’t have Danny Tanner any other way!

The Do-Right Dad: Keith Mars (Veronica Mars) – Keith Mars always stood up for what he believed in, even if everyone else disagreed and even when it came at the cost of his job and marriage. This champion of justice trait is something that he passed onto his daughter Veronica, even if he wishes he didn’t sometimes.

The Awful Dad: Bart Bass (Gossip Girl) – What sort of father pretends to be dead and then when he comes back from the dead, tries to kill his own son? Bart Bass, that’s who. I don’t like to speak ill of the dead but it was a case of good riddance to him when he actually plummeted to his death off a roof!

Liz’s picks:

The Presumed Dead Dad: David Clarke (Revenge) – The whole show revolved around the idea the Emily Clarke was going to avenge her father’s death at the hands of the rich and powerful Graysons. It was fun watching Emily take down everyone who had a hand in his death, until he wasn’t dead. And now the show is no longer airing. Go figure.

The Cursed Dad: Wynonna Earp’s father (Wynonna Earp) – I’m sure we’ve heard his name mentioned, but for the life of me I can’t remember what it is. We’ll just call him Daddy Earp. He spent his life fighting Revenants who were killed with Wyatt Earp’s famous “Peacemaker” gun. He taught his daughters to fight them too. Until one night when seven Revenants broke through the protective charms surrounding the family homestead, and carried off Daddy and older sister, Willa. Wynonna shoots Daddy in the back with Peacemaker, supposedly by accident, as she was aiming for the Revenants. However, better that death than what would have happened to him at the hands of these hellish outlaws.

The Military Dad: Wayne Fields (Pretty Little Liars) – Of the two parents, Emily’s dad, Wayne, was the most supportive of Em. She was closer to him than her mother. In the series’ flash forward, he died while still in active duty, and it just about destroyed Emily. It definitely changed her life.

The Rich, Business Dad: Richard Gilmore (Gilmore Girls) – Richard Gilmore was a highly respected and successful businessman, adored by his wife, Emily. He and Rory were partners in escaping the shouting matches between Lorelei and her mother. He completely understood his wife, and was sometimes the buffer between his two favorite girls. When “Gilmore Girls” returns to Netflix, Richard will be missed.

The Grimm Dad: Nick Burkhardt (Grimm) – Nick could also go under the category of “New Dad”. We didn’t have very many scenes with father and son, Kelly, but we got plenty of a father’s love when he found a place for Kelly, Adalind and Nick to live. It was just short of Fort Knox, affectionately dubbed “The Fome” by Adalind. Though fatherhood was a surprise and certainly unplanned, Nick stepped up to the plate and became Kelly’s dad.

Happy Father’s Day!