George Jetson
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George J. Jetson is drawn in the same vein as many other classic TV dads. If you’ve watched an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show or Leave it to Beaver or even The Flintstones you know the type — the well-meaning but often put upon everyman trying to support his family and live up to the expectations of the era. The joke, of course, is that even in the future the rat race stays the same, whether you’re working a modern 9 to 5 or George’s futuristic one-hour-a-day, twice-a-week grind. At least he has a flying car. We’re still waiting.
Phil Dunphy
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While there are a handful of great dads on Modern Family the best among them is Phil Dunphy,
the eternally optimistic “dad joke” machine who has never met a pun he didn’t like. Phil subscribes to the “cool dad” philosophy of parenting, often more interested in being sure his kids see him as a friend and confidante as opposed to an authoritarian. Though it isn’t always successful, you can never doubt that his heart is in the right place, even when he is more adept at embarrassing his kids than he is at setting boundaries or instilling an important life lesson.
Al Bundy
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Married… with Children’s Al Bundy was a breath of fresh air for sitcom dads when the series first aired on Fox in 1987. Al was a very specific kind of midwestern dad — a cynical, beaten-down, penny-pinching man who admittedly peaked in high school and laments his lot in life. A very stark contrast to Dr. Seaver on Growing Pains or Steven Keaton from Family Ties.
Still, in spite of his curmudgeonly nature (and claims to the contrary), Al very clearly cared about his family. Why else would he have shown up to that miserable job at the lady’s shoe store every day?
Johnny Rose
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What’s great about Johnny Rose is that we get to see him become a great TV dad through the wonderful 80-episode run of Schitt’s Creek.
Eugene Levy’s Rose begins the series as an aloof but caring CEO of a video store chain who loses everything (and wouldn’t you know it, in losing his fortune he is set off on a journey to learn what’s truly valuable in life). By the finale, not only is he a loving and devoted father of his two children, but he’s also effectively adopted the cynical local Stevie and helped her flourish in both her professional and personal life.
Captain Sisko
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Captain Benjamin Sisko isn’t just one of the best Star Trek captains in the franchise, he’s also straight up one of the best dads in TV history.
What makes Deep Space Nine such an enduring sci-fi series is that it gives as much space to how Sisko will navigate the expanding Dominion War or the internal politics of Bajor as it does to his struggles as a single parent and his always-evolving relationship with his son, Jake — which makes sense, as the space station setting lends itself to exploring grounded, domestic issues in a way that no the Star Trek series ever could.
Bob Belcher
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Unlike other animated dads who cycle through a seemingly endless supply of crazy schemes or find themselves sucked into ridiculous ventures, Bob Belcher always remains focused on keeping his small business afloat and, in doing so, providing the best life he can for his family. He might not be the best businessman in the world, or even the best husband or father (he does the best he can), but there’s a sincerity of intention and a grounded melancholy in Bob’s acceptance of things as they are, for better or worse. It’s what truly sets Bob’s Burgers apart from shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy that dominate the adult sitcom space.
Dan Conner
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Dan Conner is your archetypal midwest blue-collar dad. He might not be the smartest guy in the room or able to easily articulate his feelings, but he sets an example for his family with a kind heart and a strong work ethic. The character also marked an important change in pop culture from how TV dads were portrayed. Dan isn’t an unimpeachable patriarch doling out life lessons but instead is a silly everyman who is doing the best he can.
Also, John Goodman (and by extension his character Dan Conner) has the look of a man who gives a great hug.
Carl Winslow
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Carl Winslow has to make a list of the best TV dads because of his infinite capacity for patience and forgiveness. Sure, he might be a highly irritable man who spends more time complaining and side-eyeing than he does helping around the house, but considering what happens to his person and property through the run of the series at the hands of his neighbor Steve Urkel, the man should be revered as a saint.
Over time Officer Winslow softens to Steve and his antics, but there were many times in the show’s nine years on the air that he would have been completely in his rights to drag that nerd down to the station.
Danny Tanner
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If you found yourself in the shoes of an adolescent girl growing up in a San Francisco townhome who has just gone through a hacky bit of melodrama and needs a cheese ball life lesson accompanied by sappy music, who better to walk through that bedroom door armed with kind words and a warm hug than Danny Tanner?
In retrospect, Full House is made even funnier by the fact that Tanner was so effortlessly portrayed by Bob Saget who, in his post-Full House career as a stand-up, proved himself to be one of the crassest comedians of his generation.
Phillip Banks
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Why wouldn’t TV’s greatest dad be the one best known as “Uncle Phil”?
Wonderfully portrayed by the late, great James Avery, Philip Banks is a wealthy self-made lawyer who takes in his nephew, Will, and serves as his surrogate father, providing tough love and life lessons through the six-season run of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Together, Will and Phil provide some of the show’s biggest laughs as well as its most raw, emotional moments. The warmth that comes through Avery’s performance, even when he’s angry or frustrated with Will, elevates what might have been a standard family comedy into one of the great TV shows of the 1990s.
