7 Dumbest TV Characters Of All Time

No one ever wants to be the dumbest person in the room — unless you’re a TV character, in which case it can put you on the fast track to fan-favorite status.  

Think about it: some of the most beloved TV beloved characters of all time, from Joey Tribbiani on “Friends” to Chrissy Snow on “Three’s Company,” couldn’t rub two brain cells together to save their lives. And that’s what we love about them!

In celebration of April Fool’s Day, the TVLine editors were asked to name their favorite small screen buffoons, the lovable lunkheads whose low IQs not only kept us laughing but also endeared us to them. And with decades of dolts to choose from, narrowing each of our picks to just one character was no easy feat. (Also, keep in mind: these are our personal favorites, not a ranked list of dumbest characters.)

Read on for a list of Team TVLine’s top TV fools — including characters from “Boy Meets World,” “Broad City,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Cheers,” “The Golden Girls,” “The Office,” and “That’s So Raven” — then drop a comment with your own personal picks. Who’s your favorite small screen simpleton?

Perhaps no sitcom character devolved into a bigger caricature than the artist formerly known as Plays With Squirrels. And though Will Friedle may bemoan Eric sneezing out the winning lottery numbers on “Pod Meets World,” it’s hard to argue with the results: The broader the humor got, the funnier (and more distinct) he became. Friedle had the chops, and the writers took full advantage, perhaps to the detriment of Eric’s F-U-T-U-R-E — you know, his furniture.

The signs were there by the show’s midpoint, from Eric and Mr. Feeny’s trip to the opera to the introduction of “Eric Matthews: Good Looking Guy.” By the time he crashed Cory’s Season 6 disciplinary hearing and introduced himself as Jonathan Cumberland, Attorney at Law, all bets were off, and for the remainder of the series, Friedle’s sole purpose was comic relief.

The show may have taken his antics too far — see: Eric following Cory and Topanga on their honeymoon — but the powers that be at least made sure this lovable idiot never lost his heart. Or his ability to beckon his beloved teacher with that iconic “Feeny!” call. — Ryan Schwartz

If you’ve never had the pleasure of watching “Broad City,” we can think of no better introduction to the enigma that is Ilana Wexler (played by Ilana Glazer) than this shot of her in the midst of realizing that her cute new crop top is, in fact, a hoodie for dogs. You know, hence the ear holes she assumed were for her pigtails. But rather than going home and changing into something more “appropriate” for the office, Ilana makes the outfit work, using a red marker to color in her stomach before going about the rest of her day. For Ilana, foolishness isn’t just her identity — it’s her superpower, protecting her from the severity of her daily shenanigans. (Being constantly stoned only serves as additional protection.)

Don’t get us wrong, though, Ilana is no dummy. She cares deeply about social issues, even if her activism ranges from performative to offensive; she’s a creative entrepreneur (phone wigs, anyone?); and her Mandarin is good enough to sell rare Beanie Babies internationally. She’s basically a sex-positive Bugs Bunny.

Just as “Broad City” serves as a time capsule for a New York that no longer exists, it’s hard to imagine another TV character who could match Ilana’s particular brand of foolishness. But maybe that’s a good thing. Could the world really handle two of her? — Andy Swift

Self-proclaimed “super villain” Andrew was a member of the Trio and a real thorn in Buffy’s side before he officially joined the Scoobies. (OK, maybe he was Scooby adjacent.) But the character (played by Tom Lenk) served up some real comic relief in Season 7 when Buffy and the potential Slayers were preparing to take on the First Evil. Rounding out the final run’s sharp edges and doom-and-gloom vibes, Andrew’s buffoonery was always on high display, making even the newly human Anya feel like an academic scholar. And yet, he still had layers, learning accountability and holding down his own redemption arc which kept him kinda-sorta grounded… well, at least when he wasn’t imagining that he was a god. Look no further than “Storyteller” (which saw the character filming his own “Buffy, Slayer of the Vampyrs” documentary) for proof of the loveable idiot’s silly voice and Lenk’s immense talent. — Nick Caruso

Most TV lunkheads are just there purely for laughs, and Ernie Pantusso — the blissfully ignorant baseball coach-turned-bartender played by Nicholas Colasanto on NBC’s classic bar comedy — certainly delivered plenty of those. (Back when he was a ballplayer, he specialized in getting hit in the head by a pitch, a skill that he demonstrated for Diane with a memorable “thunk.”) Coach had a childlike innocence that made him lovable… even when he was saying the dumbest things you’ve ever heard.

But as brilliantly dumb as he was, Coach was also incredibly sweet. He served as a trusted confidante for Diane even when everyone else in the bar hated her, and his honest befuddlement at his daughter Lisa thinking she wasn’t beautiful was “Cheers” at its most heartwarming. That dummy was the heart and soul of “Cheers,” and though Woody Boyd ably replaced Coach as the bar’s resident idiot following Colasanto’s death, the kind and gentle spirit that Coach brought to the bar was simply irreplaceable. — Dave Nemetz

No one ever accused Rose Nylund of being the brain trust of “The Golden Girls.” Nor would we want her to be! Where Bea Arthur’s Dorothy was snarky, Rue McClanahan’s Blanche was hot-to-trot, and Estelle Getty’s Sophia had no filter, Betty White’s sweet Rose sailed through life in an endearingly oblivious manner that often gave her the show’s best punchlines. Rose’s meandering, preposterous stories about her hometown of St. Olaf, Minnesota, drove her roommates batty — but they also drove some of the NBC sitcom’s funniest bits. And her naivete, which White wielded to maximum comedic effect, was the stuff of legend. (You try getting through her herring war memory without cracking up — Arthur and McClanahan sure couldn’t.) — Kimberly Roots

Ellie Kemper had the tall order of 1) joining a beloved series in its fifth season, and 2) replacing OG cast member Jenna Fischer at Dunder Mifflin’s reception desk. But Kemper made the transition look easy when her lovably naive Erin came to “The Office,” and the show always knew when to sprinkle in a reminder that Erin didn’t really grasp how the world worked. (At a Season 7 Halloween party, for example, she thought bobbing for apples meant actually eating the apples while underwater.) 

And Kemper played Erin’s most airheaded moments without a hint of irony, which only made them more hysterical — like when she thought a disposable camera was meant to be thrown in the trash, film and all, after the final photo had been taken. (“If it’s an important event that you want to remember, I recommend using a real camera. But I don’t care if I forget today!”) In the show’s post-Michael Scott seasons, Erin became a larger focus, and she in turn got a little wiser — but never too wise, for which I’m very grateful. — Rebecca Luther

“That’s So Raven” introduced us to the lovable Chelsea Daniels (played by Anneliese van der Pol), who quickly became a formative figure in foolhood during Disney Channel’s early 2000s era. As Raven’s right hand woman — and yes, Chelsea would have to hold up both of her hands and form an “L” shape with her fingers to know her right from left! — was never far from her bestie’s side, meaning laughs were never far off, either. From placing sprinkles individually onto soft serve ice cream with tweezers, to writing to Santa to request rubber animals for science class at school, Chelsea rarely made any real sense at all. But like any best dunce, Chelsea always went along with Raven’s over-the-top antics, swinging from window scaffolding to help Eddie cheat on a test, to dressing up as the cream to Raven’s coffee. Yes, she was a biscuit head, but she was our biscuit head. — Claire Franken