
I love a good ensemble cast. When done well, you have multiple characters to root for and hate. And sometimes through the pages or episodes, these characters change. And so do your favorites.
Where does my ensemble love come from?
When I was a kid, I was hooked on the teen drama Beverly Hills 90210 (The original. Yes, I’m 40.)
And a little after that, I enjoyed Melrose Place: A fun soap with an interesting set of characters that have messy love lives in California.
It’s no wonder that I’m now mostly writing ensemble-cast novels featuring multiple POVs and beautiful people. And guess what? My romcom trilogy A Change Would Do You Good (aff.link) is set in San Diego, California. And while my debut novel Making A Difference (M.A.D.) (aff. link) is a standalone with fewer characters and plotlines, it still has a large cast.
I’m not the only one with a soft spot for an impressive ensemble. Let’s look at some popular TV series in different genres that audiences love and can’t resist watching again.
Lost: Adventure, drama, fantasy, sci-fi (2004-2010)

I’ve just finished binging Lost, one of the most beloved adventure/fantasy shows of all time. And the show has a huge cast filled with talented actors.
When the Oceanic 815 flight crashes onto a remote island with no way to ask for help, it’s up to the passengers to come together to survive. However, such different personalities (most of who harbor secrets) will often clash, making it difficult to fight against the real enemies: the violent natives of the island, a smoke monster, and dangerous wild animals.
Here are the characters from season one with storylines on and off the island:
- Sawyer: a grifter with a traumatic past. He has an attitude, hoards whatever he finds, and has no regard for anyone else. Or so it seems.
- Jack: A successful neurosurgeon dealing with the death of his father and their tumultuous relationship. Not to mention, he feels responsible for the well-being of survivors.
- Kate: The one with the biggest secret. A beautiful badass with a mind of her own.
- Sayid: A former Iraqi intelligence officer and torturer who will be one of the biggest assets – as long as you don’t cross him.
- Jin: A possessive and intense Korean husband who wants his wife Sun to keep to herself. They don’t speak English, and his “us and them” attitude pisses everyone off.
- Sun: Sun loves Jin but is sick of his attitude. She’s not above going behind his back to do what needs to be done.
- Hurley: A big guy who has had a series of bad luck and is now questioning whether he’s cursed.
- Locke: Locke loves being on the island and he believes he’s destined to be there.
- Charlie: A former rock star and a drug addict hiding the addiction part from fellow survivors
- Claire: A young, single, very pregnant woman.
- Michael and Walt: Michael is the father of 12-year-old Walt, and he has had to get custody after his ex died. He needs to learn how to be a father while getting to know his son and making sure they both survive the island.
While they are supporting characters, step-siblings Boone and Shannon affect the plot and the characters above in major ways.
As episodes and seasons go on, more important characters will join. Some of these characters will be killed off. But the cast remains huge.
You might not like all of the storylines or the seasons: But the writers knew how to hook you. There is no shortage of internal and external conflicts.
As a viewer, having a variety of options makes it more fun. As a writer, your creativity knows no bounds. It’s a win-win.
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Let’s take a look at some other wildly successful ensemble cast TV series in other genres.
Friends: Sitcom (1994-2004)

One of the most popular shows of all time, Friends features six different main characters in their mid-20s with their own set of quirks.
You have handsome actor Joey who is a bit stupid, but he’s an Einstein when it comes to picking up girls. He loves food, and he will not share it.
Rachel is a waitress learning to stand on her own feet after ditching her boring fiancé (and no longer able to receive help from her rich father) at the altar. She knows and loves fashion.
Ross is a paleontologist adjusting to life after his divorce – which happened because his wife discovered she was a lesbian.
Chandler is an anxious commitment-phobe, but he’s also afraid to die alone. He makes good money from his boring data/statistics job. He’s excellent at sarcasm, and he has the best jokes.
Despite her tragic past, Phoebe is a vibrant, quirky bohemian chick who plays the guitar for fun and works as a masseuse.
Monica, Ross’s sister and Rachel’s high school best friend, is a great chef. She’s also obsessively clean and highly competitive.
Chandler and Joey live together across Rachel and Monica. Ross has crushed on Rachel since high school.
The loves and lives of these six friends gave us 10 seasons through 235 episodes. Fans (including me) can’t get enough and rewatch the series again and again.
Gilmore Girls: Comedy, drama, romance (2000-2007)

When Lorelai, the daughter of highly privileged Gilmore family, got pregnant at 16, she left her helicopter parents to raise her daughter Rory on her own. She started as a maid at an inn and worked her way up her way to hotel manager. In her small town of Stars Hollow, we witness her (mis)adventures and relationships with her neighbors, the handsome owner of Luke’s diner, town’s busybody mayor Taylor, the weird guy with a million jobs – aka Kirk -, Rory’s love interests, loveable but inappropriate Babette and Miss Patty, her best friend Sookie, Rory’s best friend Lane, receptionist Michel, and of course last but not least the OG Gilmores – her parents Emily and Richard Gilmore.
A popular show with a big cast often creates different “teams” in the fandom. To this day, some people hate Lorelai’s parenting and some love it. Some people can’t get enough of Emily Gilmore while some get PTSD from their own rocky relationships with their mothers. Who’s the best boyfriend of Rory? Is it Dean, Jess, or Logan? (I’m team Dean – before season 4 happened.)
While I have seen people who dislike Lorelai and can’t stand certain seasons where Rory is a brat, I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t adore Luke. (We don’t speak of mid-season 6 Luke. If you are wondering why, check out my post on the dreaded surprise child trope.)
Why do I mention all the fun disagreements among Gilmore Girls fans? Because that’s one of the biggest perks of creating (and consuming) a series with an ensemble cast. You’ve got tons to choose from.
The Vampire Diaries: Fantasy, horror, thriller, drama, romance (2009-2017)

While based on the popular book series by L.J. Smith, the series wildly differs from the novels. And since I watched the series, I’ll be basing my ensemble opinions on it.
The Vampire Diaries starts as 100-something vampire Stefan Salvatore (who was turned when he was about 17) returns to his hometown of Mystic Falls to get to know Elena, a 17-year-old high schooler who lost her parents in a tragic accident about a year ago. (Why Stefan is interested in Elena will be revealed later). With his powers of mind control, Stefan easily enrolls in the high school and his charm and good looks make him instantly popular – much to the chagrin of Elena’s ex Matt – who is still in love with her. Matt and his best friend Tyler (who has unresolved anger issues) are further annoyed by the new kid as his strength and speed land him a spot on their football team. As Elena’s instantly drawn to Stefan, her best friend Caroline is jealous because all the boys seem to want Elena, while their other best friend Bonnie suspects she’s a witch.
But high school dynamics is the least of Stefan’s problems. While Stefan strictly feeds on animals, another vampire has arrived – who doesn’t mind leaving bodies behind. And while the mayor (Tyler’s dad) and the sheriff (Caroline’s mother) explain these bodies as vicious animal attacks, they know all about vampires – a secret they keep from their children and the rest of the town.
Spoiler alert: Towards the end of the pilot episode, the violent vampire will reveal himself to be Damon, Stefan’s slightly older and equally gorgeous brother Damon, who is on a mission to make his sibling’s life hell.
More characters:
- Elena and her fellow high schooler younger brother Jeremy live with their grad student aunt Jenna.
- Tyler’s mother is a founding family member – meaning she knows about vampires.
- Matt’s sister Vicky is friends with benefits with Jeremy. She’s also dating Tyler.
- In episode 9 – spoiler alert – we’ll meet another important character: high school history teacher Alaric Saltzman who is secretly a vampire hunter, looking to avenge his dead wife.
While the show centers on the love triangle between three characters (Stefan/Elena/Damon), Caroline and Bonnie will have their storylines both directly and indirectly related to the trio. Tyler and Matt are both crucial love interests, friends and important characters in their own right. And then you have Alaric. I haven’t even started on the actual bad guys yet. (Damon will be a psycho asshole for a while but then he will switch to good guys.)
That’s a lot of characters. Keep in mind that this is a supernatural show with serial storylines and a different villain (or villain group) each season. Many characters will either die and/or change into something else. Some will come back, some will stay dead. Other important characters will join the cast. So The Vampire Diaries will keep its ensemble form until the very end.
During the first season, I liked a lot of the characters, but Stefan and Elena were my favorites. During the second season, we saw Tyler change into a solid, vulnerable person. From season 2, he was one of my favorites. I’ve always liked Alaric. I started liking Caroline after she “changed.”
When vampire Enzo first joined, he had my sympathy but he did annoy me to no end. Toward the end of season 7, he became one of my favorite characters. In fact, when the series was over, my favorite characters were Bonnie, Enzo, Tyler, and Alaric.
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So there you go: Four wildly popular shows with ensemble casts.
As a viewer, it’s inevitable to find characters to root for, identify with, hate, and ship.
As a writer, you have immense creative freedom with character growth/regression, storylines, conflict, and even genres.
I realized this post would be too long if I covered books with ensemble casts here as well, so I’ll be talking about books with ensemble casts in part two.
What about you? Do you enjoy ensemble casts? Do you tend to write a big cast of characters? Let me know in the comments.
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