22 TV Dads We’d Want in Our Corner

9. Josiah Bartlet (The West Wing)

Josiah Bartlet may have had three grown daughters on The West Wing, but that didn’t stop him from being a protective dad when needed.

Of his three kids, viewers saw his relationship with Zoe displayed the most prominently on screen. He watches her graduate, gives her boyfriends the rigmarole, and when needed pushes back against her behavior.

In one instance, after a fight at a bar, he explains a scenario in which Zoey’s kidnapped and how that makes him not a Commander in Chief but a “father who’s out of his mind because his little girl is in a shack somewhere in Uganda with a gun to her head.”

10. Jackson Avery (Grey’s Anatomy)

Kids don’t feature on Grey’s Anatomy very often, but when Jackson Avery became a father in Season 13, he wasn’t afraid to do what it took to make sure his daughter was taken care of. Even if it meant living with his ex-wife for a period of time while she recovered from a cesarean section and they worked out joint custody.

He’s also taken steps to make sure that Harriet will be taken care of in the future. With the scandal befalling the Harper Avery Foundation in Season 14, Jackson liquidates everything to help pay restitution for Harper Avery’s victims, but he sets aside some money for Harriet that couldn’t be touched.

11. Phil Dunphy (Modern Family)  

Phil Dunphy walks a fine line between being a cool dad obsessed with technology, and viral videos, and being a corny dad full of puns. He constantly has wild ideas like using a stationary bike to bike a total distance between their house and Canada and figuring out how to walk a tightrope in the backyard.

While his large extended family can throw lots of curveballs his way, he always accepts the hiccups with a smile and a joke. And if you get into trouble in Phil Dunphey’s house, he can’t seem to be mad for long, especially where his son Luke is concerned. (I still want to see them attempt self-flipping pancakes!)

12. Mike Foster (The Fosters)

Mike and Stef Foster were already divorced for almost a decade when The Fosters began its run, but that didn’t stop Mike from being involved in his son Brandon’s life. While he doesn’t live in the Adams-Foster household Lena and Stef accept him as part of the family, and he is often the father figure for Jesus and Mariana as well.

Over the course of the series, Mike would also take in a foster son of his own, AJ, and is the stepfather to Ana Guitierrez’s daughter Isabella.

13. Danny Tanner (Full House/Fuller House)

Danny Tanner was the wholesome dad on Full House, who raised three young daughters with the help of Uncle Jesse and Joey. He was full of dad jokes but always ended each episode with a life lesson for his girls.

Now, the girls are all grown up, but Danny Tanner still appears on the Full House revival, Fuller House, from time to time, and he’s still very much the same character we’ve come to love over the years.

14. Andre Johnson (black-ish)

Andre Johnson is the patriarch of a suburban African-American family. He’s able to give them things like iPhones, hoverboards, and a new pair of sneakers on a regular basis, but wants them to learn what it’s like to struggle and work for something.

As a result, he doles out doses of reality with regular trips to the family barbershop and threats to make his kids eat ketchup and baking soda sandwiches.  He’s also not afraid to expose his youngest children to the real-world issues happening around them, especially sensitive subjects like police brutality.

Overall, Andre is also a dad who sometimes has his own parenting fails, he gets up and tries to figure out what went wrong.

15. Richard Gilmore (Gilmore Girls) 

While the stars of Gilmore Girls are Rory and Lorelai, their relationship with Richard, Lorelai’s dad, and Rory’s grandfather is a prominent feature. Richard Gilmore is a former insurance salesman, and although Lorelai was estranged from them until the start of the series, they start to forge a relationship together.

This also led to Richard being an influence in Rory’s life, supporting her through school and encouraging her through college. He even taught her how to golf.

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