Does Your TV Series Have An Ensemble Cast or A Main Character?
You’ve created not just one but a set of characters that you love for your TV or film story. You want them all included but don’t want to bloat your story, especially for season 1 and the pilot. Here are some short and sweet rule of thumbs and examples to determine if all of these characters should be your main characters or one or two stand out amongst the crowd. Obviously these rules are flexible, and there are exceptions. However, these rules are here to help streamline the many plot ideas you may have for your story. For this article, I’m focusing on season 1 of a TV series since these stories require a clear establishment of characters and character goals. However, many of these rule of thumbs can apply to other TV and film stories.
Ensemble Cast
By Wikipedia definition, “In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.” Ensemble casts are fun to write because of the opportunity to create and love many characters. However, stories with ensemble casts have their own challenges with balancing multiple storylines and character arcs.
Examples:
- The Golden Girls (1985–1992)
- Friends (1994–2004)
- Modern Family (2009–2020)
- Game of Thrones (2011–2019)
- This Is Us (2016–2022)
- Stranger Things (2016-)
Here are some rule of thumbs to know if your story might be an ensemble cast:
6 characters or less
Although the number 6 is an estimate, you want to be mindful of having too many characters to follow and stretching your story and themes too thin. Unless you have a show like Game of Thrones that involves an intense level of world building that includes a history that spans generations, you’ll likely want fewer but stronger plots focused around a handful of captivating characters. For some films or a serial story, one where the episodes build upon each other, the characters should still be working together towards some goal. For other films and shows that are more episodic, the different plots of an episode may follow some sort of theme. Season 1 of he comedy series, Modern Family , does a great job of tying multiple storylines in one episode under one or two themes.
What about Stranger Things where in season 1 we follow 3 boys, a supernatural girl, a sheriff, two teens, and the missing boy’s mom and brother? This can be looked at in a couple of ways. One, some of these characters in season 1, like two of the boys, are not nearly as developed as they become later in the series. Therefore, for season 1, this could count as a smaller ensemble cast closer to the 6 rule. Two, this could be a great example of a show that branches out from this rule altogether and succeeds.
We go home with each character
Compared to supporting characters whom we often primarily see when they are interacting with our main characters, characters in an ensemble cast are so developed that we know their home life, their daily habits, and their internal thoughts and motivations. For example, in Modern Family, we get to see the day to day lives of our three couples, Cam and Mitchell, Jay and Gloria, and Claire and Phil. Not only do we know who these characters are as three couples, we know each person in the couple and their history and interests. This differs from the children in this show in season 1, Lily, Manny, Haley, Alex and Luke who are more supporting characters since we primarily see them when they are interacting with the parents.
To help create distinct characters and get more into their heads, I created a Google doc template to organize your characters’ traits and habits.
Dismuke Template — TV Series Character Description Chart and Story Arc Plot Points
The point of views of each character are distinct
If characters are too similar in lifestyle or point of view, one might have to go. Even if the characters come from the same location, they should have a distinct enough point of view that makes their stories worth following. For example, although everyone in Friends live in New York City and even spend their time at the same coffee shop, each character has a unique and distinct personality such that when faced with similar challenges and situations, each character has a funny and unique approach to the challenge. Larger casts like Modern Family follow six adults and how they navigate relationships and family. A great way to establish different point of views is using character archetypes as a base for each character. Shows like The Powerpuff Girls and The Golden Girls follow a classic trio of archetypes. Here are some resources for classic archetypes:
Writing 101: The 12 Literary Archetypes
99 ARCHETYPES AND STOCK CHARACTERS SCREENWRITERS CAN MOLD
Each character contributes to the the story plot equally
For stories with one or two main characters, supporting characters may have individual screen time, but their actions are often in reaction to the main characters’ actions or contribute to the main character’s story. In an ensemble cast, each person is a driver of their own story. From season 1, the comedy drama, This Is Us, gives our main characters each a distinct story driven by each character. Kate is driven by her weight issues. Randall is driven by his experience as someone who was adopted at birth. Kevin is driven by his goals to being a more serious actor. Jack and Rebecca are driven by their desire to survive parenthood.
To help determine what drives each of your main characters for season 1, here is a template for creating loglines for each of your main characters.
Dismuke Template — Main Characters Season 1 Logline
There’s a link connecting these characters
What is the bond that connects these characters? In Friends, we follow what it is like to be in your late 20s in New York City in the 90s. Shows like This Is Us and Modern Family follow people connected by family ties. Season 1 of Stranger Things follows different point of views in the event of a missing child in a small town in the 80s. The characters of Game of Thrones are connected not only by family ties but also by the desire for power over a magical kingdom. While the characters of your story need to be distinct, if the goal or tie between the characters are not strong enough to connect these stories, you may have multiple tv shows or films that you are trying to combine into one.
Your show is centered around a location or event
Some shows center around an event or a location rather than characters. For example, Stranger Things centers around the event of a missing child. Outside of characters directly connected to the event, the location and time period is more the main character than the point of views that we follow. It can be argued that the small town of Hawkins in Stranger Things is the protagonist and main character of the series, and had we followed the disappearance of another missing child in this town, many of the events would have happened regardless. Not all stories follow this, but if yours does, you may have more freedom to add and remove characters in your main cast more easily.
Main Character
According to MasterClass, there is a difference between the main character and the protagonist in that “The main character (sometimes called ‘principal character’) and the protagonist are both two central characters, but the protagonist drives the plot forward while the main character is impacted by the plot.” You can learn more about those difference in this MasterClass article.
What’s the Difference Between a Main Character, Protagonist, and Hero?
For the sake of simplicity for this article, I will use the term main character defined in No Film School as “is the character who the story is mostly about or the point of view of the story.” Here is the No Film School article.
What’s the Difference Between the Protagonist and the Main Character?
Main characters have some sort of unique point of view from the majority in your story. They may be a fish out of water like being foreign to a place or have a special skill, knowledge or power needed for a larger goal.
Here are some TV examples of shows with one main character:
- The Fresh Prince of Bel Air (1990–1996)
- Monk (2002–2009)
- The Amazing World of Gumball (2011–2019)
- The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017–2023)
- Sex Education (2019–2023)
- The Bear (2022-)
Here are some TV examples of shows with two main characters:
- Rick and Morty (2013-)
- Broad City (2014–2019)
- Ginny & Georgia (2021-)
Three or more main characters become an ensemble cast.
Although your story may start with one or two main characters for season 1, your story, especially for a TV series, can and hopefully will evolve such that supporting characters become more developed and have their own story plots and arcs.
Here are examples of TV series that can be argued that the story started with a main character but grew to be an ensemble cast.
- Cheers (1982–1993)
- Avatar The Last Airbender (2005–2008)
- Community (2009–2015)
- Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019)
- Sex Education (2019–2023)
- Ginny & Georgia (2021-)
What is the defining moment that turns a supporting character into a lead character? I’m not sure. Here are some questions to ask yourself:
Does the character significantly impact the goal of the story?
This may apply more to serial than episodic stories where there is one clear goal.
Does the character get their own arc?
Arguably one of my favorite character arcs is Zuko from Avatar The Last Airbender.
Does the character get their own story separate from the original main character?
This often comes with time.
How long as the character been around?
Longevity by no means equals impact, but if this character has been around long enough, viewers may expect to see this character like they would the main character.
Wrap up
Some shows are clearly ensemble cast while others clearly have one star from beginning to the end of the series. However, there is a spectrum. Maybe one character has a skill, power or knowledge central to solving a problem, but the other characters have major impacts on the story. Aang in Avatar the Last Airbender is a good example. Maybe one or two characters in the ensemble cast gain a story plot that takes more screen time. Ross and Rachel’s storyline in Friends is an example of this. Regardless of where your story falls in the spectrum, having clearly defined main and secondary characters is key to a great narrative series.
