Supporting Character
| Synonyms: | Background character, Reoccurring character, Recurring character, Secondary character, Minor character |
| See also: | Antagonist, Canon One-Shot Characters, Designated Lesbian Syndrome, Love Interest, Main Character, NPCs, Original Character, Sidekick |
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A supporting character is a character in a narrative who is not the focus of the primary storyline.[1] Sometimes supporting characters may develop a complex backstory of their own, although it's generally to help the main character's storyline and rarely to help them develop independently.
However, in television shows, supporting characters often grow with the main characters, sometimes even growing independent from the main characters and getting their own spin-offs. An example of this is Captain Jack Harkness, who appeared in a few episodes of Doctor Who; because so many people liked him, he got his own show, Torchwood. Another example is Andrew Wells from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, who grew throughout the sixth season and eventually had a reoccurring role in the 7th season.
In fanfiction, supporting characters are often included to give some depth to the overall storyline - for example by helping a character realize their feelings for another.
Fan Comments
1998
Sheryl Martin:Actually, the MOST annoying thing I find as a reader is when the secondary characters push Mulder and Scully into the background - not just for a few chapters or to announce a plot development, but take center stage...
in which case M&S become nothing more than sidekicks to the secondary characters - which can work if you're dealing with the characters from the Show itself; but if they're original characters then I tend to get lost and flip forward frantically to find M&S again...
I guess the episode that best demonstrates this for me would be "The List" - loved the show, but I could never figure out why M&S were there - they did nothing except wander around and discover the bodies... the real "stars" of that show were the inmates and the warden dealing with the internal/external struggles there...
(and before anyone chortles and hits the reply key to nuke me, I point out that St. George has NEVER stolen the show in any of my stories... she's a sidekick of the first degree...) [2]
Links & Resources
- Obscuro! a gen fanworks challenge for minor characters from Harry Potter
- Please make them playable!, a Genshin Impact zine series focused on NPCs
- Recs tagged Minor Characters at Fancake