25 Best This Is Us Characters Ever, Ranked

There's no lemon so sour that you can't make something resembling lemonade. And there's no limit to our love for the characters of This Is Us — but there is an order. So we thought we'd run through the NBC family drama's roster and pick out our 25 favorite Pearson (and Pearson-adjacent) characters.

17. Gregory

We're suckers for characters with gruff exteriors but gooey, loving centers, so of course we're all about Timothy Omundson's recurring role as a stroke survivor who lives next door to Kate and Toby.

24. Hailey Damon

Jack's little sister is only this far down the list because we don't know much about her yet, aside from the fact that she's played by Adelaide Kane: The only appearance she's made was in the Season 4 finale flash-forward that chronicled the birth of her nephew, Jack's son. 

22. Jae-Won Yoo

Randall's indefatigable chief of staff, played by Tim Jo, is smart, talented and politically savvy, making him a great grounding force in the city councilman's hectic life.

5. Kate Pearson

Randall and Kevin's sister, played by Chrissy Metz, easily could've let the taunts and traumas of her childhood take her down. Instead, she's a loving, relatable wife and mom trying to make the best life possible for her son while striving for peace among her highly dramatic siblings. 

11. Kevin Pearson

Justin Hartley's character leads with his heart... which usually gets him into serious trouble. But he's learning and growing up (albeit slowly), and damned if that Season 1 painting monologue doesn't kill us softly whenever we think about it.

21. Madison 

Caitlin Thompson's character's has grown on us since Season 1, when she was just The Annoying Skinny Girl at Kate and Toby's overeaters' group. And that's a good thing, because as the Season 4 finale revealed, she's the woman Kevin impregnated and will eventually propose to (meaning, she's here to stay).

8. Malik Hodges

At every turn, Asante Blackk's character subverts the "teen baby daddy" trope, proving himself a mature, sweet and giving partner-in-training for Deja. (And with parents like Darnell and Kelly, is that any surprise?)

15. Nick Pearson

Take what we said about Gregory and multiply it by 100, and that's how we feel about Jack's brother (played by Griffin Dunne). He's so prickly! He's so haunted! He's so clearly yearning for connection with the family he missed for decades! It makes you want to give him a hug... which he'd hate. 

3. Randall Pearson

OK, OK: That Season 4 backhanded move he pulled regarding Rebecca and the clinical trial? Not cool. But it would take a lot more than that for us to desert Sterling K. Brown's character, who loves with abandon, cries with endearing regularity and dad-jokes with aplomb. 

1. Rebecca Pearson

We mocked Jack's grand gestures earlier, but honestly, we get it: Wouldn't you go overboard to show your appreciation for a creature as loving, forgiving, supportive and sweet as Mandy Moore's character? 

7. Tess Pearson

Teens-finding-themselves storylines can be torture on an adult drama, but Eris Baker's character's journey — particularly her Season 3 coming-out to her parents — has only endeared her to us more. 

4. William Hill

Ron Cephas Jones' character is so wise, endearing and effortlessly cool that his Season 1 death was a sad standout in a show full of Kleenex moments. Thank goodness for flashbacks!

20. Zoe Baker

Beth's cousin/Kevin's onetime girlfriend (played by Melanie Liburd) was cool, artsy and knew exactly what she wanted... too bad "babies with Kev" wasn't on that list. 

13. Dr. Nathan 'Dr. K' Katowski

When life gives you lemons, you'd best hope you've got the Pearson's kind and folksy obstetrician (played by Gerald McRaney) around to help you put things into perspective. 

12. Jack Pearson

We're well aware that many of you would've placed Milo Ventimiglia's Papa Pearson waaaay higher in this list. Might we stage a huge romantic gesture (masking some seriously troubling personality issues) in order to make it up to you? 

10. Sophie 

Even given everything we just said about Kevin, his high school love-turned-ex-wife (played by Alexandra Breckenridge) is clearly the smarter, cooler and more grown-up member of that particular pairing. 

23. Cassidy Sharp

Not gonna lie: We kinda hoped the troubled war veteran would turn out to be more than just a red herring in Season 4's "Who's Kevin's Pregnant Future Fiancee?" storyline. Here's hoping Jennifer Morrison's character will be back. 

6. Deja Pearson

After a rocky start with the family that would eventually adopt and embrace her, Lyric Ross' character has proven to be a sweet, funny and deep addition to Randall and Beth's brood. 

18. Jack Damon

Blake Stadnik's character is a literal rockstar who adores his wife, doted on his infant daughter from nearly the moment of her conception and has one rather fine... asset. (What, we were talking about his angelic voice!)

19. Lucy Damon

Though we don't know much about Jack Damon's wife, played by Auden Thornton, there's just something about her that's very compelling. We're guessing Jack felt the same way, given that he wrote a chart-topping hit song about her after their first meeting.

16. Toby Damon

Kate's husband, played by Chris Sullivan, means well, and he certainly loves her. But, real talk? He'd be a lot higher on this list if it weren't for that whole Season 4-Crossfit-obsession-Lady-Kryptonite-I'm-not-sure-I-can-be-here-for-a-blind-kid freakout. 

2. Beth Pearson

Let's be clear, though: Randall would be half the man he is today were it not for Susan Kelechi Watson's Beth. (That alternate version in the shrink's office proved it, remember?) Beth is smart, warm and fierce — and a pretty excellent dancer, as it turns out, as well. 

9. Annie Pearson

What's not to love about Randall and Beth's youngest daughter, played by Faithe Herman? She's bubbly, cute and sharp as heck, a fitting mini-me for both of her folks.

14. Miguel Rivas 

We know everyone loves to dunk on Rebecca's second husband, played by Jon Huertas, and with good reason: He's doofy. But he's also caring, smart, thoughtful and — on several occasions — he has provided exactly the kind of companionship Rebecca needed, exactly when she needed it. 

25. Shauna

Joy Brunson's character is kind and loving, and only wants the best for her daughter, Deja. So when she realized she couldn't provide that, she did a very hard thing and stepped out of the way, clearing the path for Randall and Beth's adoption efforts.