It’s only appropriate to show a little Father’s Day love this weekend to our fictional friends who we let into our homes on a nightly, weekly, or a whole season-in-one-day basis.
Dads are so hot right now, so hot. From stacking Cheerios on their children (in case you’re late to that party, it’s called the #CheerioChallenge) to catching foul balls one-handed with a sleeping baby in their arms, we constantly ask dads to be cool, hip and also as tech savvy as possible so us millennials only have to explain how to use Facebook Instant Messenger once.
In a supporting role or center stage, the list of dads below are for sure some notable TV characters. They’re the types of dads we can’t quite imaging having as our own, for the sheer level of badassness they possess or the fact that they’re simply falling apart –and maybe or maybe not hiding it. And we all know they couldn’t stand a chance against the Danny Tanner’s or Frank Constanza’s of the early 1990s, so let’s give them a clean slate.
As we approach our own Father’s Day, we can either appreciate or shed a tear thinking about where our guys at home would rank against these top 5 modern day tv dads.
**Note: This is 100% a biased list, solely for the fact I watch like 10 TV shows tops and have considered dad-level hotness a major factor. Just saying.
5. Marty Kaan, House of Lies
Marty Kaan (Don Cheadle) has had a lot on his plate throughout the series, House of Lies. An absolutely insane ex-wife, a workaholic personality who constantly riles up his unpredictable staff and a son who, at times, could send him next-level crazy or keep him grounded during the stressful scenarios he backed himself into. Marty’s a straight up businessman dad, not pulling punches or minding his curse words while he’s around today’s youth. His son, Roscoe, could see through the B.S. but certainly didn’t hesitate to steal a few page’s out of his dad’s book at times.
Marty’s best dad-vice: “You never ever trust anyone until you know their angle, and now you know.”
4. Tad Horvath, Girls
Tad is on this list because he’s an utter mess and certainly couldn’t handle being ignored. As a father to Hannah Horvath (Lena Dunham), you can imagine why this guy usually sports a look with his shirt tucked in, a belt loop missing and socks with sandals. He’s recently out of the closet, which adds for an interesting twist on the show, and now he’s just trying to get some action while also supporting his all over the place daughter. In his unstable state, it seems like Hannah’s the one giving the parenting advice, but at the end of the day he’s a dad who means well and sometimes needs a hand to help get pulled out from under himself.
Tad’s best dad-vice: “Sometimes…the stupidest f*cking decision in the world is the right decision for you.”
3. Officer Bennett, Orange is the New Black
Now we all know this OITNB character had strange journey into fatherhood, and while we haven’t really seen him make his mark as a dad yet, it’s clear he’s got good intentions and has always tried to be a great guy to his lady, first and foremost. He tries to be stern even though he’s a softie at heart, and I think we all know a dad out there who certainly reflects that. And now with a new season kicking off, we’ll (hopefully) see how his dad journey progresses.
Officer Bennett’s best dad-vice: “We’ll find so much happiness we won’t know what to do with it.”
2. John Rayburn, Bloodline
Now I can’t speak to Kyle Chandler’s FNL days as Coach Taylor, but oh boy does he turn up the heat in Bloodline. A father to two angsty teens and a husband to a wife who’s completely in the dark about his unusual behavior, John Rayburn is a stud of a character who everyone wants to be regardless of his past decisions. He’s the dad who can keep a straight face even when he’s got the weight of the world on his shoulders. The dad who’s the envy of his children’s peers, because he just looks so damn cool –all the time. You can’t help but hope this dad comes out on top no matter all the bad he’s dealing with.
John’s best dad-vice: ”Sometimes – you know something’s coming. You feel it – in the air. In your gut. You don’t sleep at night. A voice in your head’s telling you, something is gonna go terribly wrong, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it.”
1. Danny Castellano, The Mindy Project
Danny is the ultimate Italian dad. Just look at that outfit! He wears glasses with the string around them so he doesn’t lose them from his neck, and he thinks his baby mama should quit work and stay at home to take care of the baby and cook spaghetti and meatballs. He’s not afraid to speak his mind whenever, wherever, and he’s got his own stash of daddy issues to deal with that make him this way. He can be a real, stubborn d*ck, but he’s a family man who’s loyal to his “Ma” and would do the best he could for his family any day. That’s a dad we can all admire, from the dorky qualities to the unconditional love.
Danny’s best dad-vice: “Was this the kind of guy who if you heard glass breaking in the middle of the night is he gonna jump out of bed, say “stay here,” and look through the house naked with a baseball bat, or is he gonna hide under the covers with you?”