TV 20 TV dads we love By EW Staff Updated on June 14, 2018 06:35PM EDT Trending Videos Close this video player 01 of 20 Cheers to Dad! Bettina Strauss/ The CW; Bill Records/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images; HBO; Ron Batzdorff/NBC; Michael Desmond/The CW It’s time to celebrate dad! Check out 20 of our favorite small-screen patriarchs, from the proud pops to the guys who make us laugh. 02 of 20 Jack Pearson, This is Us Ron Batzdorff/NBC Jack Pearson (Milo Ventimiglia) might be the dreamiest TV dad ever — and not just because we've sprinkled fairy dust on him knowing that he dies a young, probably tragic death. From doing push-ups with Randall on his back to loaning Kate his magical T-shirt at the pool, Jack is willing to bend over backwards to make sure the Big Three feel comfortable in their own skin. – Breanne Heldman 03 of 20 Sandy Cohen, The O.C. Everett Collection Sandy Cohen (Peter Gallaher) is without doubt one of the strongest contenders for best TV dad of all time. Don’t believe it? Listen up: Not only was he best buddies with his biological son Seth, he also took in a Chino hooligan who everyone else abandoned and loved him like he was his own. Then there’s the fact that the father-son sex talk came with accompanying bagels and advice for more foreplay. C’mon, it’s pretty clear Sandy was the brightest character in the sunny O.C. Sandy Cohen: Lawyer, hero and great sandwich maker. – Ruth Kinane 04 of 20 Fred Andrews, Riverdale Dean Buscher /The CW While the rest of the parents on Riverdale are busy sleeping with each other or hiding devastating family secrets from their children, Fred Andrews (Luke Perry) is a paragon of morality, always looking out for his son, Archie, and offering him advice on how to navigate high school. He’s so devoted to his son that — spoiler alert! — in the season one finale, he takes a bullet for him. – Devan Coggan 05 of 20 Bob Belcher Sr., Bob's Burgers Fox Even though Bob Belcher (voiced by H. Jon Benjamin) usually ends up playing the straight man to his children’s antics, the mustachioed patriarch is fiercely loyal to his kids and accepts them with all of their eccentricities. He’s loving, kind, and always willing to go above and beyond for his family. Remember when he got his legs waxed to help calm Tina’s fears about her own hair removal? Or when he went undercover in costume at a Brony, er, Equestranaut convention to retrieve her favorite pony doll? That’s Father of the Year material, right there. – Devan Coggan 06 of 20 Eric Taylor, Friday Night Lights Bill Records/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images Coach Taylor was just as much a dad to his daughter Julie as he was to the Panthers and the Lions. On the field or off, Coach was there for his players – most of whom lacked their own father figures – with direct and unsentimental advice. If you can watch the scene in which Coach talks to a crying Saracen in the bathtub or the one where he plays late-night ping pong with Julie while doling out boy advice (“He’s thinking about sex or he’s hungry. That’s the only two options.”) and not agree he’s the best TV dad ever, there’s something skewed with your perception of fathering. Clear eyes, full hearts, how can he lose? – Ruth Kinane 07 of 20 Ron Swanson, Parks and Recreation Tyler Golden/NBC Even though he was the de facto father figure of Pawnee City Hall, Ron (Nick Offerman) was an excellent real-life dad and stepdad, too. From the moment he met his future wife Diane Lewis (Lucy Lawless) and her two young daughters, he was more than happy to play princess dress-up with them, knowing that a real man would never feel threatened by sparkly feather boas and makeup. (Later, after he married Diane, he fathered a biological son, too.) He’s the dad who can teach his children how to handcraft a wooden table, appreciate a good steak, and be an overall decent human being. – Devan Coggan 08 of 20 Dan Conner, Roseanne ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images Dan Conner on Roseanne deserves a spot here in part because he wasn’t perfect. Like most real-life dads, he did his best, especially when trying to relate to daughter Darlene. – Dan Heching 09 of 20 Ned Stark, Game of Thrones Helen Sloan/HBO Even though he’s no longer present in Westeros, everyone’s favorite Winterfell father (Sean Bean) has imbued all of his children with a deep sense of justice, kindness, and loyalty. It’s been several seasons since he got his head unceremoniously chopped off, but he’s still inspiring his (remaining) children to do the right thing. Now that’s some good parenting. – Devan Coggan 10 of 20 Darryl Whitefeather, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Michael Desmond/The CW He may not be the best lawyer around, but Darryl (Pete Gardner) is a more than devoted father, making sure his relationship with White Josh is serious before introducing him to his daughter, Madison. – Nivea Serrao 11 of 20 Phil Dunphy, Modern Family Hopper Stone/ABC via Getty Images From crying at his kids’ graduations to his obsession with magic and cheerleading to thinking he’s a cool dad (Phil Dunphy, yo!), Phil (Ty Burrell) is the goofy dad we love to laugh at but also wish was ours. – Maureen Lenker 12 of 20 Joe West, The Flash Bettina Strauss/ The CW Joe West (Jesse L. Martin) is the gold standard against which every parent in the Arrowverse is measured. He’s kind, wise, and completely dedicated to his three children, Iris (Candice Patton), Wally (Keiynan Lonsdale), and of course Barry Allen (Grant Gustin). Joe isn’t scared of his feelings and makes sure his crime-fighting children know they're loved all the time; whether that means shooting someone who threatens their lives or just crying with them. – Chancellor Agard 13 of 20 Adam Braverman, Parenthood Chris Haston/NBC After learning his son Max had Asperger syndrome, Adam Braverman (Peter Krause) won us over the minute he donned high seas regalia to play with the pirate-obsessed child. And while he had his ups and downs throughout the show's six seasons, Adam could always be counted on as a supportive, loving, and, yes, cheesy dad. – Noelene Clark 14 of 20 Rogelio de la Vega, Jane the Virgin Michael Desmond/The CW He may have missed out on a lot of Jane’s early years, but no one can say Rogelio (Jaime Camil) isn’t making up for it now. He dotes on his grandson Matteo and does his best to help both Jane and her mother make their dreams come true, whether it’s using his one favor from Gloria Estefan or asking his TV crew to give Jane the wedding she deserves. – Nivea Serrao 15 of 20 Richard Gilmore, Gilmore Girls GREG GAYNE/The CW After 16 years of being a bad father and 16 more of being an estranged one, Richard Gilmore (Edward Herrmann) redeemed himself by being the most devoted grandfather any precocious teenage girl could dream of — and, in the process, slowly rebuilding his relationship with his daughter. – Mary Sollosi 16 of 20 Tad Horvath, Girls Craig Blankenhorn/HBO Even as he faced massive change and embarked on a new chapter in his own life — ending his marriage, coming out as gay, moving to the city, and starting a new relationship — Tad Horvath (Peter Scolari) never ceased to be loving, supportive, and present father to his daughter Hannah. – Mary Sollosi 17 of 20 Jimmy DiMeo, Speechless Michael Ansell/ABC via Getty Images The patriarch of the DiMeo household (John Ross Bowie) may have given up his dreams of becoming an architect for his family, but he does whatever it takes to make his kids’ dreams come true — be it trying to emulate his wife to give his oldest son a pep talk, buying his middle son a bathrobe, or taking on an entire store’s staff to get his daughter some juice. – Nivea Serrao 18 of 20 Gomez Addams, The Addams Family ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images As the head of the eccentric Addams Family, Gomez (John Astin) was an unorthodox father, but a loving one nonetheless. He was utterly devoted to his dear Wednesday and Pugsley, and also knew how to rock a mean pencil mustache. – Devan Coggan 19 of 20 Pat O'Neal, The Real O'Neals Vivian Zink/ABC via via Getty Images Living with your ex can be hard, but Pat (Jay R. Ferguson) chose to do so (first in the basement, then in a tiny house in the backyard), so he could still be involved in his three kids’ lives. – Nivea Serrao 20 of 20 Steve Brady, Sex and the City HBO We always knew Steve (David Eigenberg) was one of the best Sex and the City men, and fatherhood only reaffirmed that judgment. In the first SATC movie, Miranda makes a pro/con list to help her decide whether to take Steve back. The first pro? “Good father.” – Mary Sollosi