A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who is not a main character, but appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in an episode, sometimes being the main focus. The characters return is based on popularity. A fictional character is any person who appears in a work of fiction. ... Prime time is the block of programming on television during the middle of the evening. ... A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ...

Examples of recurring characters:

• Bra'tac from Stargate SG-1
• Dr. Radek Zelenka from Stargate Atlantis
• Reginald Barclay from Star Trek: The Next Generation
• Cigarette Smoking Man from The X-Files
• Barry Zuckerkorn from Arrested Development
• Newman from Seinfeld
• Sam Franklin from The Brady Bunch
• Pete Pryor from American Dreams
• 'The Colonel' John Camden on 7th Heaven.
• Murdoc from MacGyver
• Dr. Miguelito Loveless from The Wild Wild West
• Lenny and Squiggy on Laverne & Shirley
• A great number of the characters on The Simpsons

Recurring characters usually start out as guest stars in one episode but continue to show up in future episodes because of their popularity. Some recurring characters have been so popular that they became main characters, famous examples being the Family Matters' Steve Urkel and The West Wing's Donna Moss. In other cases, recurring characters have been given spin-off series of their own, such as Dr. Frasier Crane who originally appeared on Cheers. In the Stargate universe, Bratac is a former First Prime of the Goauld System Lord Apophis played by Tony Amendola; as of Season Nine, he is also a Progressive member of the High Council of the Free Jaffa Nation. ... Stargate SG-1 (alternately spelled Stargåte, and popularly abbreviated as SG-1) is a television series based upon the 1994 science fiction film Stargate. ... Dr. Radek Zelenka is a Czech Atlantis expedition scientist in the television series Stargate Atlantis. ... Stargate Atlantis is a spin-off from the television series Stargate SG-1, which was based on the film Stargate (1994). ... Lieutenant Reginald Endicott Barclay III is a recurring character in the Star Trek fictional universe, created by Sally Caves and played by Dwight Schultz. ... The title as it appeared in most episodes opening credits. ... The Cigarette Smoking Man (abbreviated as CSM and sometimes called Cancer Man), is a fictional character played by William B. Davis on the 1993-2002 television series The X-Files. ... The X-Files is a popular American television series created by Chris Carter. ... This is a list of the main and recurring fictional characters from the Fox television comedy series, Arrested Development. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Newman is a secondary character on the television show Seinfeld. ... Seinfeld was an American television sitcom set in New York City which ran from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998. ... The Brady Bunch was a U.S. television situation comedy, based around a large blended family. ... American Dreams was an American television drama program broadcast on the NBC television network. ... 7th Heaven is a U.S. television series about a Protestant ministers family living in the fictional town of Glenoak in California. ... MacGyver was an American adventure television series about a laid-back, extremely resourceful ex-special forces secret agent named Angus Mac MacGyver, played by Richard Dean Anderson. ... The Wild Wild West Season 1 VHS The Wild Wild West was an American TV show that ran from 1965 to 1969. ... The Cast Laverne & Shirley was a popular American television situation comedy which ran on ABC from 1976 to 1983. ... The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening. ... Family Matters was an American sitcom about a middle class African American family living in Chicago. ... Steve Urkel Steve Urkel (full character name: Steven Quincy Urkel, portrayed by Jaleel White) is a character on the 1990s sitcom Family Matters. ... The West Wing is a popular and widely acclaimed American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin and produced and co-written by John Wells. ... Donnatella Donna Moss, formerly Senior Assistant to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Planning, is a fictional character played by Janel Moloney on the television serial drama The West Wing. ... A spin-off (or spinoff) is a new organization or entity formed by a split from a larger one such as a new company formed from a university research group. ... Frasier was a critically acclaimed American TV situation comedy. ... Cheers was a long-running American situation comedy produced by Charles-Burrows-Charles Productions in association with Paramount Television for NBC. Cheers was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles. ...

On sketch comedy programs, recurring characters are generally a staple. Usually they will appear in their own sketch and due to presumably to their popularity, the sketch it's self will become a regular part of the show. Some exemples would include the Church Lady and Hanz and Franz from Saturday Night Live, the Gumbys from Monty Python's Flying Circus, and Bob and Doug Mckenzie from SCTV. However, the characters are not always limited to their own sketchs, often they will appear in others. Sometimes, the characters go on to have their own TV shows. Such as when The Carol Burnett Show was canceled the central character of a popular sketch called The Family, Naomi Harper, went on to have her own show Mama's Family. Also, sometimes recurring characters in sketch comedy shows go on to even have their own movies. This is especially true with Saturday Night Live which has had many recurring characters turn into movies such as Stuart Smalley, Wayne and Garthe of Wayne's World, The Blues Brothers, and The Ladies Man. Recurring characters will even revist shows long after the actor who played them has left the cast. Sometimes they will even visit other shows, sketch comdey or not. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Church Lady (named Enid Strict) was a character created and performed by actor, writer and comedian Dana Carvey on the American sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. ... Saturday Night Live (SNL) is a weekly late-night 90-minute comedy-variety show based in New York City which has been broadcast by NBC nearly every Saturday night since its debut on October 11, 1975. ... Monty Pythons Flying Circus (aka Flying Circus or MPFC, known during the fourth season as Monty Python) was the popular BBC sketch comedy show from Monty Python. ... Second City Television, or SCTV, was a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from the Toronto troupe of The Second City. ... The Carol Burnett Show was a sketch comedy television show starring Carol Burnett, Tim Conway, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, and Lyle Waggoner. ... naomi oats harper is a fictional character from the sitcom mamas family ... Vicki Lawrence as Mama Harper. ... Saturday Night Live (SNL) is a weekly late-night 90-minute comedy-variety show based in New York City which has been broadcast by NBC nearly every Saturday night since its debut on October 11, 1975. ... Al Franken as Stuart Smalley (right) with Muggsy B. and Charles B. Stuart Smalley is a fictional character that was invented and performed by actor, comedian, author, and political activist Al Franken. ... Waynes World is a 1992 comedy film starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey as Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar (respectively), hosts of a cable access television show from Aurora, Illinois. ... The Blues Brothers: Dan Aykroyd (left) and John Belushi. ... Movie Poster for the Ladies Man The Ladies Man (2000) is a film comedy that stars actor, comedian and former Saturday Night Live cast member Tim Meadows. ...