Image via Complex Original
Every year, in late June, we get together to honor our fathers, uncles, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers. We know this day to be Father’s Day, and when it rolls around we fire up our barbecues, sign our cards and buy our gifts, momentarily abandon our lifelong resentments, and really consider what it means to be a father, a dad, and, perhaps now for the very first time, a DADDY.
"Daddy" is a slang term used to describe the older male in a romantic or sexual relationship where a large age gap exists. This term, expounded upon, has come to really reflect any sort of good-looking father figure who you NEVER really think about as a father figure.
This holiday I want to take a close look at TV dads, but not just the average, forgettable kind—I'm talking really really attractive TV dads, the kind of dads who make you think less of your own father and more of something you may want for yourself in another, more sinister way. Daddies. The Daddies I’m focusing on may be really good fathers, like Adam Braverman on NBC’s Parenthood, kind of rotten like Don Draper in Mad Men, or really complicated and unlucky, like Jin-Soo Kwon in Lost. What they all have in common, however, is that they’re extremely desirable, worth thinking about and appreciating on this national holiday.
Keith Charles, Six Feet Under
Daddy Type: Dependable Daddy
In the glorious pilot of Six Feet Under we are first introduced to Keith Charles (Mathew St. Patrick), a sensitive, muscle-y cop who is lowkey dating David Fisher (Michael C. Hall), the type-A middle Fisher child who is very much in the closet. After the Fisher patriarch dies in a tragic car accident, Keith immediately comes to David’s rescue, and despite the fact that David is still very secretive of their relationship, Keith is quick to be a comforting figure for the family, and really, through each devastating season, serves as the sole grounding presence and somewhat put together person in the HBO drama. But it’s only towards the later seasons, when David and Keith start to think about having kids, where we really get a sense of Keith’s Daddy potential. Not only is he a loving partner to David, but as we see near the end of the series, when the couple decide to adopt two children, he is capable of being a pretty good, caring father too. Dad and Daddy.
Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III, Scandal
Daddy Type: Unreliable Daddy
One of the greatest joys (and for some, irritants) of Scandal is the cyclical and impossible romance between Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) and President Fitzgerald Thomas Grant III (Tony Goldwyn), or Fitz as so many of us colloquially refer to him in our fantasies. Despite being a mostly competent leader of our country, Fitz is the main love interest of our heroine, Olivia, a complicated dude with a wife, kids, and a million preoccupations that cause him to screw things up over and over again. But, in the few moments when he’s entirely devoted, when he makes promises to Olivia about a future together, a home he’s building in Vermont, he really transforms into the ultimate Daddy. And at some point, as devoted viewers, we don’t only want Vermont for Olivia, but for ourselves.
Coach Eric Taylor, Friday Night Lights
Daddy Type: Renaissance Man Daddy
This may be seem like an obvious choice, and it really may be, but it would be a huge oversight not to include Coach Taylor on this list. Played by Kyle Chandler, Coach Taylor is your expectedly strict but fair high school coach who may be a hardass on the field but is a pretty huge softee when it comes to his family—or at least he tries to be. He’s a pretty well-rounded dependable Daddy, the kind of guy who can manage a high pressure career and a family life—his daughter Julie and him have some friction—with relative ease. He’s also not sleazy, which seems rare for a very attractive coach who undoubtedly holds a massive amount of power over the students who rely on him.
Adam Braverman, Parenthood
Daddy Type: Control Freak Daddy
For those of us who were fans of Peter Krause’s incredible work on Six Feet Under, seeing him once again play the eldest child of a family who is expected to keep things together was pretty exciting. In Parenthood, Krause plays Adam Braverman, the eldest of four siblings, who is, from the series premiere, clearly the go to person for every family issue. Whether he’s advising his sister Sarah (Lauren Graham), supporting his wife as she undergoes chemotherapy after being diagnosed with an aggressive cancer in season four, or trying to relate to his son who has Aspergers, Krause makes Adam one of the most honest representations of a father I’ve ever seen on TV. He can be impatient and a little overbearing when it comes to his family, but he’s also tremendously tender, the kind of Daddy you’d without a doubt want to take home to your parents.
Jin-Soo Kwan, Lost
Daddy Type: Hot-Headed Daddy
When we first meet Jin (Daniel Dae Kim) in the first in the first season of Lost, he is a super uptight, controlling, and borderline abusive husband who doesn’t let his wife, Sun (Yunjin Kim) out of sight. After learning that she’s pregnant, however, things start to change in Jin, and while he never ceases to be overly protective and prone to fits of rage, he softens up a bunch and becomes a better husband to his wife, a better friend to those on the island, and eventually an actual father. We also learn a lot from flashbacks, and see how Jin evolved from a poor fisherman’s son to a hitman working for Sun’s mafioso dad. The island, therefore, is a fresh start for the couple, and our opportunity to see Jin evolve into a worthy Daddy. Unfortunately, Jin and Sun are star-crossed lovers for much of the series, and are often separated by some bizarre and supernatural events, but it’s his tireless effort to be reunited with his wife that has him making this list—despite all the his flaws.
Don Draper, Mad Men
Daddy Type: Daddy Issues Daddy
No one will argue that Don Draper (Jon Hamm) is by any means a good father, and despite moments where he shows his sincere love and fondness for his children (think that episode in season six where he takes Bobby to the movies), he’s a pretty unreliable, screwed up human being who can’t be expected to do much but screw up his own children (think that episode where he cheats on Megan, is caught by Sally, and tries to convince her that what she saw is okay). Still, this kind of is the appeal to Don, his elusiveness, his inability to be stable or there for you. His upsetting childhood and lack of a male role model, which we learn more about season after season, truly leaves its mark, and whether or not you believe in his redemption by the end of the series, there’s no doubt that he’s not your ideal consistent Daddy, but one who you’ll have a great time with before he ghosts you forever.
Rufus Humphrey, Gossip Girl
Daddy Type: Dad Next Door Daddy
While Gossip Girl is essentially a show where everyone is hot and desirable, perhaps no one is more attractive that Dan Humphrey’s (Penn Badgley) washed-up musician dad Rufus (Matthew Settle), a Brooklyn-resident who, at least in the beginning of the series, wants to instill good values onto his children. He’s warm, sensitive, and as involved as a parent can be—whether he’s preparing waffles for the fam or giving what he believes to be expert advice on romance (which we eventually see to be unreliable considering he can’t keep his own relationships intact). Rufus is the bohemian, chill Daddy from the cool side of New York, the kind of parent you can’t take your eyes off when you visit your best friend’s Williamsburg loft.
Phillip Jennings, The Americans
Daddy Type: Murderous Daddy
Upon the first episodes of The Americans, the appeal of Phillip Jennings is evident. For one, he’s the gentle parent, certainly not as cold as his wife, Elizabeth (Keri Russell). But at the same time, beneath the passive cool, liberal dad vibe he gives off, he’s also a ruthless Russian spy, able to take on various identities to manipulate and seduce the people around him. It’s probably the reason why he’s on this list. Rhys is undeniably sexy, even in all the ridiculous costumes and wigs he has to put on, but it’s his ability to be both a vicious and cold-blooded killer and the kind of father who gladly takes his daughter out to learn to drive that gives him his Daddy status. Phillip Jennings truly gives new meaning to “get you a man who can do both.”
Sam Bennett, Private Practice
Daddy Type: Savior Daddy
One of the highlights of the Grey’s Anatomy spinoff Private Practice is Taye Diggs, who plays internist Sam Bennett on the series. He’s immediately charming and has an electric, contagious personality, both in his professional and personal life. He’s the kind of Daddy you always want around, not just because he’s a brilliant doctor who could save your life. Throughout the series we see how he treats his patients with the utmost care, including a surprising patient in the final series, and even though his romantic relationships remain kind of dysfunctional—he continuously sleeps with his ex-wife and fellow doctor, Naomi (Audra McDonald)—there’s never a doubt that he’s one of the most lovable characters ever created by Shonda Rhimes.
Ken Todd, Vanderpump Rules
Daddy Type: Cheery Daddy
In Vanderpump Rules, the Bravo reality series that follows the personal lives of the insane staff of SUR, a restaurant owned by Real Houswife Lisa Vanderpump, we get brief glimpses of Lisa’s husband, the happy-go-lucky Ken Todd. When Todd appears, either to support the gays at Pride events or to carry around Lisa’s lapdog Giggy, he’s always a ray of sunshine, a man who never ceases to find amusement. For all the drama on the series, his marriage appears to be incredibly stable and strong. Todd also appears as the most self-aware presence in the reality series, and while he’s most definitely the oldest person on this list, he’s a Daddy in that the way he supports his wife’s endeavors, enjoys life, and seems to be one of the least judgmental people ever.