Nebraska isn’t exactly Hollywood’s go-to setting. No one’s making CSI: Lincoln or Keeping Up with the Cornhuskers (though that would absolutely slap). But when fictional Nebraskans show up on TV, they bring something special to their worlds: work ethic, grit, an unwillingness to tolerate nonsense, and, usually, a deep-seated understanding of firearms and farm equipment.
They’re also often examples of good citizens. They’re standing up for what’s right, taking care of their people, or just making sure society doesn’t fall apart. Can you think of a TV villain that has Nebraska roots? See what we mean?
These 12 fictional TV characters prove that if you’re from Nebraska, you’re built different. Read on, patriot.
1. Will McAvoy, The Newsroom
Hometown: “A town outside a town outside Lincoln, Nebraska.” (Our guess? Beaver Crossing.)
Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels) is what happens when you take Nebraska’s tell-it-like-it-is attitude and throw it into a high-pressure newsroom. Plus, there’s that entire opening rant of the series, where he obliterates the idea that America is the greatest country in the world — but then sees a sign that reads: “It can be.” That, right there, is Nebraska realism and optimism. In one speech.
2. Brock Samson, The Venture Bros.
Hometown: Omaha
Brock (Patrick Warburton) is a Nebraska boy whose parents apparently replaced his morning milk with pure testosterone. He doesn’t need guns; he fights like a Viking (Omaha North alum, maybe?), and has the majestic blond mane to match. His Omaha roots explain his strong sense of loyalty, his ability to survive ridiculous situations, and his total lack of patience for whining.
But when his team faces certain death, Brock doesn’t just fight to save himself. He protects everyone else, too. Because Nebraskans handle their responsibilities, whether it’s mowing their neighbor’s lawn or single-handedly eliminating an army of cartoon assassins.
3. Dennis Whitaker, The Pitt
Hometown: Broken Bow
Big-city hospitals are full of egos, bureaucracy, and unnecessary drama (so they make good settings for TV shows). Naturally, a fourth-year med student from Nebraska is the perfect antidote. Whitaker (Gerran Howell) doesn’t care about fancy titles or office politics; he just wants to heal people. That instantly makes him the most lovable character on Max’s hit streaming series. If there’s anything Nebraskans excel at, it’s quietly doing the job better than everyone else and not making a fuss about it. When another doctor insists on an unnecessary, expensive procedure, Whitaker shuts him down: “Where I come from, we don’t nickel-and-dime people. We help them.”
4. Aunt Becky, Full House
Hometown: Valentine
Rebecca Donaldson Katsopolis, a/k/a Aunt Becky, managed to keep Full House from becoming a total mess by being the one adult with a functioning brain cell. Becky (Lori Loughlin) had no time for Jesse’s nonsense, gave the Tanner girls real-world advice, and probably spent the entire ‘90s resisting the urge to roll her eyes into the sun. It makes sense: She’s from Nebraska, where patience and practicality are basic survival skills. She teaches DJ about honesty, Stephanie about responsibility, and Jesse about not being a complete man-child. Raising the next generation to be decent human beings is kind of a Nebraska thing.
5. Penny (Teller) Hofstadter, The Big Bang Theory
Hometown: Omaha
Penny (Kaley Cuoco) is what happens when you drop a Midwest girl into a room full of socially awkward geniuses: She either adapts or goes feral. With a background of riding horses, shooting guns, and wrangling siblings, she quickly becomes the group’s social interpreter, teaching Sheldon how to human and reminding Leonard that confidence exists. When Sheldon gets stuck in one of his never-ending spirals of indecision, Penny reminds him he doesn’t need a flowchart, he needs to do the right thing. That’s simple, direct, Cornhusker wisdom.
6. Jo & Ellen Harvelle, Supernatural
Hometown: Somewhere in Nebraska
Ellen and Jo Harvelle didn’t just own a bar. They owned the bar where demon hunters, monster slayers, and dudes with terrible hygiene gathered to plot the downfall of evil. Ellen (Samantha Ferris) had the patience of a saint and a sniper’s aim, while Jo (Alona Tal) was determined to prove she could hang with the best of them. They were essentially Nebraska embodied: tough, loyal, and not about to let some evil nonsense ruin their day.
7. Julie Kotter, Welcome Back, Kotter
Hometown: Somewhere in Nebraska (certainly, a town where people still use the one-fingered steering-wheel wave)
If the classic 1970s sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter was actually a chaotic high school classroom, Julie Kotter (Marcia Strassman) was the substitute teacher who somehow kept things from catching fire. As the wife of Gabe Kotter, a man whose job was literally wrangling the most unhinged high school delinquents in Brooklyn, Julie had two options: (1) lose her mind, or (2) develop the kind of patience only a Nebraska woman can achieve. She went with the latter.
8. Mike and Rio Levine-Young, Bless This Mess
Hometown: New York, but they move to fictional “Bucksnort, Nebraska.” That makes them Nebraskans in our book.
These two (Dax Shepard & Lake Bell) thought they could just move to the Cornhusker State and become instant farmers. Hee-larious! Farming is not for the weak, and Nebraska broke them down and rebuilt them into functional people. When their crops fail, a neighbor shrugs and says, “You’ll get the hang of it,” perhaps creating the Most Nebraska TV Scene Ever.
9. Courtney (Stargirl) Whitmore, Stargirl
Hometown: Blue Valley (a fictional Nebraska town that looks kinda like Seward)
Courtney (Brec Bassinger) finds out her stepdad was once a superhero’s sidekick and does what any self-respecting Nebraska kid would do: immediately takes his old gear and becomes the new hero of her town. She’s got that stubborn Midwestern optimism that makes her know she can take down supervillains and still make it to the big game at the school. Courtney believes that if something’s broken, you fix it. She’s talking about the Justice Society, but honestly, it applies to everything from democracy to a busted tractor.
10. Kim Wexler, Better Call Saul
Hometown: Red Cloud
Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) has a Nebraska farm girl’s work ethic, a law degree, and a roadmap of Albuquerque’s most morally questionable legal circles. While Jimmy McGill (aka Saul Goodman) spends his time scheming, hustling, and bending every rule in sight, Kim is the one who actually gets things done. She doesn’t just survive the chaos, she thrives in it. Because, much like an experienced Nebraska producer, she knows exactly when to rein things in and when to let them run wild.
11. Hope and Iris Bennett , Walking Dead: World Beyond
Hometown: Lincoln (?) and Omaha
The adoptive sisters were mostly raised in the safety of a post-apocalyptic, walled-in Omaha community, then immediately decided to leave that protection and take their chances with zombies because … reasons? At least their Nebraska resilience kept them alive. When Hope motivates her group by saying “Dad always said Nebraskans don’t give up,” that’s civic responsibility, post-apocalypse edition.
12. Maria Miller, The Last of Us
Hometown: Omaha
More homegrown heroes relentlessly resisting a zombie apocalypse! Maria was an assistant prosecutor in Omaha before the Cordyceps brain infection outbreak in HBO’s hit series. She survived the virus, hit the road, and somehow still manages to keep a functioning, self-sustaining society together in Jackson, Wyoming. No surprise there: Nebraska has been building resourceful, can-do citizens for generations. When others panic about supplies running low, she just shrugs as if to say, “In Nebraska, we call that ‘Tuesday.’ “
