A gag character is usually a character that is rarely used, and shows no personality except for the joke in comic strips and TV shows. Often, a gag character's usage is for only one joke.

How a gag character works

Gag characters usually appear in single panel cartoons that do not follow any main character (although they might follow similar types of jokes). Some examples include The Far Side

The Far Side

The Far Side is a popular single-panel comic created by Gary Larson and syndicated by Universal Press Syndicate, which ran from January 1, 1980, to January 1, 1995. Its surrealistic humor is often based on uncomfortable social situations, improbable events, an anthropomorphic view of the world,...

, Bizarro

Bizarro (comic strip)

Bizarro is a single-panel cartoon written and drawn by cartoonist Dan Piraro. Launched January 22, 1985, the panel appears daily in 350 markets throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia...

, and Speed Bump

Speed Bump (comic strip)

Speed Bump is a single-panel cartoon series by Dave Coverly, syndicated since 1994 by Creators Syndicate.Describing his cartoons, Coverly commented, "Basically," he says, "if life were a movie, these would be the outtakes."...

. Because of this, gag characters have little to no personality, considering their short lives.

Gag characters also appear on television. However, a gag character on a show usually appears for only one episode. Any subsequent appearances make the character into a secondary character. Occasionally, gags on television are not dubbed "gags". They are more likely to be called stock character

Stock character

A Stock character is a fictional character based on a common literary or social stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes,...

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A "gag" character in a movie is often an extra

Extra (actor)

A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera or ballet production, who appears in a nonspeaking, nonsinging or nondancing capacity, usually in the background...

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