1,162 articles
Prequel
Prequel: a film, book, or play telling events before those of an earlier work; coined from pre- + sequel (1958 Anthony Boucher usage; 1970s mainstream), exemplified by Wide Sargasso Sea and the Star Wars prequel trilogy, and rarer than sequels.
Prime Directive
Prime Directive (General Order 1) is Star Trek's Starfleet rule forbidding interference with other civilizations' development, especially pre-warp ones. First mentioned in "The Return of the Archons" (1967); frequently violated, studied as a colonialism critique.
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series: top Television Academy honor for a dramatic primetime series, voted by National Active peer-group members; six-episode minimum, about 60-minute episodes, seven nominees since 2015; recent winners Succession and The Pitt.
Princess Bubblegum
Princess Bubblegum (Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum, PB) is the pink-gum scientist-ruler of the Candy Kingdom in Cartoon Network's Adventure Time, voiced by Hynden Walch, 827 years old, the Candy Elemental, Marceline's partner, and lead of the Bubblegum and Marceline spin-off.
Princess Celestia
Princess Celestia (Queen Celestia in early development) is the alicorn co-ruler of Equestria in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, raises the sun, mentors Twilight Sparkle, and is voiced by Nicole Oliver.
Professor (Money Heist)
The Professor (El Profesor), real name Sergio Marquina, alias Salva, is the mastermind of Money Heist (La casa de papel), played by Álvaro Morte; he planned the Royal Mint and Bank of Spain heists and now leads the franchise's expansion.
Puck (Glee)
Noah "Puck" Puckerman is the football-player bad boy of Glee (2009-2015), played by Mark Salling; a Jewish bully who joins New Directions, fathers Quinn's daughter Beth, later joins the Air Force, with 80 episodes and 57 songs.
Q (Star Trek)
Q (Star Trek): omnipotent trickster played by John de Lancie, debuted in TNG's 'Encounter at Farpoint' (1987), member of the Q Continuum, put humanity on trial, introduced the Borg in 'Q Who', and returned in Picard season 2.
Quark (Star Trek)
Quark is the Ferengi bartender of Quark's Bar on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, played by Armin Shimerman for all seven seasons (1993-1999); family Rom, Nog, Ishka; not a Starfleet main character.
Queen Chrysalis
Queen Chrysalis is the shape-shifting queen of the changelings in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, main antagonist of the season two and six finales and the IDW comics' first arc, voiced by Kathleen Barr, finally turned to stone in season nine.
Quinn Fabray
Quinn Fabray (Lucy Quinn Fabray), fictional character on Fox's musical series Glee, played by Dianna Agron: McKinley cheer captain, Celibacy Club president, teen pregnancy storyline with Puck, daughter Beth, Yale student, Faberry fan pairing.
Race (film series)
Race film series: Hindi action-thriller franchise from Tips Films, three films (2008, 2013, 2018), Abbas-Mustan directed the first two, Remo D'Souza the Salman Khan-led Race 3; 327.68 crore India net, Race 4 in development.
Rafael Barba
Rafael Barba, played by Raúl Esparza, is the assistant district attorney on Law & Order: SVU from season 14 to 19, later a defense attorney in seasons 21 to 23, with a 91% conviction rate.
Ragnar Lothbrok (Vikings)
Ragnar Lothbrok, the protagonist of Michael Hirst's History series Vikings (2013-2020), played by Travis Fimmel: a farmer-turned-king drawn from the 13th-century Icelandic sagas of the semi-legendary Viking leader.
Rainbow Dash
Rainbow Dash is the athletic sky-blue pegasus of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, bearer of the Element of Loyalty, created by Lauren Faust from G1's Firefly, defined by her Wonderbolts ambition and continued in G5 and the 2027 Forever Friendship series.
Randy Wagstaff
Randy Wagstaff, played by Maestro Harrell, is a fictional middle-school student in The Wire seasons 4-5, whose foster-care arc ends in a group home; David Simon confirmed Cheese Wagstaff is his father.
Rarity (My Little Pony)
Rarity is a female unicorn pony, one of the Mane 6 of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, bearing the Element of Generosity. Created by Lauren Faust in 2008 from G1 ponies Glory and Sparkler, she runs the Carousel Boutique and has gem-finding magic.
Raťafák Plachta
Raťafák Plachta is a tall, long-necked puppet from the Slovak children's show Slniečko, created by Peter Cigán in the 1970s, remembered in Slovakia for frightening children and abroad as a 'creepiest kids character'.
Rayna Jaymes
Rayna Jaymes is the fictional country superstar played by Connie Britton in Nashville (2012–2018), created by Callie Khouri; a two-decade queen of country music, Highway 65 founder, killed off in season 5 when Britton left.
Rebel Alliance
Rebel Alliance (Alliance to Restore the Republic) is the fictional Star Wars coalition that fought the Galactic Empire, declared in 2 BBY, triumphed at Endor, and became the New Republic.
Reboot (fiction)
Reboot (fiction): restarting an established fictional universe, film, TV, comic, or game franchise with new continuity, discarding prior storylines. Distinct from remake, revival, sequel; popularized by Batman Begins (2005); includes soft reboots and film-to-TV reboots like Fargo.
Recurring character
A recurring character is a fictional character who appears repeatedly across a series' installments without belonging to its regular cast, as distinct from a main character.
Red John
Red John is the fictional serial killer and central antagonist of CBS's The Mentalist, who murdered Patrick Jane's family; revealed after six seasons as Sheriff Thomas McAllister, played by Xander Berkeley.
Reginald Barclay
Reginald Barclay is a fictional Star Trek Starfleet engineer played by Dwight Schultz, debuting in TNG's 'Hollow Pursuits'; the anxious, holo-addicted 'Broccoli' later led the Pathfinder Project that contacted Voyager.
Rena Ryūgū
Rena Ryūgū (竜宮レナ, legal name Reina) is the main female protagonist of Higurashi When They Cry's question arcs, known for her Omochikaeri catchphrase, Ibaraki backstory, and Tsumihoroboshi-hen school hostage arc.
Renee Montoya
Renee Montoya, also the Question, is a DC Comics Gotham City police detective created for Batman: The Animated Series by Timm, Dini, and Brian, debuting in Batman #475 (1992), later succeeding Vic Sage as the Question.
Return of the Living Dead (film series)
Return of the Living Dead is a zombie horror-comedy film series begun by Dan O'Bannon's 1985 unofficial sequel to Night of the Living Dead, known for brain-craving, running, talking Trioxin zombies and four sequels released 1988 to 2005.
Revy (Black Lagoon)
Revy (レヴィ, Rebecca Lee) is the female protagonist of Rei Hiroe's manga Black Lagoon, a Chinese-American Lagoon Company gunman nicknamed Two Hands who wields twin Beretta 92F pistols named Sword Cutlass.
Richard Alpert (Lost)
Richard Alpert is a fictional ageless advisor character on ABC's Lost, played by Nestor Carbonell (2007-2010), also called Ricardo or Richardus. Born 1827-1837 in Tenerife, he arrived as a slave on the Black Rock in 1867 and served Jacob.
Richard Castle
Richard Castle (Richard Edgar Castle, born Richard Alexander Rodgers) is the fictional mystery novelist played by Nathan Fillion on ABC's Castle (2009-2016), NYPD consultant partnered with Detective Kate Beckett, and a real-world bestselling author via Hyperion's Nikki Heat novels written by Tom Straw.