Some TV characters just have a look. Exhibit A: Christopher Pike. On Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Anson Mount plays the U.S.S. Enterprise captain with a towering silver pompadour. Look at it, and, no, you won’t forget it.
Pike’s hair makes a fine starting point for our look at 13 memorable live-action TV hairstyles from shows streaming now on Paramount+. Some of these ’dos stay remarkably consistent, while others evolve along with the characters wearing them. What they share is recognizability: From pigtails to curls, each hairstyle feels unmistakably tied to the character underneath it.
What makes a TV hairstyle truly iconic?
An iconic TV hairstyle needs to be instantly recognizable, and feel inseparable from the character wearing it. The best looks help establish who someone is, whether that’s a Starfleet captain, a forensic scientist, a Boston bartender, or a New York mobster adjusting to life in Oklahoma.
And please note: We’re sticking to live action here. Sorry, Beavis and Butt-Head.
Top Paramount+ hair icons
- Dwight Manfredi of Tulsa King
- Christopher Pike of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
- Beth Ann Stanton of Why Women Kill
- Sam Malone of Cheers
- Michael Burnham of Star Trek: Discovery
- Spencer Reid of Criminal Minds
- Abby Sciuto of NCIS
- Seven of Nine of Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Picard
- Jake Taylor of The Chi
- Lucy Ricardo of I Love Lucy
- Carol Brady of The Brady Bunch
- Dylan McKay of Beverly Hills, 90210
- Blake Henderson of Workaholics
1. Dwight Manfredi, Tulsa King
After serving 25 years in prison, Dwight Manfredi (Sylvester Stallone) expects to reclaim his place in his New York crime family, but instead finds himself building an operation in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The locale is new, and so is the crew. One thing that remains unchanged, however, is Dwight’s old-school sense of style. His slicked-back coiffure and neatly trimmed facial hair complete a look that includes tailored suits, gold watches, pinky rings, polished shoes, tinted sunglasses, and the occasional fedora. It’s a carefully maintained style he brings with him from the Big Apple, and one that makes him tough to mistake for a Tulsa local.
WATCH NOW: Tulsa King
2. Christopher Pike, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Anson Mount plays Christopher Pike in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, helming the U.S.S. Enterprise in the decade before James T. Kirk’s legendary mission. Pike’s high, swept-back pompadour has become a defining part of Mount’s version of the captain. Like Pike himself, the hair keeps its composure whether its owner is stationed on the bridge or off exploring, yes, a strange new world.
WATCH NOW: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
3. Beth Ann Stanton, Why Women Kill
Ginnifer Goodwin plays Beth Ann Stanton, a 1960s housewife whose story forms one of three timelines in Why Women Kill Season 1. Beth Ann’s world turns upside down when she learns about her husband’s infidelity, but you wouldn’t know it from her appearance. Paired with her polished wardrobe, her short, carefully set curls preserve the image of an unruffled suburban housewife – even as her understanding of the man she’s chosen to have and to hold until death begins to collapse.
WATCH NOW: Why Women Kill
4. Sam Malone, Cheers
Sam Malone (Ted Danson) is a former Boston Red Sox relief pitcher who trades the bullpen for bartending as the owner of Cheers. His thick, swept-back hair fits right in with the confident, image-conscious persona he brings to work, and that swagger remains remarkably consistent throughout the sitcom’s 11 seasons. Relationships change, staff members come and go, but Sam, his well-coiffed hair, and his unwavering faith in its allure remain fixtures behind the counter.
WATCH NOW: Cheers
5. Michael Burnham, Star Trek: Discovery
Michael Burnham’s hair undergoes nearly as much evolution as she does across the five seasons of Star Trek: Discovery. Played by Sonequa Martin-Green, Burnham begins the series as a first officer, sporting a close-cropped hairstyle that mirrors the discipline instilled by her Vulcan upbringing. As her path takes her further from those early influences and eventually to the captain’s chair of the U.S.S. Discovery, her hair grows longer and less restrained. The curls, braids, and other natural styles reflect Burnham’s evolving sense of self as she finds her place as a leader.
WATCH NOW: Star Trek: Discovery
6. Spencer Reid, Criminal Minds
Over the course of Matthew Gray Gubler’s 15-year stint playing Dr. Spencer Reid on Criminal Minds (plus a guest-star turn in Criminal Minds: Evolution Season 18), his hair goes through almost as many changes as the ranks of the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU). A decade and a half gives Reid, and his hair, plenty of time to grow up. Short and tidy in some seasons, long and wavy in others, his hair cycles through side parts, curls, and grown-out styles as Reid develops from the team’s socially awkward young genius into a veteran profiler. The ever-changing ’do becomes a visual timeline of his long journey with the unit.
And we can’t wait to see what that ’do does when Gubler plays another brainy problem-solver – Albert Einstein’s great-grandson, Lew Einstein – in the 2026–2027 midseason CBS Original drama Einstein.
WATCH NOW: Criminal Minds: Evolution (Note: Criminal Minds, the original drama that ran on CBS from 2005-2020, is Seasons 1-15; Criminal Minds: Evolution, the Paramount+ original that launched in 2022, is Seasons 16-present.)
7. Abby Sciuto, NCIS
Pauley Perrette’s Abby Sciuto is part of the original NCIS lineup, serving as the team’s forensic specialist from Season 1 through Season 15 (of the series’ 23 seasons and counting). Over that lengthy run, Abby’s jet-black hair, most often worn in high pigtails, becomes as much a part of her signature look as her lab coat and goth wardrobe. Even as the NCIS lineup changes around her, the character’s combination of dark hair, playful styling, and serious scientific chops makes her stand out from the crowd.
WATCH NOW: NCIS
8. Seven of Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Picard
Jeri Ryan joins Star Trek: Voyager in Season 4 as Seven of Nine, a Borg drone who is severed from the Collective and begins the difficult process of reclaiming her humanity. Once Seven (as she comes to be called) trades her Borg hardware for life aboard the U.S.S. Voyager, her blonde hair is typically swept back and pinned neatly into place, a controlled look that follows her through Season 7 as she figures out who she is on her own.
When Ryan returns to the role in Star Trek: Picard Season 1, more than two decades have passed in the life of the character, and her hair has loosened up along with her manner. Through Season 3 of the series, the tresses remain recognizably Seven, but are no longer styled quite so severely. It’s a fitting hair evolution for someone who has spent years deciding for herself what being human looks like.
WATCH NOW: Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Picard
9. Jake Taylor, The Chi
Michael V. Epps plays Jake Taylor on The Chi from Season 1 on, giving viewers a front-row seat as the character grows from a South Side teenager into a young man forging his own path. His locs grow with him, changing in look and length as the seasons pass. For a character whose coming of age unfolds onscreen, Jake’s style progression becomes its own visual timeline.
Note: All eight seasons of The Chi are available to stream on Paramount+ with a subscription to the Paramount+ Premium plan only.
WATCH NOW: The Chi
10. Lucy Ricardo, I Love Lucy
Though I Love Lucy’s black-and-white episodes don’t allow viewers to see it, the redness of Lucille Ball’s hair is part of television history, and near-synonymous with the role of Lucy Ricardo. Still, the color is just part of the look. Lucy’s carefully arranged curls and sculpted updos give the character a silhouette that remains recognizable decades later – mostly for staying remarkably composed, even when Lucy’s latest scheme is anything but. Stream all six seasons now.
WATCH NOW: I Love Lucy
11. Carol Brady, The Brady Bunch
Florence Henderson’s Carol Brady gives television more than one memorable hairstyle during the five-season run of The Brady Bunch, but the character’s signature look pairs a short, rounded cut on top with longer layers that flip up dramatically at the neck. The unusual shape makes the style unmistakably hers, and just as unmistakably a product of the late 1960s and early ’70s.
WATCH NOW: The Brady Bunch
12. Dylan McKay, Beverly Hills, 90210
Luke Perry’s Dylan McKay brings a swept-up pompadour and prominent sideburns to the halls of West Beverly Hills High. The hairstyle fits right in with the character’s standard uniform of jeans, tees, and leather jackets, giving his brooding rebel vibe a decidedly retro edge. Perry’s hair evolves during his 10 seasons on Beverly Hills, 90210, but the gravity-defying early-era ’do remains one of Dylan’s defining visual features.
WATCH NOW: Beverly Hills, 90210
13. Blake Henderson, Workaholics
Blake Anderson plays Blake Henderson, one of three friends who lands his first real job as a telemarketer in the Comedy Central series Workaholics. His long, curly hair makes him instantly recognizable around the office, though he and pals Adam (Adam Devine) and Ders (Anders Holm) rarely need help attracting attention; their latest scheme usually takes care of that. Across the show’s seven seasons, Blake’s curls get as much screentime as the trio’s workplace antics.
WATCH NOW: Workaholics
Where to watch these iconic TV characters on Paramount+
You can revisit each of these characters on Paramount+, including Dwight Manfredi in Tulsa King, Sam Malone in Cheers, Lucy Ricardo in I Love Lucy, Michael Burnham in Star Trek: Discovery, Capt. Christopher Pike in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Blake in Workaholics, and Beth Ann in Why Women Kill.
So pick a show, press play, and spare a thought for the stylists who kept every curl, pompadour, pigtail, loc, and slicked-back strand camera-ready.
