Terry Pratchett's Pratchett's phenomenal characters. All of them are redolent with relatable flaws and failings, and yet even the most long-suffering of them eventually find some kind of peace and joy at the end of their stories.

Over several Discworld adaptations of varying qualities over the years, they've only covered a small portion of what the series has to offer modern audiences; these ten characters could all make for a perfect Discworld series protagonist, given the right showrunners.

10 William de Worde

First Appears In: The Truth (2000)

Technically, the first appearance of William de Worde, Ankh-Morpork's intrepid investigative journalist, was in 1994's The Discworld Companion, but 2000's The Truth was his first appearance in an actual Discworld novel. The estranged son of one of Ankh-Morpork's Lords, William inadvertently becomes the editor of the Disc's first newspaper, and while trying to publish it he winds up following a trail of clues that end up with him helping thwart a plot to frame the city's Patrician, Lord Vetinari, for murder.

De Worde would make a fantastic protagonist for a series that leans heavily into Ankh-Morpork's strange approach to modernization, following The Truth's plot to show the strangeness that comes with a chaotic city learning how to incorporate the concept of a free (and relatively accurate) press into its understanding of itself. His story also continues beyond The Truth, as he and his work for the Ankh-Morpork Times show up in numerous later novels, including when he spends a stint as a war reporter on the battlefields of Borogravia in Monstrous Regiment.

9 The Unseen University Faculty

First Appear In: The Light Fantastic (1986)

Ankh-Morpork's Unseen University is the Disc's premiere establishment of arcane research; as a result, every single member of the faculty is battier than an entire wagonload of guano. Earlier novels like The Light Fantastic mention that due to most wizards being octogenarians at best, upward mobility within the university generally comes down to subtle assassinations, putting a very ominous spin on that real-world academic truism, "publish or perish." Later books take a less murderous view of wizarding academia, portraying the various faculty as various flavors of buffoonish.

An Unseen University series has a large amount of source material to draw from. Sky One's 2008 adaptation of The Colour of Magic (featuring the inimitable Tim Curry as the backstabbing wizard Trymon) was a great starting point, but the wizards contribute heavily to the plots of many books after, with plenty of opportunities to show them at their best – and their worst.

Of particular note are the wizards' roles in Soul Music, where they find themselves behaving with unprecedented adolescent angst thanks to the insidious nature of the Music With Rocks In, which threatens the very stability of the Disc. Unseen Academicals is another excellent Unseen University novel, and answers the eternal question of what would happen if an orangutan was allowed to be the goalie for a rugby team full of aged nerds.

8 Rincewind

First Appears In: The Light Fantastic (1986)

The ever-suffering Rincewind is one of the Disc's finest, and possibly most cowardly, protagonists. No one else sets speed records like Rincewind does when he starts trying to run away from the predations of a potential narrative, and that means no one else has the potential to really highlight Discworld's beautiful and heartfelt absurdity as his adventures take him far and wide, from Foureks to Howondaland.

Rincewind already got some time in the small-screen spotlight in 2008's The Colour of Magic, which covered his nail-biting survival through the events of the first two Discworld books (with a very faithful portrayal of his knee-knocking terror by David Jason). Yet his adventures continue throughout the rest of the series, and would all make excellent starting points for a series that showcases his ability to run away from threats all over the Disc.

7 Polly Perks

First Appears In: Monstrous Regiment (2003)

Polly, the protagonist of Monstrous Regiment, is a young Borogravian woman who takes up the time-honored tradition of cross-dressing in order to her homeland's army. In her case, she's looking for her brother, who has gone missing amid Borogravia's long-running war with most of its neighboring countries, but along the way, she discovers that almost the entire Borogravian military – a notably misogynist institution – is made up of women in drag.

In of its storytelling, Monstrous Regiment bears some similarities to Disney's Mulan. While Polly's story never continued in other works, making Monstrous Regiment one of the few standalone Discworld books, the thrilling arc of the book would make a phenomenal miniseries, with plenty of opportunities to lampoon famous war movies.

6 Sam Vimes

First Appears In: Guards! Guards! (1989)

Sam Vimes and the men, women, and various other beings of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch have gotten sadly short shrift in Discworld adaptations so far, particularly with the epic disappointment of the 2021 The Watch miniseries, which committed the carnal sin of disregarding effectively everything Discworld fans were hoping to see. Vimes deserves redemption, and the best way for that to happen would be a TV series that shows him at his absolute worst.

At first introduction, Sam Vimes is a miserable, useless drunk, yet despite his own best efforts at self-destruction, he rises over time to be one of the most powerful and respected men in Ankh-Morpork. He is the moral backbone of the entire series, much like how Rincewind is the series' embodiment of spinelessness, and a show that chronicles his ascension would make for a better fantasy political thriller than any Game of Thrones spinoff could ever dream of being.

5 Carrot Ironfoundersson

First Appears In: Guards! Guards! (1989)

Carrot is the most likable man in all of Ankh-Morpork, and that isn't just because of his easygoing smile or simple nature. All evidence throughout the Discworld books implies that Carrot is the long-lost heir to Ankh's empty throne, right down to his inconspicuously perfect sword that he was found with as a baby, and the sheer amount of nobility in him means that almost everyone who meets him feels a preternatural need to listen to him. Yet for all that, Carrot is content to live the simple life of a Watchman, and therein lies his potential as a protagonist.

While a series about the Watch that focused on Vimes would be a story about a man caught between his principles and his vices as he climbs a hostile social hierarchy (and occasionally kicks someone's head in), a Carrot-centric show would have a lot of potential in seeing how he, both consciously and unconsciously, repeatedly rejects destiny's efforts to hand him the world on a silver platter. With plenty of potential for both comic hijinks and character-driven drama, Carrot could become the Internet's next beloved himbo.

4 Angua von Überwald

First Appears In: Men At Arms (1993)

There are likely as many ways to make a show about the Ankh-Morpork City Watch as there are of the Watch, but if there's one Watch character other than Vimes or Carrot who would make a great core protagonist, it's Angua. Introduced in Men At Arms as one of the Watch's new "diversity hires" alongside Cuddy the dwarf and Detritus the troll, Angua's story begins with the implication that her role in the diversity initiative is to be the Watch's token woman, but as the book continues, it's revealed that she's actually the Watch's token werewolf.

As the daughter of a noble werewolf family from Überwald, Angua is a stranger to Ankh-Morpork, and therefore would make a fantastic audience insert as she learns how to navigate the Disc's most idiosyncratic city. Moreover, her efforts to keep her lycanthropy a secret from her colleagues – particularly the handsome Corporal Carrot – could provide all sorts of opportunities for dramatic irony and narrative shenanigans. Placing Angua centrally in the narrative would also allow for regular appearances from one of the Disc's best side characters, the sentient and smart-mouthed stray Gaspode the Wonder Dog.

3 Moist von Lipwig

First Appears In: Going Postal (2004)

Much like Rincewind, Moist is one of the Disc's preeminent survival-focused protagonists; unlike Rincewind, Moist has a tendency to get himself into trouble by walking straight into it instead of getting into trouble because he's running away from a different, larger trouble with lots of teeth. A con man nonpareil, Moist repeatedly finds himself thrust into the unenviable position of fixing Ankh-Morpork's various failing industries.

Moist's efforts to revitalize the Post Office were already shown on-screen in Sky One's 2010 Going Postal miniseries, which put esteemed British actor Richard Coyle in Moist's trademark winged Postmaster's hat. Coyle also was the narrator for the recently rerecorded audiobooks for all three of Moist's novels, Going Postal, Making Money, and Raising Steam; a series adapting either of the latter books would do well to cast him again in the role, as he clearly has a deep understanding of the character's innate charm.

2 Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg, and Magrat Garlick

First Appear In: Equal Rites (1987) [Granny Weatherwax] And Wyrd Sisters (1988) [Nanny Ogg And Magrat]

While we initially meet Granny Weatherwax in Equal Rites as she helps young Eskarina Smith, the Disc's first female wizard, get accepted to the nominally all-male Unseen University, it's in Wyrd Sisters that we meet the full trio of Lancre witches. Pratchett's spin on the classic trio of the maiden, the mother, and the crone are all phenomenal characters in their own right, but when the three of them work together, they're one of the most powerful and stubborn forces on the Disc.

Adapting the witches' stories to the small screen would make for a show that, in classic Discworld fashion, would play with a lot of genre expectations. Wyrd Sisters, as the title implies, is Pratchett's extremely skewed take on Shakespeare's classic Macbeth, and later novels in the series, such as Carpe Jugulum, pit the witches against more and more eldritch foes. Their story also overlaps eventually with Pratchett's award-winning YA protagonist Tiffany Aching, who in time becomes the heir of Granny Weatherwax's legacy (and pointy witch's hat).

1 Death and Susan

First Appear In: The Light Fantastic (1986) [Death] And Soul Music (1994) [Susan]

Anthropomorphic embodiments of Death aren't unique to Discworld, but the amount of humanity Pratchett put into his Grim Reaper is beautiful and unique, and Death's storyline is a fantastic analysis of how nothing can exist without being influenced by its surroundings; often, Death's novels involve him struggling with how his relationship with humanity has, to his distaste, made him take on that most shameful of human characteristics – a personality.

More than once, Death grows weary of his duty (or is put on istrative leave by those most vile interdimensional bureaucrats, the Auditors of Reality) and his absence inevitably results in one part of reality or another beginning to unravel. Starting in Soul Music, Susan finds herself having to pick up her grandfather's scythe; their relationship is front and center in Sky One's 2006 adaptation of Hogfather, as well as Cosgrove Hall's 1997 animated Soul Music, the latter of which would, with its incredible parodies of pop music over the decades, be the ideal Discworld novel to adapt to live-action.