This article provides a list of characters from the American television sitcom Drake & Josh along with brief synopsis of the time each of them spent on the show. Airing on Nickelodeon from January 11, 2004, to September 16, 2007, Drake & Josh was created by Dan Schneider, who also served as executive producer.
Main characters
Drake Parker
Drake Parker (Drake Bell) is Josh's stepbrother, Megan's older biological brother, Audrey's biological son and Walter's stepson. Drake is depicted as an immature womanizing teenage slacker. Although he often appears unintelligent, his under-achievement seems to be caused by apathy, which leads him to make frequent impulsive decisions. The character Drake has a great interest in music and plays electric guitar in a band. He likes all genres of music including rock and country. He can also play drums and bongos. He can easily manipulate Josh in order to get what he wants. He has a lot of success with girls, and much of the comedy is his effortless ability to get dates. He often shrugs off the consequences of his actions, acts bitter towards others, plays dirty, lacks respect for them, slacks off at school, and uses other people, which can get him into trouble. Drake feels embarrassed about his new stepbrother at first but grew to accept Josh. Despite his desire to not spend time with Josh, Drake and Josh eventually become close friends and brothers. His character is similar to that of Jesse Katsopolis from Full House and Eric Matthews from Boy Meets World.
Josh Nichols
Josh Nichols (Josh Peck) is Drake and Megan's stepbrother, Walter's biological son and Audrey's stepson. Unlike Drake, Josh is knowledgeable, diligent, caring, responsible, a good hard-working student and socially awkward. In the pilot episode, he had a job for the school newspaper in which he wrote advice for students under the name Miss Nancy. He begins working for Helen at the fictional Premiere movie theatre in the second season. Unlike Drake, Josh often tries his best in challenging situations, takes things seriously, feels resourceful if he makes mistakes, and uses his common sense, often repeating things for emphasis when anxious. Despite his logical mind and hard-working nature, Josh is prone to bad luck in the first seasons, especially with girls. However, later in the series he begins to date Mindy Crenshaw, his academic rival. His hobbies include cooking and performing magic tricks. Later in the series, Josh becomes popular and has better luck as he loses weight. He is obsessed with Oprah Winfrey and accidentally runs her over with his car in "Josh Runs into Oprah," leading her to get a brief restraining order against him. Peck described his character as having a Jackie Gleason quality, and said, "Not only can Josh do the physical comedy and the pratfalls, but he can also sell a sophisticated joke and a touching moment." His character is similar to that of Joey Gladstone and Danny Tanner from Full House for his maturity and responsibility.
Audrey Parker-Nichols
Audrey Parker-Nichols (Nancy Sullivan) is Drake and Megan's biological mother, Josh's stepmother and Walter's wife. Her first name is never mentioned in the series, although a deleted scene from the series finale would have revealed Audrey. The scene would also specify her profession as a caterer.
She often tells the boys to be more mature. She upsets her husband, Walter, because of her preference for Bruce Winchill, his rival weatherman. Because Walter lacks respect from Megan and Drake, she usually has to punish them, although these punishments are usually unfair because most of the boys' wrongdoings are Megan's fault. As stepmother and stepson, Audrey and Josh have a very close relationship and he affectionately calls her "Mom" or "Mama." She is a nurturing and supportive mother. However, she is a bit gullible when it comes to her daughter Megan, especially when it is Megan's word against Drake and Josh.