Everyone knows Penn has noteworthy alumni everywhere from finance and the White House to show business, but less mentioned are its fictional alumni. This includes any fictional character who has mentioned a degree from the University of Pennsylvania as part of their biography. Although slipping in a reference to Penn as a bit of casual world–building is far easier than to actually attend the school in real life, when and how writers choose to do so shows how Hollywood perceives the Red and Blue. And though there are certainly many more existing in television and film, this list boils down the top five, all dominating the small screen, though you'd be hard–pressed to find any of them in an admissions brochure.
Charles "Chuck" McGill, Better Call Saul
Perhaps one of the most universally reviled television characters of the past decade, Michael McKean's Charles McGill acts as both brother and adversary to James "Jimmy" McGill, who later goes on to adopt the name Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad. A formerly prominent lawyer, Charles is seen mostly in darkness due to a mental illness which causes him to believe he's allergic to electricity. However, it is gleaned through flashbacks and mentions of his education that he attended the University of Pennsylvania for his undergrad, perhaps one of the younger students in his year due to him also having graduated high school at the age of 14. His Ivy League education, in fact, is often one source of his and Jimmy's many disputes, the latter having graduated from law school at the University of American Samoa much later in life, a fact which Charles often holds over his head.
Lindsay Naegle, The Simpsons
Although you might not know her name, this tertiary Simpsons character (voiced by Tress MacNeille) is often seen in boardrooms and offices, usually to deliver one easy punchline, such as in the Season 11 episode, "Alone Again, Natura-diddly," wherein Ned Flanders' wife Maude passes away and Homer helps get him out and dating again. Naegle is one of the first women he meets through a mail–in dating service (that's old–timey Tinder), and she confidently states "If you select me, you'll get a lot more than a Wharton MBA pulling in 200K. You'll get a woman who's poised, articulate, sophisticated, confident, and highly sexual." She then gets a fax mid–date, alerting her she's been indicted. So, that is to say, fairly accurate for real-life Wharton grads.
Amy Brookheimer, Veep
Anna Chlumsky's neurotic, high–strung and overly–blunt chief of staff to the Veep herself, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer, is almost never seen without her phone and seldom speaks without having some biting remark for her staff or even her superiors. Her backstory reveals, however, that she herself came into the West Wing a bit green, only just having graduated from Penn the previous year, but makes up for her lack of experience with a tenacious attitude and the focus and drive to do what needs to get done, including claiming Meyer's miscarriage as her own to save both of their careers. Although no Penn grads hoping to go into politics should follow Brookheimer's lead exactly, no doubt Penn is notorious for that same can–do attitude.
Rachel Silva, Master of None
One of the less business–minded roles of this list, Noël Wells' Rachel Silva is the romantic interest of season one, who opens the Netflix series with a broken condom scare. She's later featured more prominently, a publicist for a music label who eventually absconds to Japan upon reconsideration of her life and career. Although her time at Penn is only briefly mentioned (50–50 she was actually referring to Penn State, but we'll take it) it goes to show the flexibility a Penn education affords, allowing her to keep her options open and stay flexible in the face of major life decisions. And although Aziz Ansari's Dev is the titular Master of None, Silva perhaps is the more identifiable character next to his blah–ness.
Dennis Reynolds, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
To perfectly wrap up this list of fictional alumni that Penn likely isn't very proud of, Glenn Howerton's Dennis Reynolds is somehow a step below the rest of the disreputable gang, serving as the manipulative, psychotic, and potentially murderous co–owner of Paddy's Pub along with his sister Dee. Although you might have guessed he hadn't attended Wharton judging by his management of the bar, he did minor in psychology and was a member of a frat, because of course he was.
