Rugrats co-creators Paul Germain and Arlene Klasky have both claimed to have created the Tommy character, with both saying he was based upon their real-life sons.

[2][3] Though Stu works from home, out of the family's basement,[4] Tommy and his younger brother, Dylan "Dil" are primarily cared for by Didi, who devotes much of her free time reading books on the latest in child development, hoping to raise her sons, and niece to be as emotionally and physically healthy as possible.

[13] He is white and through his mother, Didi, Tommy is of European Jewish heritage, with her parents being born and raised in Russia and later immigrated to the United States.

He has become less of a leader to his siblings and friends and more of an equal and while he still has a strong sense of right and wrong, he is sometimes hesitant to do the right thing for fear of being rejected or teased by peers.

He has remained best friends with Chuckie throughout the years, still encouraging him to step outside of his very small comfort zone, and somewhat critical of Dil, whose abnormal tendencies sometimes embarrass or confuse him.

As the main protagonist of Rugrats, Tommy appears in the majority of episodes across the show's 13-year run, with many of the storylines centering around him and his family, and with the Pickles household often serving as the primary setting.

[7] In July 2018, it was announced that Tommy would appear in newly-planned Rugrats television series and a live-action film featuring characters rendered with computer-generated imagery.

[36] In addition to Rugrats and its related films and media, Tommy was the protagonist of All Grown Up!, which depicts him and the children from the original series as adolescents.

[37] Tommy remains the ringleader of his group of friends, though he has now developed a strong interest in filmmaking and makes movies with a camcorder.

In the episode "River Rats", Tommy was shown to be afraid of water, stemming from an experience during a fishing outing with his grandpa.

Up until early Season 2, Tommy was also either shown or mentioned as being part of the school soccer team, even trying to teach Dil how to play in the episode "Fools Rush In".

Rugrats co-creators Paul Germain and Arlene Klasky have both claimed to have created the character, with both saying he was based upon their real-life sons.

[19] As the series progressed, Klasky inserted more elements of her personal life into Tommy's character, such as being part of an interfaith family and being of Russian Jewish descent.

The voice Daily conceived for Tommy was one of a child character she had been developing since she her youth,[19][44] and regularly performed to amuse her friends throughout her life.

He has noble friend characteristics that I think are beautiful.Cheryl Chase had also auditioned for the part of Tommy and did not get it, but later became the voice actress for the character Angelica Pickles.

[46] Karen Hershenson of Contra Costa Times wrote in a 1998 article that "more than 23 million viewers tune in each week to watch Tommy".

[54] Patti Thorn of Rocky Mountain News praised Tommy, describing him as the show's most "level-headed" character, who deals with childhood issues and fears "with heart and humor".

"[56] Los Angeles Times writer Paul Brownfield said Tommy and the other Rugrats protagonists have such longevity that they "will be adorning kids' T-shirts and lunch boxes for generations to come".

[57] The Arizona Daily Star writer Phil Villarreal compared Tommy to comic strip character Charlie Brown.

[58] Dennis King of Tulsa World praised E. G. Daily's vocal performance as Tommy, calling her a standout in a "stellar voice cast".

[60] A Tampa Bay Times article by Babita Persaud noted that child viewers of Rugrats particularly admired Tommy's courage.

[61] In a lukewarm review for "All Growed Up", the episode that later inspired the series All Grown Up!, Kimberly Click of Boston Herald noted that while most of the other characters are basically the same as their original incarnations in Rugrats, Tommy is "the only one that has matured".

[62] Fort Worth Star-Telegram writer Amanda Rogers noted that Tommy maintained aspects of his original goofy personality in All Grown Up!

[63] When Carlotta Harrell ran for State School Superintendent of Georgia in 2006, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution asked her what television character she identified with the most, and she replied Tommy because "he is respected by his peers because of his leadership abilities and judgment when making decisions".

[64] Tommy and the other babies of Rugrats have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the only characters from a Nickelodeon series to hold that honor.

Sarasota Herald-Tribune writer Philip Booth called the character "likable" but suggested he may not be a good role model for children.

[66] Kayla Cobb of Decider.com, who was critical of the Rugrats series, said she believed the show was too redundant because every episode revolved around Tommy deciding to "go on some huge adventure based on some flimsy premise", which inevitably led to problematic situations.

[67] In a mixed review of The Rugrats Movie, Daily Herald writer Dann Gire wrote that Tommy "looks like a fetal form of Mr.