ADVERTISEMENT

Typically, we love to watch shows and films with main characters we can root for. A relatable underdog who against all odds manages to save the world or an unlikely, awkward hero who uses their humor and charisma to perform incredible feats. Lots of us can’t help but crave a happy ending, and we don’t always see the point in dedicating hours to watching a show where we hate the main character. Yet somehow, annoying protagonists still manage to persist and star in some of the most popular shows of all time.

2 weeks ago, Reddit user Competitive_Owl7085 sparked a conversation by asking for the most unlikable main characters of TV shows, and people did not hold back in the replies. Below, we’ve gathered a list of some of  the most insufferable protagonists that viewers have called out, so be sure to upvote the responses dragging characters you can’t stand either. Let us know in the comments if there are any other central characters you despise, despite the plots of their shows revolving around them, and then if you’re interested in checking out another Bored Panda article calling out hated characters from films and TV shows, look no further than right here.

This post may include affiliate links.

#1

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Dr. Phil

Own-Philosopher-1620 Report

Final score:
376points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#2

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Carrie Bradshaw. Unbelievably entitled, shallow, spoiled and treated all of her friends like s**t. I don't enjoy the show for what it is, it's my favourite hate-watch just to see the new depths Carrie will sink to every episode.

Especially heinous was when she got herself into debt by tanking her relationship with the guy who bought and was renovating her apartment and turned down money offered by two of her best friends just so she could b***h out the one that didn't offer. And for some reason that friend ended up giving her the money.

And she tried to cheat on her husband with a guy that she had previously cheated on.

And she replaced her old friend with a younger more diverse version when they fell out.

Craicpot7 Report

Final score:
286points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#3

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Caillou
That bald whiny little punk is the worst.

langtont1 , Cookie Jar Entertainment Report

Final score:
225points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT

Sometimes, we watch shows featuring characters we wish we could invite over for dinner and become best friends with. Other times, we watch shows revolving around people we would slap in the face if we had the opportunity. But it can be hard to determine whether script writers and creators of a show intended to make their main characters unlikable, or if the audience just collected decided that they hated them.  

Certain shows, like Breaking Bad or The Sopranos were created to feature a villain in the main role. But when the audience gets to decide whether they love or loathe a protagonist, there are several factors that can make them much less likable. According to Chris Winkle at Mythcreants, one of the most common reasons audiences don’t feel the need to root for a main character is because they have “too much candy”. This “candy” refers to “anything that glorifies a character”, Chris explains. If everyone is constantly praising the character and everything seems to always work out for them, the audience won’t find them relatable and will likely begin to hate them.   
#4

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Ross from Friends. I hate him so much. And, he doesn't even eat the smaller friends to assert dominance, which makes him suck twice as much.

secretly-bees Report

Final score:
215points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#5

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Meredith Grey.

How many 'dead' sisters can one b***h have?

And her saying 'I'm a widow so I'll just have to accept that I have had all the orgasms I ever will' set feminism back like 5000 years.

ipakookapi Report

Final score:
205points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#6

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Raymond on *Everybody Loves Raymond*, conceited little bastard.

Deitaphobia Report

Final score:
189points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu

On the other hand, when a character has “spinach”, or anything that creates sympathy for them, audiences tend to like them more. Each character should have a balance of candy and spinach, so they are seen as capable and competent but also relatable and fallible. No matter how unrealistic a plotline is, audiences probably won’t accept a character who is glorified without seeming to earn or work hard for their accomplishments. 

Another trait that can quickly tank the approval rating of a  protagonist is when they are too hard on other characters. Three common examples Chris notes of this are when they have arguments between other protagonists, when they tease, criticize or give another character a hard time, or when they try to convince another character to handle their personal problems differently or go about their life differently. “Problems in this area are especially likely if there is an imbalance of power,” Chris notes. “If one person is a leader and another a subordinate, then the leader will be held to a higher standard when they get in an argument.”

ADVERTISEMENT
#7

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Peppa Pig.

What an annoying, obnoxious, narcissistic little brat

Heart2001 Report

Final score:
183points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#8

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones I cannot believe no one has said Rory Gilmore yet.

MelpomeneLee Report

Final score:
167points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#9

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory. Went from a clueless socially awkward side character in the first couple of years to a self-centered narcissistic bully. I don't know why they ever hung out with him.

anon Report

Final score:
164points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu

We also tend to have zero sympathy for protagonists when it feels like they caused or are exacerbating their own struggles. For example, if a character is in debt and could easily ask their rich parents to help them out but they refuse to out of pride, audiences might roll their eyes. We won’t feel bad for them as they struggle to find another solution. 

ADVERTISEMENT

There is a fine line when it comes to creating hardships in a protagonist’s life, because if they got themselves into a difficult situation due to being selfish or incompetent, we probably won’t care. But if they ended up with more problems by trying to help or look out for someone else, audiences will usually allow that. Chris notes that protagonists often refuse obvious or simple solutions because it would eliminate the story’s conflict, but audiences will see right through plot holes like this.
#10

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Alan from two and a half men

Cronicasdecrimen Report

Final score:
164points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#11

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Jerry on Tom and Jerry.

Prior-Resist4486 Report

Final score:
157points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#12

Ally McBeal, she thought she was cute but she was insufferable.

ExpatriadaUE Report

Final score:
155points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu

There are some shows that masterfully depict an unlikeable protagonist. Dexter, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul and Barry are some of the most popular examples. As long as the audience can understand the motivation behind a main character’s morally questionable actions, we might still find a way to root for them, or at least stay invested in the show despite hating them. The team at Industrial Scripts breaks down how to create an unlikable protagonist without having your audience turn on you in this article they wrote examining how we manage to sit through some of these famous shows starring anti-heros. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Aside from making their motivation reasonable, anti-heros can also win an audience’s affection by being relatable to them. Characters like Tonya Harding in I, Tonya and Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network don’t necessarily act in the best interest of others at all times, but we might relate to the struggles they face in the world. Tonya has dealt with abuse from her mother and husband that make audiences want to root for her, and despite his arrogance and selfishness, Mark’s determination and lack of social awareness can be seen as redeemable traits by some audiences.  
#13

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Piper Chapman on Orange is the New Black.

Alice_Van_Osbourne , netflix Report

Final score:
145points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#14

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Ted from himym is just the worst

great_auks Report

Final score:
141points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#15

Tweety bird. I always feel sorry for Sylvester because that little bird is so obnoxious.

fanestre Report

Final score:
137points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT

Do you prefer watching shows with anti-heros you hate or loveable heros? Regardless of your preference, I’m sure you can relate to despising some of the main characters on this list. Keep upvoting the responses you wholeheartedly agree with, and feel free to share any more protagonists that you can’t stand in the comments below. Then if you’re looking to rag on even more unlikable characters, don’t forget to check out this Bored Panda article next. 
#16

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Emily from Emily in Paris.

Watched first episode of first season and NOPE.

Can't believe there's going to be a third season.

raykatya , www.youtube.com Report

Final score:
135points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#17

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Lena Dunham’s character on Girls

spaceraingame Report

Final score:
134points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#18

Susan Myers from *Desperate Housewives.* Whiny, childish, dramatic and never took responsibility for ANYTHING, to the point her teenage daughter has to balance the chequebooks and make doctor's appointments for her. She repeatedly screws her friends over if she thinks it'll help her win back Mike, burns Edie's house down and doesn't fess up for years, slutshames Edie while constantly jumping from relationship to relationship (oh, and she cheats on her boyfriend he's in a coma), butts into situations that have nothing to do with her and when a trail guide calls her out on how she's a selfish drama queen, she throws a tantrum and storms off into the woods and the only reason she doesn't die of exposure is because Mike inexplicably manages to track her down. Oh, and she forced Gabby to go on a date with her mentally unstable stalker to try to persuade him to pay Mike's bail and doesn't give a s**t that this could seriously endanger Gabby.

WhimsyAndSnark Report

Final score:
116points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#19

Rachel Berry from glee. She was a b***h and never got what she deserved.

lazygoth37 Report

Final score:
108points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#20

Joffrey Baratheon and Ramsay Bolton from GOT. Can't decide which one I hated more.

stupidturbo Report

Final score:
108points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#21

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Eric from that 70s show. He’s an a*****e throughout the whole show but towards the end of the series it really ramps up. Wth did Donna see in him??

FearlessOmen Report

Final score:
102points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#22

I can't believe I haven't seen Prue Halliwell yet!! She was awful. Eeeverything was about her. Anytime there was a big bad demon out and about it was "the demon is here for me and me alone and I have to be the one to stop it". Like no girl. The power of 3 is not just you. She ruined Pipers wedding and that's the ultimate sister foul. She was awful to Phoebe out of pure jealousy. Always bringing up the past like she was the only one capable of change when she was the one character who literally never grew. Even Daryl evolved somehow! Oh and crapping all over Phoebes relationship with Cole. Yeah he was a demon but she didn't know that at first. She just couldn't be happy for her younger sister because she spent so many years pushing Andy away. Damn I love that show.

Conscious-Citron9918 Report

Final score:
99points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#23

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Dawson from Dawson’s Creek

TheLongLongAgo Report

Final score:
96points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#24

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

All five of them are goddamn trash, and I couldn't love them more.

Ill-Organization-719 Report

Final score:
88points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#25

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones House. A person like that in real life would be unbearable.

02buddha02 Report

Final score:
85points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#26

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Sabrina in the new show.

cmalarkey90 Report

Final score:
85points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#27

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Damn near everyone on Shameless, but Frank or Debbie fight for the top spot

ICUMF1962 Report

Final score:
83points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#28

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Elena Gilbert - The Vampire Dairies.

I can't stand her lol

TifflePuff Report

Final score:
81points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#29

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Walter White. Every choice he makes puts his family at risk, he refuses help out of stupid pride, he’s arrogant, and he wound up getting at least 160 people [taken out]. He’s a brilliant chemist but he’s a s**ty businessman and an evil person.

DrApprochMeNot , AMC Report

Final score:
67points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#30

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Bojack Horseman, though I suppose that's the point.

FickleShiba Report

Final score:
64points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
Continue reading with Bored Panda Premium
Unlimited content
Ad-free browsing
Dark mode
#31

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Some like him but I just hate Andy Bernard from The Office. He's such an a*****e and so annoying. And I'm not talking about season 9 Andy, but regular Andy after his anger management course

Pop-A-Top Report

Final score:
29points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#32

Jess from New Girl. So whiny, so entitled and the worst part of the show.

hotlipshoulihan Report

Final score:
28points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#33

Elizabeth Keen. I have only watched half of Blacklist but there are many things i don't like about her. Majority of the time she choses the wrong choice of what she needs to do. Its almost comically funny how slow and dumb her decisions are.

sovietarmyfan Report

Final score:
27points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#34

Serena Joy on The Handmaid’s Tale. I just want to punch her in the throat.

rileysauntie Report

Final score:
26points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#35

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Jack from Lost.

Total POS who was wrong every god damn time.

chubberbrother Report

Final score:
25points
Add photo comments
POST
#36

For me it's Michael Burnham from Star Trek: Discovery. She's incredibly arrogant and thinks she knows better than everyone. She starts a war with the Klingons due to her wanting revenge for her Captain being killed in front of her getting potentially billions of people killed.

Then later on she befriends a mirror universe version of her Captain who in that universe is space Hitler who's been responsible for billions of deaths, genocide, torture, slavery you name it. Brings her back to her universe to be best chums with.

Then a few season later she starts being a total b***h to her superiors in Starfleet disobeying every order she is given in every single episode. Which I s**t you not leads to her being promoted.

How am I supposed to like this main character, even Captain Picard would slap her.

shadowst17 Report

Final score:
24points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#37

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones As a kid I loathed Dr Smith on Lost in Space. I didn't understand why they didn't just f****n [take him out].

johnnycocheroo Report

Final score:
23points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#38

Jerry Seinfeld. Most of the characters were baaaaad people. Still funny as hell.

renekissien Report

Final score:
23points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#39

Both my parents love Gilmore Girls and watched it often. I only really started paying attention to it in my teens and I couldn’t stand Rory. She was alright in the beginning but towards the end she just became unbearable. She didn’t realize how good she had it and how often things were just handed to her. She was so used to everything being the Rory show where she was always praised and the best of the best that the moment something didn’t go her way she flies off the handle and makes it everyone’s problem. And she never learned. The revival just showed she never learned or experienced any growth. To me Rory is a perfect example of “big fish in a small pond” not being able to cope outside their bubble and the outcome of not moderating praise and criticism of kids. There’s a reason Rory ended up the way she did and it’s because pretty much every adult in her life acted like she walked on water and could do no wrong.

The best example I can think of was when she was told she wasn’t that good of a journalist. Rather than try to improve or ask for tips on how to improve she reacts by stealing an yacht! Yeah the Mitchum was harsh especially since she was just an intern but not everyone any the professional world is going to coddle you and tell you how wonderful you are. Which is all Rory had ever experienced because of her mom, her grandparents, her friends, hell the whole town treated her like some perfect goddess the world should praise simply for breathing. Being criticized sucks and it doesn’t feel good but everyone has to learn to cope with it and grow from it. Her reaction and actions were completely out of proportion and she acted like it was no big deal and anyone who said it was was overreacting. I think my favorite part of that whole situation was when Richard confronted Mitchum about his criticism of Rory and Mitchum pointed out Richard’s hypocrisy. Richard had done the same to plenty of people yet the moment it happened to his precious perfect granddaughter it’s not ok. Which yeah I get it’s his granddaughter but Richard was a hypocrite trying to act all “shame on you” when he’s done the same.

SarcasticAzaleaRose Report

Final score:
23points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#40

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Eddy from Ed, Edd and Eddy, completely uses his friends and annoys people, chats pure shite all for a f*****g jaw breaker

Veryconfusedguy92 Report

Final score:
22points
Add photo comments
POST
#41

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Tori Vega - Victorious

Mermaid89253 Report

Final score:
22points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#42

Nancy Botwin in Weeds. Horrible mother and clearly unstable af. By the end of the show i loathed her and hoped that she would fail. Poor Andy

AgitatedEggplant Report

Final score:
21points
Add photo comments
POST
#43

Amy Dubanowski in Superstore

I mean Jonah can be a bit much but she is so mean to him and he is probably the nicest person. Then she strings him along for years and wants him to uproot himself across the US and she couldn’t even say if she wanted to marry him or not. Like it was still the beginning of the relationship and was treating it like a 5 year summer fling.

_Goose_ Report

Final score:
20points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#44

June on handmaids tale. She had gotten multiple people killed through her selfish actions. This current season is just a power fantasy from the writers and ends every episode with her staring at the camera menacingly

TimothyDextersGhost Report

Final score:
19points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#45

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Gina from Brooklyn Nine-Nine was so bad that I honestly had to stop watching the show because her character just made me angry. How the hell did she not get fired or reported to HR for all the hateful, s***ty things she said to her co-workers?

gate_of_steiner85 Report

Final score:
19points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#46

Marissa Cooper from The OC. An all around awful human being.

Goon_Squad_905 Report

Final score:
18points
Add photo comments
POST
#47

Jenny Schecter from The L Word

giannalikesramen Report

Final score:
16points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#48

Jane from Jane the virgin

raykatya Report

Final score:
15points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#49

James from Twin Peaks. He was so weak and whiny and unnecessarily put a lot of blame for Laura Palmer's death on himself but even more so for Maggie's. His character was so useless and it just got progressively worse even into season 3 because they had no idea what to do with him. And damn that song...

MeadhallMike Report

Final score:
14points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#50

People Are Sharing TV Main Characters That They Just Couldn't Stand, And Here're 30 Of The Most Hated Ones Skyler White, such a tremendous buzz kill.

Clause-and-Reflect Report

Final score:
14points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#51

Michael Scott. I do think he is funny from time to time, but god I would hate to have him as my boss. I guess he fits the role though

Purple_Fault_4231 Report

Final score:
13points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#52

Elena from Little Fires Everywhere

Zack Morris from Saved by the Bell

DungeonFam30 Report

Final score:
13points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#53

I’m a huge James Spader fan and watch everything he does, but stopped watching The Blacklist after season three. Just could not stand her character. And I know Agnes was just a baby but my god, I just could not buy that Liz was that concerned about her. She was such a non-entity, the writers should have just written around the actress’s pregnancy. Hell, I don’t even remember her name off the top my head.

FlabbyFishFlaps Report

Final score:
12points
Add photo comments
POST
#54

Almost all the characters, except for Vic's wife, in The Shield are reprehensible. In Oz, except for Sister Peter Marie Reimondo, every character was evil.

Both shows had fantastic casts, from the leads to the supporting cast.

BTW, Oz is why you should never commit a crime. Avoiding Oz was the concept behind their advertising campaign to attract more viewers.

homersplaydoh Report

Final score:
8points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
#55

Every single character on *Succession* is the worst person in the world.

A_Tiger_in_Africa Report

Final score:
7points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#56

Tony Soprano! Easily! I loved his character and loved the show, but the guy was a bad dude. I never found myself rooting for him in the same vein as Walter White. Tony was temperamental, vicious, greedy...basically he was a mobster. He cheated on his wife constantly, even AFTER got back with him after a split and after he was shot (whereupon he kinda looked at his family in a better light).

StoolToad9 Report

Final score:
6points
Add photo comments
POST
View more commentsArrow down menu

Anyone can write on Bored Panda. Start writing!

Follow Bored Panda on Google News!