The small screen is a landscape where colorful characters can thrive and run wild. Serialized storytelling offers lots of flexibility, and the best TV series have learned how to utilize some legitimately outlandish narratives to flesh out an army of colorful characters. That said, while TV is an environment full of delightfully crazy characters, some TV personalities annoy us to no end.
On that note, we have compiled a list of the eight most annoying characters from otherwise great TV shows. Take a look at our entries, and let us know if there are any characters that you absolutely cannot stand from your favorite TV series. We have quite a few annoying individuals to get to, so let's kick this off with one of the most insufferable characters on HBO.
Marnie Michaels - Girls
While there's a valid case to be made that Girls' lead character Hannah Horvath (Lena Dunham) deserves this spot, we feel inclined to give this honor to Allison Williams' relentlessly Type-A Marnie Michaels. Marnie seemed like the most logical and even-headed member of the central Girls ensemble at the beginning of the series, but she has slowly but surely revealed herself to be one of the most manipulative and obnoxious characters on television. Girls generally embodies many of the stereotypes and cliches that people have come to expect from the millennial generation, and Marnie is a complete encapsulation of the entitled 20-something persona.
Gus Cruikshank - Love
Netflix's Love is a great comedy that examines the inner workings of a budding relationship, but we have to all finally agree that Paul Rust's Gus is the worst. In the process of trying to make him seem like a socially awkward and timid "everyman," the show more often than not swings far too wide -- resulting in a character who is obnoxiously uptight and cartoonishly inept. Gillian Jacobs' Mickey similarly has her own fair share of flaws, but the show has been far more successful in rationalizing why she's a screw-up in her personal life. Gus, by comparison, is just downright unlikeable.
Russel Armstrong - The Path
Hulu's The Path is an absolutely fantastic show, and it is grounded by some stellar performances by Aaron Paul and Michelle Monaghan. Having said that, Patch Darragh's Russell Armstrong is one of the absolute worst characters on the entire series, and easily one of the most annoying characters currently on television. A whiny and entitled leader of the Meyerist movement, Russell is an endlessly obnoxious and petulant individual who will shut down his wife's (very legitimate) concerns by simply shoving a hand in her face. We want to shove our hands (a.k.a fists) in his face. Again and again.
Anne Flatch - Trial & Error
Trial & Error has admittedly not been on the air for very long, but the NBC mockumentary comedy already shows quite a bit of promise. While the show has definitely managed to deliver a ton of laughs during its short time on the air, one of the characters that we jut cannot get behind is Sherri Shephard's Anne Flatch. It's not necessarily that she cannot induce a few fits of laughter here and there, but Anne simply feels like a forced character who doesn't really belong or fit into the universe that has been created for Trial & Error.
Foggy Nelson - Daredevil
It's a shame that Foggy Nelson has become so unrelentingly annoying over the course of Daredevil's two seasons on Netflix (Samuel L. Jackson even thinks so) because the character (and actor Elden Henson) has potential. Sadly, however, Foggy is typically relegated to little more than a supporting character who does nothing to support Matt Murdock. He spends the bulk of the series worrying about Matt and harboring resentment over the secrets between them -- despite the fact that Matt consistently produces quantifiable results on the street. Foggy needs to come around; otherwise, we're going to ask The Punisher to do something about it.
Brian Griffin - Family Guy
If we were to compile this list a decade ago, Brian Griffin probably wouldn't make the cut. That said, over the course of the last few years, the voice of reason within the Griffin family has devolved into a caricature of a pompous, elitist intellectual -- despite the fact that he doesn't read half of the books that he references in casual conversation. Brian's intelligence was initially meant to highlight the stupidity of the Griffin family, but now he has become arguably the insufferable member of the entire Family Guy ensemble. Maybe killing him in Season 12 was the right call.
Piper Chapman - Orange Is The New Black
Despite the fact that she's started off as the central protagonist of Netflix's Orange Is The New Black, Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling) has easily become one of the most annoying characters on the show since its debut. Compared to the other more nuanced characters on the series, Piper is incredibly selfish, and generally far more overprivileged. While many of her fellow inmates serve as an indictment of the criminal justice system, Piper's problems often result from her own actions, and her storyline remains tethered to her romances, which doesn't allow the character easy entry into anyone else's narratives. She has certainly evolved as a character since the beginning of the series, but more changes would be welcomed.
Laurel Lance - Arrow
Arrow's Laurel Lance (Katie Cassidy) was another textbook example of wasted potential. The show never quite figured out what it wanted to do with her, which meant she consistently butted heads with the show's protagonists. It wasn't until Season 3 that The CW series finally decided to turn her into Black Canary, but by that time the series had invested far too heavily in Olicity to get Oliver and Laurel together. Although the show tried to milk an emotional punch out of her death at the hands of Damien Darhk in Season 4, it was too late to get invested in her.
What do you think of our picks? Let us know in the comments! Also, don't forget to check out our midseason TV premiere guide and our summer TV premiere schedule for all your viewing options.
