These are the characters you love to hate. To be clear, none of the characters on this list are bad characters. Many are some of the best characters on their shows, but they aren't the kind of people anyone would want to be friends with. Our list of some of the most annoying characters in sitcom history.
Ross Geller (Friends)
When you really think about it, none of the friends in Friends were really people you'd like to call a friend. Each of them had their own annoying quirks, but by far, Ross was the most annoying. Whiny and obnoxious, it's still unclear to many what Rachel really saw in him. David Schwimmer played the role brilliantly.
Steve Urkel (Family Matters)
Everyone had an annoying neighbor growing up, but few can say their neighbor was as obnoxious as Steve Urkel in Family Matters. It's more than just being "nerdy," the character, played by Jaleel White, was as obnoxious as he was popular with fans. White's performance is one of the best in TV history, and the character was one of the least likable too.
Dwight Schrute (The Office)
Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) is a brilliant character because everyone can relate to working with a guy like this in some way. Sure, he has an extreme personality, but there is a piece of that personality in someone that everyone has worked with, whether it's in an office or not. Imagine sitting next to this guy for years.
Bill McNeal (NewsRadio)
The late Phil Hartman played some amazing characters and had some amazing quotes in his career, but perhaps his best was in the vastly underrated sitcom NewsRadio. Bill McNeal is brash, obnoxious, toxic, and, frankly, hilarious. The diva news reader is the star of his own life at all times, much to the chagrin of his co-workers, who seemingly universally despise him, and with good reason.
Jean-Ralphio Saperstein (Parks And Recreation)
Jean-Ralphio Saperstein, played brilliantly by Ben Schwartz, makes this list for being just slightly more annoying than his twin sister, Mona-Lisa (Jenny Slate). He's one of the funniest, and obnoxious, supporting characters in Parks and Recreation. Despite loving a good party and always looking for a fun time, he's the last guy you'd ever want to hang out with.
Rerun (What's Happening!!)
Freddy "Rerun" Stubbs, played by Fred Berry, is the kind of friend whose schemes are always messing things up. Sure, he means well, and he's likable, so you keep him around, but inevitably, he'll screw things up. We've all had good friends like Rerun, and they've all driven us nuts.
Kimmy Gibbler (Full House)
Have you ever had a friend that drives you so nuts you have to break up with them? Despite that, you always end up friends again? Sure, we all have. That friend is Kimmy Gibbler on Full House (and Fuller House). Andrea Barber is perfect as the obnoxious neighbor to the Tanners and on-again-off-again BFF to D.J. (Candace Cameron Bure).
Screech (Saved By The Bell)
The late Dustin Diamond played one of the most annoying "nerds" in TV history as Samuel "Screech" Powers in Saved By The Bell. He always meant well, and at times he was an endearing character, but his purpose as a character was to drive everyone nuts. While Diamond had a really rough life after the show, including a short jail stint in 2016 before passing away from lung cancer in 2021, he'll forever be remembered as Screech.
Cliff Clavin (Cheers)
Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger) always meant well on Cheers, but he's exactly the kind of guy that is impossible to deal with when you're trying to enjoy a drink. He loves to hear himself talk and fancies himself an expert on everything. He's not, which makes it even worse.
Newman (Seinfeld)
There's nothing worse than having a scheming, obnoxious neighbor who hates your guts, but that's what Jerry had to deal with on Seinfeld with Newman. Wayne Knight's brilliant portrayal of the unsavory postal employee is truly one of the best characters we all love to be annoyed by in TV history. Sure there were other annoying characters on the show, like Kenny Bania (Steve Hytner), but Newman was always lurking around, making him the worst.
Nathan Shelley (Ted Lasso)
Nathan Shelley (Nick Mohammed), the equipment man-turned-coach in Ted Lasso starts of as just an annoying, frustrating employee of AFC Richmond. Then, later in the show, his ego explodes when he becomes the "Wonder Kid" manager of a rival team. At all times, he's annoying, though he is still lovable at times, and is eventually redeemed by the end.
Dwayne Wayne (A Different World)
There is a lot to admire about Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison) on A Different World. He's a good student and by the end of the show, he turned into a great guy. But for the first few seasons, he was a borderline stalker in the way he pursued the women of Hillman College.
Sheldon (The Big Bang Theory)
I'll never understand how the other people on The Big Bang Theory lived with Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons). Not only is he an obnoxious no-it-all, but he's also pretty much a jerk all the time. There may be no character I love to hate more than Sheldon, and I'm not alone as not only was he wildly popular, but the character even got his own spinoff with Young Sheldon.
Pierce Hawthorne (Community)
The on-set difficulties the rest of the cast had with Chevy Chase on Community are legendary at this point. On the show, Chase's character, Pierce Hawthorne, was just as obnoxious as Chase supposedly was behind the scenes. No one really liked the oldest member of the community college friends, and with good reason, he was generally awful.
Tobias Fünke (Arrested Development)
Dr. Tobias Fünke on Arrested Development was possibly the most obnoxious character in the extended Bluthe family, and that's really saying something. Every single member of the cast had their own annoying tendencies, but somehow Tobias, played by David Cross, was the most grating. Of course, we love them all and it's one of the best shows of all time, but wow were they obnoxious.
Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm)
There is no way to make this list without including Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm. There were times that watching the show was like a stress test in keeping your composure while watching Larry do some of the most insane, mind-boggling annoying things. How many times did you find yourself yelling at the TV while watching Larry just be a jerk? Yeah, it probably happened a lot.
Lisa Simpson (The Simpsons)
I just want to preface this by saying Lisa (voiced by Yeardley Smith) is maybe my favorite character on The Simpsons. She is the heart and soul of the family, and the constant voice of morality on the show. She's still super infuriating sometimes and if I were Bart or Homer, I'd be annoyed with her pretty much all the time.
David Brent (The Office UK)
While Steve Carell's Michael Scott on the American version of The Office is kind of a lovable loser boss, Ricky Gervais' David Brent in the original UK version is just an insufferable jerk. There is almost nothing redeeming about the hilarious character, and he's so easy to hate. It's hard to imagine a boss that awful, yet there he is, on screen.
Dan Fielding (Night Court)
John Larroquette won four Emmys for his portrayal of the skeezy defense attorney in Night Court. He was rude, mean, and chauvinistic. There were very few times he wasn't completely exasperating. Larroquette deserved all those awards for the character, he's just perfect in the role.
Frank Burns (MASH)
Major Frank Burns (Larry Linville) is one of two annoying "roommates" in MASH. When Linville left the show after Season 3, he was replaced by Charles Winchester (David Ogden Stiers), who was every bit as annoying. So this show was the rare example of one of the best (and obnoxious) characters getting replaced with another successfully insufferable one.
Ari Gold (Entourage)
Jeremy Piven deserves a lot of praise for his role as the obnoxious Hollywood agent Ari Gold in Entourage. He's completely maddening and as insufferable as any character in TV history. Someone you often find yourself rooting for him, despite how awful he truly is most of the time.
Marcy D'Arcy (Married... With Children)
Her name says it all, Marcy D’Arcy. The character, played wonderfully by Amanda Bearse is the annoying next-door neighbor to the Bundys on Married... With Children and spends her time basically being a busybody. She's up in everyone's business, especially Al's, who couldn't hate her more.
Gina Linetti (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
Gina Linetti (Chelsea Peretti) is truly a character fans loved to hate on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. She was mean and nasty to almost everyone, nearly all the time. There are few characters in TV history as despised as Gina. Not that she ever cared, she wasn't really paying attention to anyone but herself.
Hazel Wassername (30 Rock)
The character of Hazel Wassername, played by Kristen Schaal, in 30 Rock appears only in a handful of episodes towards the end of the show's run, but she quickly established herself as completely obnoxious. Fans hated her, but that should be a credit to Schaal, who plays the role perfectly. She's supposed to be awful, and she is.
Trudy Wiegel (Reno 911!)
Let's be clear here: none of the characters in Reno 911! are redeemable. They all have reasons to hate them. Deputy Trudy Wiegel (Kerri Kenney-Silver) is, in a way, the most innocently annoying, but that doesn't redeem her, either. She's a hilarious character who gets herself in the most ridiculous situations, but it's impossible to ever root for her.
Karen Walker (Will And Grace)
Megan Mullally is a national treasure. She is one of the funniest comedic actors in Hollywood, and she proved it with her breakout role, Karen Walker, on Will And Grace. Karen is, simply awful, as the bored wife of a millionaire who "works" for Grace on the show. Though "work" is a strong word for what she does, because she doesn't actually do much of it.
Hilary Banks (The Fresh Prince of Bel Air)
Karyn Parsons' character Hilary Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air might be the most narcissistic character on this list, and that is really saying something. Sure, she has her moments, as all the members of the Banks family do on the show, but generally she is vapid and self-centered and no one you'd ever want to hang out with.
Ted Mosby (How I Met Your Mother)
It's rare that the lead character of a show can also be it's most annoying, but while every character on How I Met Your Mother can be loathsome at times, Ted (Josh Radnor) is just really annoying. A little self-awareness would go a long way, right?
Jan Brady (The Brady Bunch)
In the underrated Brady Bunch movies in the '90s, one of the best examples of turning a '60s show into a movie, Jan Brady is shown in her true colors. Yeah, she's the hapless middle child of the blended family, but she's also really annoying. She's whiny and obnoxious most of the time, with none of the charm of the other kids. Eve Plumb is great in the role.
Robert Barone (Everybody Loves Raymond)
Brad Garrett's character, Robert Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond was a fan-favorite and a character people loved to hate. The dim-witted brother of Raymond (Ray Romano) with a striking number of annoying personality traits, he's great...and terrible.
Ralph Furley (Three's Company)
The great Don Knotts and his character Ralph Furley proved you can replace one annoying character (Mr. Roper) with another, even worse character. He was so over the top in his obnoxiousness that you can't help but kind of root for him, no matter how awful he was. It's a true credit to Knotts' comedic talents.
Sue Sylvester (Glee)
Jane Lynch is so good as Sue Sylvester, it's hard to see in her other roles (and she's great in everything). The character is one of TV's greatest villains, and easily one of the worst bullies ever, as well. She's mean, nasty, and hilarious. Sue is a character that fans watch the show to see, and one they just can't hate anymore than they do.
