So, sometimes, certain characters become fan favorites when it comes to TV. They capture the interest of television viewers, and almost instantly, we are pulled into their stories.
But sometimes, these characters that we love are repulsive human beings. They all have significant issues, whether evident at first or slightly subdued. Today, we'll be going over 32 TV characters that, at first, you might like but you would not want to be friends with in real life.
Joe Goldberg (You)
This is an obvious one, but I have to put Joe Goldberg from You because there was a time when it seemed everyone was falling for this guy. He's the main character of the series and is played by the talented Penn Badgley.
Look, I think the actor is handsome too, and Badgley can bring a sort of charisma to Joe that makes him hard to deny – hence why, every season, it seems like he can score some new woman.
But don't get it twisted – Goldberg is a serial killer. He may think that he's killing people for the sake of his love to make sure all their problems are taken care of, but he's still killing people. And even in the fourth season, when he tries to be "better," he ends up just giving in to his dark side and deciding that killing is acceptable. He is as repulsive as a human as you can get.
Andrea Harrison (The Walking Dead)
I watched all eleven seasons of The Walking Dead, and few characters annoyed me as much as Andrea – which makes sense since she was killed off quite early compared to the comics. She was whiney, trigger-happy, and always turned everyone down when it came to help – and she nearly killed Daryl, so instantly, that makes her the worst.
Pete Campbell (Mad Men)
Mad Men was a huge show, and Pete Campbell was a prominent character. But man, this dude was the absolute worst. At first, he seems like a cocky businessman, a smug person who thinks he deserves everything. But as the seasons go on, he gets worse in every way possible. He would be in jail now if this were the real world for all he had done.
Ross Geller (Friends)
I love the Friends cast just as much as the next person, but let's be honest – Ross Geller is awful. He may be hilarious in specific ways and sometimes sweet, but he's self-centered, has pretty bad anger issues, and cheated on Rachel. And no, they were not on a break.
Merle Dixon (The Walking Dead)
Ironically, I didn't necessarily hate Merle Dixon in The Walking Dead – maybe because I was such a big fangirl of Daryl as a teenager – but he certainly wasn't my cup of tea. And now, years later, he was just a repulsive human being in many ways. While he did have a love for his little brother, Merle left people to die, killed innocents, and only had one redeemable moment – when the Governor killed him after releasing Michonne from her captivity.
Dawson Leery (Dawson's Creek)
Yes, we all know that famous meme crying face, but have we ever talked about how the titular character or Dawson's Creek is the worst? Dawson Leery is a miserable crybaby who thinks just because he's a more likable guy than most, he deserves more when, in reality, he's just a whiner.
Lori Grimes (The Walking Dead)
While there have been plenty of female characters from shows that people have hated for no good reason, Lori Grimes from The Walking Dead was pretty bad – in many ways. Not only was she a major complainer about everything, but her significant repulsive action was that she slept with her husband's best friend not that long after he was supposedly left to die in a hospital – and then got pregnant with his baby. Judith is sweet and all, but come on.
Piper Chapman (Orange Is The New Black)
The Orange is the New Black cast has plenty of great characters, but Piper Chapman, the main character the show follows, is probably one of the worst. She's selfish, doesn't know what she wants, and leads many people on. She also had a crazy power trip a few seasons in that turned her into a malicious person.
Will Schuester (Glee)
I'm sorry, Will Schuester from the Glee cast must be imprisoned. Let's push to the side that he sort of lays all his problems out for his students to see half the time – what kind of chorus teacher has his children sing adult songs like "Toxic" in front of the entirety of the school – and join in? Jailtime, right now.
Rory Gilmore (Gilmore Girls)
Everyone at this point knows how terrible Rory is, in so many ways. She may have been kind in earlier seasons, but she treats her mom horribly, doesn't take her advice well, drops out of school to run on with boys, and treats her significant others pretty terribly. She's awful.
Madison Sinclair (Veronica Mars)
I usually give high school mean girls a pass because nine times out of ten, they're just going through something at home that makes them that way. But Madison Sinclair in Veronica Mars was as vicious of a mean girl as possible. And what makes it even worse is that she's still just as petty and malicious in the Veronica Mars film, so it's just her personality.
Blair Waldorf (Gossip Girl)
There are several people from the Gossip Girl cast I can point out on this list, and one is Blair Waldorf. No, she does not get an excuse for being a teenage girl and making stupid decisions because she keeps making them as time goes on to get what she wants. She's the stereotypical rich girl.
Sheldon Cooper (The Big Bang Theory)
Let's be honest – if Sheldon Cooper were our friend, we wouldn't like him. Sure, the Big Bang Theory cast is extremely talented, including Jim Parsons, but the character of Sheldon Cooper is the worst. He's a know-it-all who has the emotional range of a teaspoon (in Hermione Granger's words) and would probably be the worst friend to have.
Jenny Humphrey (Gossip Girl)
God, don't even get me started on Jenny Humphrey. She started the series as a pretty innocent girl on Gossip Girl, but it didn't take long for her to rebel and start doing pretty messed up stuff to fit in, and she just started getting worse and worse. I'm not surprised that her character was barely in the show by the time it ended.
Santana Lopez (Glee)
Look, I love Glee just as much as the next person and Satana Lopez's vocals were some of the best on the show. She killed in every single solo she was in. And while a part of me is in love with her attitude and the fact that she's great representation for LGBTQ+ viewers, she's also kind of a jerk. Like actually.
At least in the first few seasons, Santana is manipulative in the worst way possible, and if she was going down, she often dragged her friends down with her. It wasn't until later seasons we saw her break out of her shell more and learn to be kinder.
Serena Joy (The Handmaid's Tale)
The Handmaid's Tale may be one of the best shows on Hulu, but Serena Joy is arguably one of the most despicable characters in the series. You can give me all the backstory into how she became the way that she is, but there is no denying that she is a massive reason why this oppressive society began, and there is nothing you can do or say that will make me forgive her, ever.
Goku (Dragon Ball Franchise)
Nah, man. I may love anime and will introduce it to everyone, but if they say their favorite character is Goku from Dragon Ball, I'm unfriending them. Why? Because Goku is a deadbeat dad, and he leaves his family and children, especially Gohan, so much that it's a joke that Gohan isn't his kid.
Erwin Smith (Attack On Titan)
I love Attack on Titan, and Erwin Smith was a part of some of the best arcs of the franchise. But my guy was almost too into the idea of what lay beyond the Walls of Paradis – so much that he's willing to sacrifice hundreds – if not thousands – of the lives of young soldiers just to win a battle. I don't care if you're an army commander – that's pretty messed up, no matter how dire the situation is. He's a kick-butt character, don't get me wrong, but also not that good of a person.
Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother)
We can all laugh at Barney Stinson from the How I Met Your Mother cast as much as we want, but if we met a real-life Stinson, we'd all hate him. He's the definition of a womanizer and has the attitude to match in many ways.
Chuck Bass (Gossip Girl)
Nope. No. I don't care if he's marketed as the "bad boy," he and Blaire are an entertaining but toxic Gossip Girl relationship and, more so, a horrible person. No random acts of kindness can make up for how bad he truly is.
Dwight Schrute (The Office)
Dwight Schrute can take a vegetable beat and suck it – but on a real note, he isn't a great person. The Office cast is exceptionally talented, and yeah, Rainn Wilson certainly gives some humorous moments as Dwight. Still, at the same time, I'm pretty sure the office worker has some OCD with how he micromanages his job and others around him and will sacrifice anyone to get to the top.
George Costanza (Seinfeld)
The Seinfeld cast is full of characters that are all pretty bad in many ways, but let's be honest and say that George Costanza is one of the worst – if not the worst. He may be funny, but he's done some pretty bad things to get ahead in life or out of precarious situations. His frugality even led to the death of his fiance after buying toxic envelopes because they were cheap.
Angelica Pickles (Rugrats)
No, she does not get a pass because she is a child – Angelica Pickles got her start as a mean girl early in her life with how she treated those babies, and what makes it worse is that she's still a brat in the spinoff, All Grown Up. I don't know who took her bottle away at a young age, but she's just awful.
Brian (Family Guy)
While Brian is biologically a dog, he's practically a human in the way he speaks in Family Guy and man, has this "hilarious" dog done some messed up stuff. There is not another character that's as self-righteous as this dog, where he thinks he's just better than any other person and always uses that against them. It just makes him so unlikable.
Dennis Reynolds (It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia)
I mean, do we even really need to explain this that much? Dennis Reynolds, at first, seems like a typical narcissistic male – a womanizer who thinks he's better than most just because his daddy has money. But there are some severe cracks in his mental state and moments where you wonder if this dude would let you walk out of a hookup with him.
Gojo (Jujutsu Kaisen)
I love Jujutsu Kaisen, but Gojo is also a repulsive human being. Yes, I know he's the anime boy that everyone – even some of my closest friends – seems to have a crush on, but he's as selfish as they come and always thinks he'll win everything just because he's powerful. I'm also pretty sure he would sacrifice innocent lives to live, and that's pretty repulsive.
Ned Flanders (The Simpsons)
There are plenty of popular The Simpsons characters that I could talk about, but Ned Flanders is a pretty repulsive person. I know, at first, he seems like a friendly neighbor, but as the series progresses, he gets more wrapped up in this radical religious mindset. Don't get me wrong, it's alright for you to have your faith – but when you push it on others like Flanders begins to do, that's never the right choice.
Charlie Harper (Two And A Half Men)
It's his character to be repulsive, but I feel like we've all let that slide because it's Charlie Sheen, and he's funny as Charlie Harper. But if we all met a real-life Charlie Harper, we wouldn't want to be close or even related to him, no matter how many times we watch Two And A Half-Men.
Eric Forman (That '70s Show)
At first, Eric Forman seems agreeable, but when you rewatch That 70s Show, he is one of the worst characters here. He's just lazy and uses that as an excuse for so many things, and also, he does not deserve the angel that is Donna.
Debbie Gallagher (Shameless)
Oh, Debbie. At first, Debbie Gallagher of the Shameless cast felt like a misguided teenager who needed someone to help her, but then she got an attitude. And then it got worse. And then she purposefully got pregnant at fifteen. What? It's no wonder Fiona practically lost her mind with this family.
Rachel Berry (Glee)
Rachel Berry is the type of theater kid that you would never want to be friends with. In Glee, she makes everything about herself, always strives to steal opportunities from others, and even when she goes through something terrible, it doesn't feel like she grows up at all. I could never understand why Finn dated her.
Ted Mosby (How I Met Your Mother)
There are so many things wrong with Ted Mosby in How I Met Your Mother, so much so that I could write an entire article about them. He would continuously pursue women no matter what despite trying to find the perfect match and still somehow ended up with Robin in the end, even after his wife passed away – which isn't right.
There are plenty of other characters that I could add to this list, but let's cap it there – and now, I feel the need to check out different characters that make me happier than some of these horrible ones.
