Good and bad characters exist in all fictional universes. But, a hated character isn’t exactly someone heroic or villainous. Sometimes, the most hated characters seen on TV can fall into either side of the spectrum. So, here are 15 of the most hated TV characters of all time:
15. Lori Grimes – The Walking Dead
It’s not exactly unknown for people to hate a supposedly positive or supporting character. However, Lori Grimes’ actions in The Walking Dead’s first couple of seasons did her no favor. Besides, she hooked up with her dead husband’s best friend. It’s known that Rick was in a coma for like 4-5 weeks.
And until he found Lori again, it was like 8-10 weeks since he was shot. And from what we learned, Lori had been hooking up with Shane way before that. Then, her other choices and the rift she created between two best friends didn’t help her case either.
14. Ross Gellar – Friends
Ross Gellar is a goofball and a character you’d put in most movies for comedic relief. In a show like Friends, he stood out as one of the leads and was somewhat of a loveable character too—at least to half the fans.
The other half doesn’t think or remember him so kindly, as most think he was over-the-top and somewhat annoying. Besides, he always belittled his friends and patronized them. By today’s standards, he’s known that toxic friend that people grow tired of sooner or later.
13. Rachel Berry – Glee
Rachel Berry from Glee is another one of the characters that isn’t exactly a villain in the script, but a disliked character in the eye of the people. Some viewers of Glee think Rachel Berry was the biggest jerk on the show.
Now, is she universally hated? Not exactly, but nobody seems to think she’s the positive character the showrunners painted her to be. She’s inconsiderate, privileged, and has little to no regard for other people around her.
12. Calliou – Calliou
Calliou is considered one of the whiniest and most annoying characters ever written for any sort of media. Offering little to no redeeming qualities, Calliou is definitely one character that should be in a boarding school somewhere.
Not only does he whine every episode, but he’s always wrecking stuff up. Besides, he is always insufferable when he doesn’t get what he wants. So, if it wasn’t for actual murderers, this character would be way higher up on this list.
11. Dawson Leery – Dawson’s Creek
Dawson Leery is another character that isn’t downright hated, but quite annoying. And, he is not the positive or nice character the writer aimed for him to be. He makes terrible decisions all the time, despite being a titular character.
He’s terrible to his friends, and his general treatment of other people doesn’t necessarily scream “protagonist”. Besides that, Pacey always overshadowed Dawson on more than one occasion, and many people think he’s the true protagonist of the show.
10. The Governor – The Walking Dead
The Governor in The Walking Dead was considered the first big bad of the series. While the show didn’t have a major human antagonist for the first two seasons, The Governor truly stood out with his manipulative tactics and personality.
Then, season 4 happened, and people somewhat felt for The Governor. He almost wanted a new family, but then things went south and Governor went back to his old ways and affected Rick’s group in the worst ways imaginable—making him one of the most despicable characters of the show’s entire run.
9. Piper Chapman – Orange is The New Black
Piper Chapman in Orange is The New Black just adds to the list of examples, that just because a character’s Wikipedia page reads “protagonist” doesn’t mean they are loved by all. Because Piper is one more of those insufferable characters in any show.
A prime example of hatred towards her is how Decider wrote an article about why should could go down as the most hated character in history. That should tell you that the redeeming qualities of this character are few to none.
8. Galadriel – The Rings of Power
Galadriel was one of the leading images of fantasy beauty, grace, wisdom, and mystique—then Rings of Power happened. Rings of Power featured a Galadriel that is unlike anything you remember her as in Lord of The Rings.
Not only does she have all the qualities of a Mary Sue, but also someone who belittles everyone else is rarely reasonable, and is a downright insufferable character. So, Galadriel from Amazon’s Rings of Power might just be the top character in the list of characters meant to be positive but aren’t at all.
7. Shou Tucker – Fullmetal Alchemist
Shou Tucker is one of the most remorseless villains in all of anime history. The reason a lot of people dislike this particular villain from Fullmetal Alchemist. And that’s mainly because of his ridiculous reasons.
He’s also one of the only characters in the series to have no real reason to do the despicable things he does, like burning Nina’s drawing. Besides that, he’s also downright pathetic and incompetent at times.
6. Skyler White – Breaking Bad
Breaking Bad is full of characters that are beyond any redemption or reclamation. However, Skyler White is one of those characters who pops out as a hypocrite rather than someone who has accepted their evil side.
Despite being on the side of the light, Skyler White is widely considered one of the most hated characters from the show. She doesn’t only do illegal stuff or partakes in them, but has that “holier than thou” persona that makes most fans despise her.
5. Cersei Lannister – Game of Thrones
Cersei Lannister was one of the characters who has caused so much bad, not just to others, but to her own family as well. Her “die on this hill” kind of attitude didn’t just end up ruining her family, but her unjust hatred of Tyrion also played a role in the downfall of House Lannister.
Now, Lannisters aren’t exactly universally loved, but Cersei wasn’t the powerful or wise person she thought she was. And her decisions during the war against the North, and her eventual withdrawal from the war against the Walkers proved her status as one of the most hated characters in television history.
4. Todd Alquist – Breaking Bad
Todd Alquist isn’t exactly the main villain of Breaking Bad, but he’s the most hated character in the history of the show—yes even more than Skyler White. The despicable antagonist isn’t an empathetic brute, but also a remorseless jerk.
He’s a sociopath who has no emotional bounds and doesn’t consider anybody’s life worthy more than his own. Besides, he’s also a supremacist, racist, and a child killer which makes him one of the most hated characters in modern TV.
3. Ramsay Bolton – Game of Thrones
Ramsay Bolton isn’t exactly someone you’d need a reason to hate or dislike. This is another one of the characters that all of the Game of Thrones fanbase wished would just die. For one, he’s a rapist, serial killer, baby killer, and a proper psychopath.
On top of that, he kills his father, who puts him in a position of power in the first place. So, when Jon Snow eventually beat him to a pulp at the end of Battle of The Bastards, the entire fanbase collectively did a sigh of relief and cheer.
2. Livia Soprano – The Sopranos
You might be thinking “There’s someone worse than Ramsay?” well, you bet and it’s Livia Soprano. While she’s against Tony Soprano, who is no saint, Livia is as appalling as they come. She doesn’t only hate her son but does all she can to sabotage his operation.
She’s a narcissist who doesn’t think she can do any wrong when all she does is wrong to others—her own family! So, just another character a fanbase collectively hated.
1. Joffrey Baratheon – Game of Thrones
Is there any surprise here? Game of Thrones did something quite well for the first few seasons, and that was making great villains. But, no other villain was as detested, hated, or ostracized as much as Joffrey Baratheon.
He wasn’t just a coward and a weasel, but his decisions also were the reason many wars started—including the beheading of Ned Stark. The social media networks went into a frenzy for a day or two when he finally died—that should tell you something about the character.
Other Notable Hated TV Characters
- Benjamin Linus – Lost
- Ezra Fitz – Pretty Little Liars
- Preston Burke – Grey’s Anatomy
