It can be tough to make a character work sometimes. If the comic relief misses the mark on being funny, they can easily become grating.
If a protagonist we’re supposed to identify with keeps doing loathsome things, we try to take refuge in their more relatable friends. And that goes double if they’re not even that interesting.
But whatever the reason these characters made us groan whenever they turned up, it’s OK to admit it. We don’t have to like everyone in our favorite shows.
1. Ross Geller, “Friends”
Even if we put aside how possessive and jealous this guy gets when he likes somebody, Ross manages to find a way to be annoying about pretty much everything.
The heart of the show is supposed to be his relationship with Rachel, but it’s pretty hard to care about that when I spend half the time rolling my eyes at him.
2. Andrea Harrison, “The Walking Dead”
OK, let’s say your trusted traveling companion just told you that the governor you’re cozying up to is a violent megalomaniac who uses a zombie apocalypse for his personal gain. Do you escape with your friend?
Even if you said no, would you do it after literally everyone else just happens to tell you the exact same things about him?
Probably, right? Because unlike Andrea, you have half a clue .
3. Joffrey Baratheon, “Game Of Thrones”
OK, we’re obviously not supposed to think that Joffrey is a delight. Still, when even people who don’t watch the show are happy to hear that he finally kicked off, that takes some incredible talent in hateability.
Besides, even if we’re tipping our hats to the creators as we say, “not him again,” we’re still saying “not him again.”
4. Archie Andrews, “Riverdale”
I could go into the cringey way he rejects Betty and then gets jealous when she goes out with Jughead, or all of the ways he uses his friends, but something hits at me more.
Basically, if he’s going to go on about his music all the time, why can’t that music be interesting? He’s the guy who pulls out an acoustic guitar at a party when nobody asked him to.
5. Ted Mosby, “How I Met Your Mother”
He’s self-important enough to inconvenience his friends for the sake of his own lovelorn desires, keeps pursuing those desires even after he gets a clear “no,” and gets pretty petty when he does actually end up in a relationship.
Also, it should not take nine whole years to tell your kids how you met their mother. Get an editor, cowboy.
6. Mr. Frond, “Bob’s Burgers”
It’s tempting to put Aunt Gayle in this spot, but she’s too fascinating of a trainwreck to really hate.
But as soon as Mr. Frond shows up, we know we’re in for a lot of shrill freaking out and lame ideas that we can’t wait to see the Belcher kids scheme their way out of.
If only so they can leave him in the dust and we don’t have to see or hear him anymore.
7. Debbie Gallagher, “Shameless”
The sad part is that Debbie once seemed to have a good head on her shoulders and a moral compass, but both went straight out the window in the worst way as she got older.
Seriously, why intentionally try for a baby that she’s in no position to support only to end up fighting somebody with the kid strapped to her like she’s not even there?
At least Frank’s loathsomeness almost made sense .
8. Neelix, “Star Trek: Voyager”
It’s hard to think of a character who personifies “annoying” more than Neelix. Just by looking at a picture of him, you can probably tell that he’s making an irritating joke and won’t stop badgering you to laugh when it falls flat.
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Why is it that the character with the most annoying voice is also the one who just won’t stop talking?
9. Chuck McGill, “Better Call Saul”
It’s pretty rare to see somebody so underhanded, unappreciative, and uptight that it makes you sympathize with a literal con artist, but Chuck’s self-righteous manipulating definitely wasn’t winning him many new friends.
Michael McKean’s incredible performance made my hatred for this character complicated, but my frustration was genuine when I wondered how he was gonna make me mad each week.
10. Howard Wolowitz, “The Big Bang Theory”
OK, I know that this is basically, “Oh My God, Shut Up: The Show,” but even Sheldon isn’t usually annoying and creepy at the same time.
The worst part is when the show tries to make us sympathize with him after he does something messed up. It’s like trying to turn Quagmire from Family Guy into a tragic hero.
11. Peggy Hill, “King of the Hill”
Just because the situations she ends up in are hilarious and wouldn’t happen if she didn’t think she was way smarter than she was, that didn’t make me want to scream at her any less.
She’s also very prone to jealous and spiteful behavior when her loved ones start to succeed in ways that overlap with her ambitions and that never stopped being infuriating.
12. Rory Gilmore, “Gilmore Girls”
It’s an odd feeling to rewatch Gilmore Girls and realize that Rory isn’t nearly as likable as I remember, but the show’s return really puts that in perspective.
For one thing, Rory apparently learned nothing from the time she hooked up with Dean even though he was engaged because she ends up doing the exact same thing with Logan with no remorse. This also means she’s cheating on her own boyfriend.
13. Ned Flanders, “The Simpsons”
Ned’s unrelenting, squeaky-clean piousness could certainly get annoying in the past, but in the earlier seasons of the show, it was at least grounded by a genuinely good-hearted desire to help his community.
In the later seasons, however, his preoccupations with religion took on a much more intolerant and almost hateful character, which is honestly part of what finally turned me off the show.
14. María LaGuerta, “Dexter”
Have you ever had a boss who thought that aggressively pushing their bad ideas and putting down better ones was the way to make you believe they actually knew what they were doing?
This is María LaGuerta in a nutshell, and with leadership like hers, it’s no surprise that Dexter has stayed hidden for as long as he did.
Also, the way she hits on subordinates would definitely get her a date with HR.
15. Cyril Figgis, “Archer”
Archer’s shockingly bad behavior is entertaining, but Cyril’s frequent power trips and pettiness come off more like an assistant manager who times your bathroom breaks.
And although Archer is the source of a lot of his problems, he usually fails to acknowledge it when his bad situations are entirely his fault.
16. Steve Urkel, “Family Matters”
Urkel is obviously supposed to be kind of annoying, but it works a little too well when it encourages people not to watch the show at all. Yeah, let’s just say that Family Matters had no place in my family’s matters.
Why couldn’t he have just been Stefan Urquelle all the time?