A good antagonist can make or break a television series. Sometimes, a TV villain is well-written, compelling, and scary while other times they are just boring and poorly written.
Just like with movie villains , TV baddies can have a big impact, but some are better as villains than others.
RELATED STORIES
Here are 5+ of the most iconic TV villains as well as 5+ of the worst.
Best: Hannibal Lecter from *Hannibal.*
Mads Mikkelsen’s version of the iconic character for the NBC series, Hannibal , was scary and intriguing in all the right ways.
He really nailed the alluring nature of Dr. Lecter while also showing how absolutely cruel and scary of a serial killer he was.
Worst: Reverse-Flash from *The Flash.*
While Professor Eobard Thawne, known as Reverse-Flash to most, might be the central villain in season one of The Flash , it doesn’t mean he was an interesting one.
His execution in the television series just fell flat, and he didn’t seem scary at all.
Best: Joffrey Baratheon from *Game of Thrones.*
Joffrey will go down as one of the most hated television villains of all time because he was so horrid. He was truly socioapthic, and he did so many downright twisted things even though he was basically a child.
Fans were relieved when he finally was killed, but he did make for a great villain to hate.
Worst: Firelord Ozai from *The Last Airbender.*
Firelord Ozai from Avatar: The Last Airbender wasn’t exactly a bad villain, but he just wasn’t as good as some of the secondary ones.
He was mostly just an archetype of a big bad boss that needed to be defeated, but other villains, like his daughter Azula, made for better antagonists.
Best: Nina Myers from *24.*
Many of the most well-known TV villains are men, but there is room for some female antagonists, too, and we’d love to see even more of them.
Nina Myers worked so well as a villain because she started out as a hero before being revealed to be a loathsome traitor.
Worst: Tate Langdon from *American Horror Story.*
While some fans loved this character from the “Murder House” season, others thought the character was kind of corny and not as interesting as other antagonists, such as his mother.
Plus, it was weird to try to still put him with Violet after what Tate did to her mother.
Best: Skeletor from *He-Man and The Masters of the Universe.*
Not all of the best television baddies have to be super serious or made for adults. One of the most iconic villains from a TV show is definitely Skeletor.
Maybe he wasn’t that scary, except to kids, but he was truly memorable.
Worst: Ramsay Bolton from *GOT.*
While Ramsay was obviously terrifying and super twisted, he gets put in the worst category because he is really similar to Joffrey.
Since Game of Thrones had already shown us the twisted, perverted acts down by countless others, it just started to feel gratuitous.
Best: Serena Joy from *The Handmaid’s Tale.*
People have many strong opinions about the direction the show decided to take with Serena Joy, but most can agree that she had some truly scary and compelling moments.
She’s a good antagonist because you sometimes feel bad for her while also recognizing that she’s often horrible. She’s both victim and villain.
Worst: Lucifer from *Supernatural.*
While many fans did love this character, he wasn’t really the best villain.
Fans tended to think he was funnier than anything else because of his sarcasm, but he wasn’t really as intense or terrifying as the literal devil should have been.
Best: Jim Moriarty from *Sherlock.*
The reason why so many fans loved this character is because he was a bit campy but also intelligent and scary.
He fit in well with the mood of the show, and the acting skills of Andrew Scott really helped ensure Moriarty didn’t seem just silly.
Worst: Celia from *Fear the Walking Dead.*
Celia would have been a good villain if she wasn’t basically the same as Hershel from The Walking Dead.
Because a similar villain storyline had already been done before, it made Celia less interesting and more just a copy of what had been done already.
Best: Montgomery Burns from *The Simpsons.*
Here we have another super iconic television bad guy. He’s the best example of an evil boss, and his wealth and disregard for others makes him terrifying and also sadly realistic.
While he might be a caricature, dealing with those who abuse their power is something many people can relate to.
Worst: Will Schuester from *Glee.*
While he’s not technically a villain, many fans have pointed out that he’s the worst part of the show and how many of the things he did should have been illegal.
He was whiny and creepy, and he wasn’t the good guy he made himself out to be.
Best: Negan from *The Walking Dead.*
Fans were excited when the TV series brought this comics villain to the screen.
He was terrifying because he was smart and sometimes charismatic, and it was also hard to predict what he would do. Plus, fans loved Jeffrey Dean Morgan in the role.
