Top 10 Worst Main Characters on TV Shows
#10: Jack Shephard “Lost” (2004-10)
Top 10 Times Samurai Jack Went Beast Mode
For the lead of its ensemble cast, “Lost” might have chosen an interesting character – but he wasn’t necessarily the one we liked the most. Jack Shephard became the head of the castaways pretty much from the jump, and to his credit, he was pretty good at thinking on his feet in high intensity situations. It’s all the other stuff that was a bit difficult for him. Throughout the show’s run, Jack is faced with a number of dilemmas, and almost always picks the wrong choice. Whether it be ignoring Claire when she thinks she and her baby are in danger, or wanting to detonate an explosive, our guy has some bad moments. Plus, he yells and cries way too much for our liking.
#9: Tori Vega “VICTORiOUS” (2010-13)
Top 10 Worst Things Jade Has Done to Tori on Victorious
When you’re surrounded by such an awesome cast, sometimes your flaws stand out a bit more. Tori might be the main character in “VICTORiOUS,” but she’s far from the most talented, and even farther from the most likable. One of the first things she does is kiss Beck right in front of his girlfriend, Jade. True, Jade is billed as a mean girl, but this revenge plot takes things a bit too far. But more than that, if we’re talking talent, the characters surrounding Tori outshine her. She’s definitely a good singer, but when you’re standing next to the likes of Ariana Grande, it’s a bit hard to compete.
#8: Zack Morris “Saved by the Bell” (1989-93)
Top 10 Times Zack Morris Was the Worst
Don’t be fooled by that cute smile and those charming fourth wall breaks. As far as we’re concerned, Zack Morris is a little bit of a narcissist, and a whole lot of a creep. Throughout the series, his favorite pastimes include being gross to women and being a pretty bad friend. In order to feed Lisa’s shopping addiction, for instance, he starts charging people a dollar to kiss her. And once, in college, he impersonates a professor in order to get a date. But some of Zack’s worst offenses come with how he repeatedly mistreats Slater, notably perpetuating the idea that he’s violent. If we’re being honest, we’re team Slater.
#7: Rory Gilmore “Gilmore Girls” (2000-07)
Top 10 Times Rory Was the WORST on Gilmore Girls
Watching a beloved character become a terrible one is never easy, but in Rory Gilmore’s case? It was almost unbearable. Rory starts out as your typical precocious teenager. She’s charming, smart, funny, and everything else you want out of a main character. But once she gets to Yale, things take a terrible turn. She starts making one mistake after another. She sleeps with Dean even though he’s married, drops out of school, and lets her relationship with her mother Lorelai deteriorate. But the worst part of it all is that for the longest time, Rory doesn’t seem to think there’s anything wrong with this behavior. She winds up seeming like a far cry from the girl we once knew.
#6: Piper Chapman “Orange Is the New Black” (2013-19)
Unlike Rory, this character was annoying from the jump. Piper Chapman’s whiny nature worked for “Orange Is the New Black” at first. She’s an upper class white woman headed for prison, so she’s bound to be a bit snobby. But as the show goes on, we learn so much about the other women and their stories, and Piper only becomes more insufferable. Next to all the other inmates at Litchfield Penitentiary, she’s so clearly the worst it’s hard to understand why she was picked as the main character in the first place. We would all definitely rather spend more time with the characters surrounding her than hearing about her panty-selling venture.
#5: Carrie Bradshaw “Sex and the City” (1998-2004)
Top 10 Memorable Carrie Bradshaw Boyfriends
For someone with a column about sex and relationships, Carrie Bradshaw sure seems to be bad at them. But her romantic entanglements were far from her worst transgressions on “Sex and the City.” For one, she’s a pretty deplorable friend. In one episode, Miranda asks Carrie to come help her after she hurts her neck. She delegates the task to Aidan instead of going over herself, and he finds Miranda in a pretty humiliating situation in the bathroom. And speaking of Aidan, we’d be remiss not to mention how terribly she treated him too. Leave it to Carrie to drive away the only good guy she ever had!
#4: Rachel Berry “Glee” (2009-15)
Top 10 Unforgettable Rachel & Finn Moments
If characters got gold stars for being the absolute worst, Rachel Berry would have a binder full of them. The Glee club is known for being made up of misfits. But we think the reasons Rachel has trouble fitting in have more to do with her mean girl streak than anything else. She’s convinced that she’s destined for stardom, and thinks that gives her the right to belittle others. She’s not afraid to sabotage anybody who seems like a threat to her, either. We all remember what she does to Sunshine in season two! And that’s saying nothing of her cringeworthy behavior – inappropriate crush on Mr. Schuester, anyone?! Rachel spent the majority of her run on “Glee” being awful, and we couldn’t miss her less.
#3: Ted Mosby “How I Met Your Mother” (2005-14)
Top 20 Worst Main Characters on TV Shows
There’s nothing worse than the TV “nice guy” who’s actually the opposite of nice. We’ll get to a worse offender later, but for now, give it up for Ted Mosby. The show frames his over-the-top and obsessive nature as romantic, but in hindsight, it’s kind of just plain toxic. For example, Robin and Ted might be one of the main couples on the show. Yet he always tries to move way too fast and aggressively, getting swept up in his fantasy of them being meant to be. So he often neglects to consider her needs and wants. Yet this type of problematic behavior continues even when he says she wants to be friends, and long after they break up. We truly are appalled.
#2: Hannah Horvath “Girls” (2012-17)
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When someone like Marnie is a character on your show, it’s hard to imagine that things could get much more annoying. Enter Hannah Horvath, proving that you should never speak too soon. The main character on “Girls” is one of the more selfish ones on this list, putting her own, not-so-awful problems above everything else. Her behavior impacts her friendships, her romantic relationships, and even her worklife. On the occasions where Shoshanna called Hannah on her self-obsession it felt like she was speaking for the entire audience. Her words are harsh, but oh so true and necessary! Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Sabrina Spellman, “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina” (2018-20) Her Greatest Power Is Her Ability to Annoy Serena van der Woodsen, “Gossip Girl” (2007-12) This Drama Magnet Makes It Easy to Be on Team Blair Jenna Hamilton, “Awkward” (2011-16) Both Matty & Jake Deserve Better Oliver Queen, “Arrow” (2012-20) A Superhero with an Ego? What a Novel Idea!
#1: Dawson Leery “Dawson’s Creek” (1998-2003)
Top 10 Times Dawson Was the WORST on Dawson's Creek
Ah, here’s the “nice guy” to end all “nice guys.” Dawson Leery was sold to us as a boy-next-door type, and billed as the love interest to Joey Potter. But from the moment “Dawson’s Creek” began, every single word that came out of the title character’s mouth made him less and less likable. For one thing, he’s a bad friend and boyfriend to Joey. Beyond that, he’s downright terrible to Pacey, often using their so-called friendship so he can feel better about himself. It’s no wonder the writers eventually ended up having Pacey and Joey be the main couple. And it’s really no wonder the only remnants left of Dawson on the internet are crying memes.
