Walter White Tony Soprano Ross Geller

Egotistical, manipulative men seem to have become a subgenre of their own in TV culture. Bad men on TV allow audiences to place themselves inside their minds for thirty minutes to an hour. The toxic men we consume range from the laughably transparent to bone-chillingly terrifying.

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Viewers can judge their absurdity no matter how far removed or close to home they seem. The cruelest and most cunning characters allow the audience to delight in their darkness. At the same time, the mildly annoying represents something fans can identify in their real life. However, one thing they all have in common is that fans can never get enough and love to hate them and their antics.

Joe Goldberg — ‘You’

Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley) is an obsessive serial killer and stalking extraordinaire. He falls deeply in love with women until he doesn’t. Inevitably, they fail to meet his impossible standards, or he finds someone else. In season three, Joe is accountable to his wife, Love (Victoria Pedretti). He seems to gain some semblance of awareness of his wrongdoings through her violence.

Joe is as charming and volatile as terrible TV men come. He begins to feel responsibility toward his son, Henry, which is an endearing development for the killer. Joe still ultimately chooses his selfish desires and finds no other way out of the life he created for himself other than murder. Joe lacks the self-awareness to see the harm he causes as a means to an end, which is entirely avoidable.

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Tony Soprano — ‘The Sopranos’

James Gandolfini’s Tony Soprano is one of the early archetypes for bad men who make good television. The Sopranos introduced audiences to the complex, dangerous mafia world Tony navigated. Despite all his bad habits and criminal activity, it was easy to sympathize with Tony. He actively sought the help of a therapist to make sense of his violent past and present while wanting to make a better life for his kids.

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However, it’s hard to redeem a man who brazenly perpetuates violence for the sake of profit. Tony’s mistreatment of the women in his life ranges from gaslighting his wife, Carmella (Edie Falco), to assaulting some of his mistresses. The show put viewers into Tony’s shoes and asked them to consider how someone could create so much harm. Ultimately, Tony had every opportunity to turn away from crime and always chose to stay.

Don Draper — ‘Mad Men’

The suave leading man of Mad Men, Don Draper (Jon Hamm), was undeniably cool and captivating. Don was cloaked in mystery and basically led a double life. One with his family in the suburbs and one in the city outside the office.

Don had a less than respectful relationships with women and carried on many affairs outside his marriages. Lest fans forget that Don wasn’t Don at all and stole the identity of a decorated veteran during the war. Between philandering to identity theft, Don was never interested in anything other than saving himself. Don’s need for self-preservation led him to ignore his wrongdoings.


Ryan Howard — ‘The Office’

Ryan Howard (BJ Novak) was the intern who tried desperately not to get too attached to his job and girlfriend, Kelly (Mindy Kaling). He is a rare example of a TV character who shows negative character development, actually regressing through the course of The Office. Ryan’s rise and fall at Dunder Mifflin was nobody’s fault but his own. Even as he faced the consequences of his illegal activities, he felt no remorse.

Ryan and Kelly’s relationship served at his convenience, and he was always willing to ditch her when he got ahead. Ryan was so consumed with his desires he was willing to hurt anyone who trusted him. Ryan’s toxicity made for great comedy because he had all the hubris but none of the cunning to actually get away with it.

Walter White/Heisenberg — ‘Breaking Bad’

Walter (Brian Cranston) shared his moral struggle with the show’s viewers. He grappled with providing for his family as he faced terminal lung cancer by producing and selling drugs (crystal meth, to be precise). Walter was a sympathetic character who was easy to root for.

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However, it cannot be ignored that Walter did not have to go as far as he did into the criminal underworld (if it all). After providing enough to take care of his family, he continued to become a kingpin. Upon his old colleagues offering to cover his treatment costs, his ego can’t allow him to take the offer. Walter caused a lot of harm to preserve his interests and lied to his loved ones when his actions directly affected them.

Nate Jacobs — ‘Euphoria’

Jacob Elordi’s performance as Nate has quickly earned him the title of one of TV’s most toxic men. Nate is a violent narcissist who lives with very few consequences and uses that to his advantage. He routinely torments his classmates and is incredibly possessive and abusive towards his girlfriend, Maddy (Alexa Demie).

Nate has extreme privilege that he must maintain though it is incredibly fragile. He is constantly threatened by his peers and forces his viewpoint onto them by any means necessary. Nate prides himself on being as manipulative as possible and doesn’t care if he hurts others.

Dexter Morgan — ‘Dexter’

Dexter (Michael C. Hall) is a serial killer who only kills those he perceives as evil. It is difficult for audiences to dislike a character who does bad things with good intentions, especially one as endearing as Dexter. He was not entirely unfeeling and understood the repercussions of his actions. Dexter also genuinely felt like he had no choice but to act on his urges to kill.

As viewers saw, Dexter had the choice to kill or not. He could have easily given himself up to the authorities at any point. He made black and white justifications for whom deserved to die and who didn’t. Dexter justified his violence to satisfy his worldview. In the end, he was only interested in his self-preservation rather than justice.

Ross Gellar — ‘Friends’

Ross (David Schwimmer) wasn’t all that nice a guy throughout Friends. Ross rarely considered how the women he dated and married were impacted by his bad behavior. Ross felt very entitled to Rachael (Jennifer Aniston) and exhibited intense jealousy when she tried to move on after he destroyed the relationship.

Ross only believed his narrative that he was a good guy without taking any stock of what may have been his fault. Almost to the point of delusion, Ross never really took accountability for what he did wrong in his relationships. Instead, he only ever made excuses for himself to protect his view of himself.


Joffrey Baratheon — ‘Game of Thrones’

Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) was possibly one of the most senselessly evil characters on TV. Joffrey’s unchecked and ruthless temper, which became more dangerous with his inherited power. His position of privilege as heir to the Iron Throne meant he did not need to take accountability for his violence and could act with almost no consequence.

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Joffrey’s spectacular sadism made it enjoyable for Game of Thrones fans to root for his demise. Very little, if anything, is redeeming about Joffrey’s character. So, what could be more cathartic for the audience than to see his reign of terror ended in such a brutal and unforgiving manner, just as he lived his life.


Dawson Leary — ‘Dawson’s Creek’

It’s tough to be one of the most unlikeable in a show that features that character’s name, but Dawson (James Van Der Beek) accomplishes that. Dawson imposes his unrealistic and conflicting expectations on those around him. He expects his parents to be in love and happy, but not too in love and happy. He also expects Joey (Katie Holmes) only to want to be with him on his timeline, without regard to what she wants.

Instead of looking inward and respecting others’ choices, Dawson just throws tantrums and takes everything personally. His mentality forces the blame onto his loved ones and always sees himself as the victim. Dawson never considered that maybe the lives of his friends in Capeside didn’t revolve around his happiness.

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