Television Shows Where The Main Character Is The Worst Part

Charlie Foley

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Inspired by the HIMYM thread


Also, for such a popular show, how bland and awful is the main character? I can't even remember the actor's name.
Ted Mosby is a good shout. Dylan in Scrotal Recall/Lovesick is another one.

We have one episode left of Home Before Dark and while Hilde might not be “the worst” thing about it, there are an awful lot of examples moments where she just comes across as a poorly socialised arsehole and her parents just say “lol well that’s Hilde!” And I think we’re supposed to laugh. The writers also really struggled to portray how children talk/behave consistently.
 

OleBoiii

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Piper and all the people connected to her outside the prison in Orange Is The New Black.
 

Snowjoe

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Leslie Knope in Parks & Rec. like she’s not bad but everyone else is better
 

Eckers99

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Spaced. I like Tim and Daisy but the other characters are better.
 

Rado_N

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Entourage. The guy plays a movie star and is a terrible actor, as well as generally a bit of a dick.
 

12OunceEpilogue

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The Sopranos...

Stuff like Teachers had all their original main characters move on so they had to bring in/promote other ones who lacked that sparkle.
 

OleBoiii

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Malcolm who might as well not even be in the middle.
My favorite sitcom and one of my favorite TV shows of all time, but I agree.

It's not that he's a terrible character. It's just that literally everyone else is great :lol: Hal is of course the best, though.
 

12OunceEpilogue

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Not sure if serious...
Absolutely not. Tony's by far and away the best and that show is stacked with great characters.

I've not seen any of the shows mentioned but if the main character is literally the worst thing about them I don't see them being up to much. The supporting characters would have to be brilliant to make it worth your while to spend time with such a mood-hoover.
 

Solius

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The girl from Devs. Not sure if it was just because she was a shit actor but she wound me up.
 

DWelbz19

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McNulty from the Wire.
McNulty is great. And there isn’t really any one “main character” in The Wire. Plenty of episodes and arcs where he’s just not involved.
 

stu_1992

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McNulty from the Wire.
Cane to say this. I love that show and while he's often justified by being right, he still annoys me at times. No coincidence that my favourite seasons have him taking more of a backseat.
 

Dr. StrangeHate

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Who is going to make the opposite of this thread?
Shows like Lucifer, 24, Sherlock Holmes and The Office are essentially just the main character with everything else being barely watchable.
 

Mike Smalling

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You could also include Game of Thrones on this list. Obviously it has a few main characters, but two of them, Daenerys and Jon Snow, are both god awful (perhaps excluding the first season).
 

amolbhatia50k

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You could also include Game of Thrones on this list. Obviously it has a few main characters, but two of them, Daenerys and Jon Snow, are both god awful (perhaps excluding the first season).
This is what came to my mind. Ned was an excellent lead character. Denarys and Snow were weak.