10 TV Shows With Casts We Love To Hate

There’s nothing quite like a TV cast filled with morally gray characters who are equally fun to hate as they are to support. Shows like Ted Lasso and Stranger Things are filled with lovable characters for audiences to grow attached to. Everyone wants to see Ted Lasso or Jim Hopper succeed, and their respective series are often constructed around providing that satisfaction. It’s fun to see the good guys win, but on the other hand, there’s an allure to shows filled with terrible people.

Following the vast influence of The Sopranos, one of the best TV shows of all time, the 21st century has been packed with popular series that explore morally challenging leads. It’s a whole different story when it becomes the entire cast. Shows like Succession and House of the Dragon offer a variety of personalities who often pull no punches in committing terrible acts, often in entertaining ways. These shows become similar to watching reality TV, as audiences have an ensemble of personalities to pick favorites from and plenty left over to have a blast hating on.

10 House Of The Dragon

Streaming on Max.

Even more so than its predecessor, Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon is packed with challenging characters to follow. While Game of Thrones often had clearly defined protagonists and antagonists in every narrative, House of the Dragon is more difficult to choose for whom to root. There are awful people in both factions of the split Targaryen family, and while the blacks tend to be the favored side, that means supporting someone like Daemon, who’s clearly very evil. And the House of the Dragon characters will only get easier to hate as seasons progress.

9 Succession

Streaming on Max.

Like House of the Dragon, HBO’s Succession explores a cast of morally ambiguous characters with too much power. Starting with the patriarch, aside from being an abusive and manipulative father, Logan Roy reflects the terrifying reality of mainstream news conglomerates and the insane political control they possess. Logan’s children are all awful in their own ways, yet compared to Logan, they’re easier to support and root for. Before the show ends, every Succession character proves to be selfish and careless while holding immense power and influence.

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8 The Sopranos

Streaming on Max.

The moral ambiguity of Tony Soprano makes The Sopranos such a captivating and unique series. In a show centered around the mafia, there naturally aren’t many morally good characters, but that stretches beyond the nature of being a criminal. Mafia members like Tony, Paulie Walnuts, Sylvio, and Chris have their terrible deeds overshadowed by antagonists like Ralph Cifarreto, Phil Leotardo, and more, making them easier to root for. However, in doing so, their daily bigotry, abusive behavior towards their partners, and everyday acts of violence are often desensitized.

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7 The White Lotus

Streaming on Max.

In two seasons of The White Lotus, Mike White has proven himself to be a master of creating characters who are distinctly despicable and completely realistic. While clearly awful characters like Cameron and Shane tend to be the most hateable, the series highlights more subtly toxic behavior from characters like Albie Di Grasso, Paula, and Tanya. The anthology format means each season presents a whole new cast of awful people for audiences to be disgusted with. The White Lotus season 3 has announced great performers like Parker Posey and Carrie Coon, and it’ll be exciting to see what they bring.

6 Mad Men

Streaming on AMC+.

Aside from Tony Soprano, Don Draper is one of the most fascinating, morally challenging TV characters ever. Like The Sopranos, Mad Men explores a culture of toxic masculinity, though in this case, it’s that of a 1960s marketing agency. Mad Men characters like Don Draper and Roger Sterling are wildly charismatic, making them incredibly entertaining despite their terrible behavior. There aren’t many actually likable Mad Men characters, and that’s what makes the period character study so captivating.

5 The Fall Of The House Of Usher

Streaming on Netflix.

Netflix’s loose adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories takes a page from Succession’s book. Roderick Usher and Madeline Usher have built an enormously powerful and terrifyingly realistic pharmaceutical empire. The brother and sister CEO duo are awful characters, but even more frightening is the idea of one of their out-of-touch, bratty, irredeemable children taking over and obtaining that magnitude of wealth and power. Luckily, the premise of the Netflix miniseries sees the Usher family in a perilous situation, and it’s so fun to hate them while watching them perish.

4 It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia

Streaming on Hulu.

An incredible TV show that’s constantly overlooked at the Emmys, the reason for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia being repeatedly snubbed might have something to do with its morally vacant characters. Each member of the gang is a terrible person in their own unique way, and episodes commonly consist of them unintentionally ruining a decent, upstanding person’s life. It’s Always Sunny is a hilarious show and the longest-running sitcom ever, but the characters aren’t as likable as those on Friends or New Girl. That’s the fun of it, after all.

3 Curb Your Enthusiasm

Streaming on Max.

Like It’s Always Sunny, Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm is often about the destructive behavior of its characters. Larry is, of course, the main culprit in many Curb episodes, but supporting characters like Jeff or Richard Lewis aren’t immune to contributing to the chaos. In a more comedic setting, the Curb cast resembles flaws similar to those on The White Lotus, as the show deconstructs the behavior of the entitled, out-of-touch, upper class in Los Angeles.

2 Yellowstone

Streaming on Peacock.

Similarly to Succession, Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone is about a family that has obtained too much power and will go to war to defend it. Kevin Costner’s John Dutton has some decent values, but he’s an awful, abusive father, a corrupt politician who’s gotten away with terrible murders, and his behavior influences generations of his family. Some Yellowstone characters are just trying to do the right thing, but in a cast that contains John, Beth, and Jamie Dutton, there are plenty of fun personalities to hate.

1 The Boys

Streaming on Prime Video.

While superhero projects have dominated Hollywood for over a decade, The Boys poses the question of what super-powered individuals might look like in the real world. The show’s version of Superman is a psychopathic killer and narcissist, and there aren’t many characters who are much better than him. Hughie and Starlight are the show’s moral compass, while characters like Billy Butcher, Soldier Boy, A-Train, and more often struggle with their morality in the show’s edgy setting.