No heroes, no good guys, no problem?
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00:00On a long-running television program, it stands to reason that you take the time to, you know,
00:04craft characters who the audience can latch onto. Sometimes, though, TV shows go in the absolute
00:09opposite direction. Not satisfied with generating a few antagonists to be bested by the gallant
00:14heroes, these programs are replete with characters who are not just flawed, but relentlessly bad,
00:20and we love them all for it. I'm Josh from WhatCulture.com, and these are 10 TV shows
00:26with no redeemable characters.
00:2810. Peep Show
00:30In life, everyone is either a Mark or a Jeremy to some degree. It's not something we'd probably
00:35like to admit, but the two fragile, selfish husks at the centre of this seminal flat-share comedy
00:41represent modern society at large, warts and all. Over nine seasons of Peep Show,
00:45we witness Mark and Jeremy subject one another to every atrocity imaginable,
00:50while still sharing the same square foot of the London high-rise.
00:54The genius of Peep Show is in slowly illustrating that these two men,
00:58on the surface so different, are actually burdened by the exact same flaws. You know,
01:04things like non-existent self-esteem, overthinking, stubbornness and an eroding sense of morality.
01:10The supporting characters are no better either, from the criminality of Super Hands to the
01:14indecent proposing of Johnson, Sophie's inept stabs at motherhood and even Big Suze's complete
01:20disregard for anyone on a lower social strata than her. The slightly lame finale of Peep Show
01:26illustrated its ultimate thesis perfectly. Mark and Jeremy can by this point barely stand the
01:31sight of each other, but they're doomed to spend the rest of eternity sniping away from
01:35the discomfort of their couch. There's just no changing them.
01:399. Succession
01:40Succession is a show about the 0.001%, a family of mega-rich, influential media tycoons who only
01:47care about preserving and inflating their own wealth and power. It was never going to be a show
01:52replete with heroic figures, but few could have imagined that Jesse Armstrong's pitch-black satire
01:57would reach the depths it has. At its core is patriarch Logan Roy, played like a monster by
02:02Brian Cox. We, the audience, can see from the off that he's done a number on his kits, but each one
02:08of them still takes their turn in the spotlight to demonstrate the depths of their own depravity.
02:13We've got everyone from the younger son Roman, who seems to become worse with every taste of power
02:18he gets, while even the prodigal Kendall Roy, who looked poised for a face turn at the end of last
02:22season, is still self-serving and prone to cruelty as much as anyone else. Even the less cruel
02:28characters are utterly broken, from moronic and grasping eldest son Connor to the lovable but
02:33parasitic cousin Greg. The closest Succession gets to a heroic figure is the combative
02:38anti-capitalist Ewan Roy, but even he's a bit of a jerk too.
02:42Entourage
02:43In theory, the characters in Entourage shouldn't be irredeemable. Indeed, the whole point of the
02:48show was to create a wish-fulfillment telly. You know, tune in every week to watch rising
02:52Hollywood star Vinnie Chase and crew traverse the highs and lows of the movie biz and the
02:57madcap characters within. And for a while, it worked. But then it became amazingly repetitive
03:02and downright grim watching these four idiots get everything they wanted week after week,
03:08with no peril, no drama, no consequence or no growth. Vincent was a bland lead,
03:13but his titular Entourage comprised three of the men you'd least like to share company with.
03:17Manager Eric was whiny, hot-headed and stupid, Driver Turtle was a greedy, barely believable
03:23lech, and brother Johnny Drama, while played with genuine skill by Kevin Dillon, was just plain
03:28gross. And then there's Agent Ari Gold, the show's breakout character whose dialogue is 75% racist,
03:35homophobic and misogynistic slurs. As a result, this once-aspirational show turned
03:40deeply depressing by the end. The British crime drama recently
03:45revived by Netflix and Drake takes a far more sensitive look at drugs and gangs than most
03:50shows of its ilk. This is, for the most part, a sensitive and restrained depiction of drug
03:55pushers, customers and the neighbourhoods it affects. To that end, there's a sensitivity
04:00afforded to its characters. These young men selling drugs and carrying guns aren't doing
04:04it just for a laugh, often it's just the life they were born into, and the only opportunity
04:09that was afforded to them. But while the depiction is thoughtful, it simultaneously
04:13refuses to shy away from the horrors it portrays. The two lead kingpins are no psychopaths by any
04:19means, but they're obliged to run their estate with an iron fist. And such gruesome fates
04:24befall many characters, ordered by or related to our protagonists. The third season brings
04:29in young upstart Jamie, and while he's similarly motivated by the noble goal of keeping his family
04:34fed, we're under no illusions as to what one must be willing to do in order to thrive in a trade
04:39so brutal and short-lived as this. Top Boy walks a tightrope well, keeping its storytelling exciting
04:46and non-judgmental, while never shying away from the cruelty and blood that fuels this world.
04:52It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
04:53Taking its cues from another sitcom great, which we will definitely get to later,
04:57It's Always Sunny manages to keep us invested in a gang of absolute villains week upon week,
05:02by ensuring that the joke is, for the most part, firmly on our main characters.
05:07To varying degrees, the custodians of Paddy's pub are deeply problematic.
05:11Each is deeply selfish to varying degrees, but some prove to be genuine menaces to society
05:17by virtue of their unpredictable triggers, Charlie, their vindictiveness, Dee, undiagnosed
05:22psychopathy, definitely Dennis, or a propensity for gunplay, Frank. And while sensitive Mac has
05:29moments of vulnerability, it has been made plenty clear that even he has no place in polite company,
05:34with his wild religious views and frightening obsessive qualities making him a danger in spite
05:39of his more sympathetic elements. While the show, now a cultural behemoth, is nowhere near what it
05:44once was, it still has a remarkable ability to dance around difficult issues without doing so
05:49for the sheer thrill of being edgy or button-pushing. You'd never want to know these
05:54characters in real life as they'd most likely ruin your life, but you'd certainly want to
05:58watch them from afar.
05:595. Barry
06:01The characters of Barry are commendably complex creations. The show's concept,
06:05that being a reluctant hitman is looking to reinvent himself as an actor, might not initially
06:10sound like the most fresh necessarily. I mean, this exact concept is, but the world of wannabe
06:15actors feels as though it's been mined dry. But still, through deeply fleshed out writing and
06:20universally terrific performances, it breathes new life into several worlds. No one, however,
06:26is a particularly good person. On one extreme, of course, you've got the likes of Barry Berkman,
06:31who is Bill Hader's protagonist. He's a scarred and traumatised ex-marine groomed to kill,
06:35and kill he certainly does without flinching. Then there's the de facto villain, Barry's handler,
06:40a man without any scruples either. More subtly irredeemable though are the depictions of the
06:45Hollywood hopefuls. The more we learn of these actors, the deeper we get to the core of their
06:50dishonesty and their naked ambition that trumps everything else. Henry Winkler's Jean is obliquely
06:55self-serving, but even the most vulnerable and damaged characters like Sally are individuals
07:00clearly motivated by their own desires and ambitions at the expense of those around them.
07:05Barry's two seasons thus far have shown amazing ability to dig even deeper into the core of its
07:10creations, and as the show's ambitions rise, no doubt it'll only go further in the future.
07:16US spin-off Veep escapes inclusion on this list by virtue of Gary Walsh,
07:20Selina Myers' laptop assistant whose genuine sweetness and loyalty keeps him from engaging
07:25in any of the group's more evil acts. The thick of it though, while a little less appealing to
07:29watch now that we're actually living it in the UK, has no such innocent characters. The Westminster
07:35satire is packed with the types of backbiting, cautiously non-committal, frightfully ambitious
07:39types that fill parliaments and government buildings across the globe. From the smallest
07:45everyone has an agenda. The two quasi-protagonists, Hugh Abbott and Nicola Murray,
07:50are by no means evil, but they do see politics not as a noble calling, but as a means to gain
07:56status, power and of course, a lucrative career. Principles are pretty much just a laughing matter
08:01in this world. The operators on the sidelines are scarier still, particularly the show's finest
08:06creation, Malcolm Tucker. Played with snarling Glaswegian fury by Peter Capaldi, Tucker is a
08:12spin-doctor first and a human being second. Every moment he's scheming his way out of another pickle,
08:18his thought process punctuated by an incessant stream of swear words. He's a delightfully
08:24demonic creature, but ultimately bereft of humanity. Breaking Bad was all about the
08:30degradation of an initially mostly decent man, but while it had its fair share of complex heroes,
08:35the likes of Walt Junior, Hank and even Jesse Pinkman could hardly be said to be irredeemable.
08:41Better Call Saul, meanwhile, invests its time in an altogether nastier and more criminally inclined
08:46bunch of characters. Its self-styled moral compass, Chuck McGill, was by the end fuelled exclusively
08:52by petty jealousy. Even hitman Mike Ermantrout is a decent man willing to do incredibly bad things
08:58for his family's security. Its most fascinating character as well, Kim Wexler, has been on a
09:03downforce slide of morality ever since getting involved with Slippin' Jimmy. Her ultimate fate
09:08is still dangling in question going into the final season, but we can bet it won't be one
09:12of sunshine and rainbows. And then, of course, there's Jimmy himself. It being a prequel,
09:18we know he's going to survive, but viewers of Breaking Bad will have seen the slippery lawyer
09:22behaving even worse in years to come. This one is a morality tale without a hero.
09:29Blending the button-pushing adult content of South Park and the nuclear family satire of
09:33The Simpsons, Seth MacFarlane's animated sitcom overcame a rocky start to become a genuine
09:38sensation, and key to its success is its flexibility. Any one of its characters can
09:43do and be anything from episode to episode. What is consistent though is the nasty streak
09:48that runs throughout the show. MacFarlane delights in the edginess of his writing,
09:52and has filled his fictional New England town with everything from paedophiles to sex offenders to
09:57violent anthropomorphised chickens and everything in between. The central family, of course, is no
10:02better either, comprised of belligerent drunks, master manipulators, dangerously needy teens,
10:08an aggressively pretentious and foul-mouthed dog, and a worryingly sexual baby with designs
10:13of taking over the world, and or killing his own mother. To that end, Family Guy isn't for
10:18everyone. It often lacks The Simpsons' warmth and South Park's ability to juggle storylines
10:23cohesively, but if you like your comedy detached, freewheeling, and often downright mean,
10:28then it's the show for you.
10:29Number 1. Seinfeld
10:30While some of these show's characters were irredeemable by virtue of their background or
10:34the writers' incompetence, only Seinfeld set out with a goal of creating a cast of terrible
10:40characters. See, Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld's mantra was always famously,
10:44no hugging, no learning, and over nine seasons they stuck to this vibe resolutely. So, Jerry,
10:50George, Kramer and Elaine are by no means evil, but what they are is completely untouched by
10:55the niceties of society. If for some of the most selfish characters ever created, they stick to
11:01one another like glue, having alienated the rest of New York, but are nonetheless ready to betray
11:06one another at a moment's notice should they themselves benefit from doing so. We've seen
11:11the New York Four ruin countless relationships, their own and others', for the pettiest of reasons,
11:16cause the closure of several small businesses, make enemies across town, and cause at least
11:21one death through sheer stinginess. And yet, without exception, it works. The Seinfeld crew
11:27reflect the worst in each one of us, but there's nary a viewer who can't recognise some of their
11:32own behaviour in that of the crew. They can never ever change, but we wouldn't want them to.
11:38So that's our list, what do you guys think down in the comments below? Are there any similar
11:41casts on telly like this? And what do you think of these shows? While you're down there as well,
11:46could you please give us a like, share, subscribe, and head over to wotculture.com
11:49for more lists and news like this every single day. Even if you don't though,
11:52I've been Josh, thanks so much for watching, and I'll see you soon.