10 TV Shows With No Redeemable Characters
No heroes, no good guys, no problem?
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00:00 On a long-running television program, it stands to reason that you take the time to, you know,
00:04 craft characters who the audience can latch onto. Sometimes, though, TV shows go in the absolute
00:09 opposite direction. Not satisfied with generating a few antagonists to be bested by the gallant
00:14 heroes, these programs are replete with characters who are not just flawed, but relentlessly bad,
00:20 and we love them all for it. I'm Josh from WhatCulture.com, and these are 10 TV shows
00:26 with no redeemable characters. Number 10, Peep Show. In life, everyone is either a Mark or a
00:32 Jeremy to some degree. It's not something we'd probably like to admit, but the two fragile,
00:37 selfish husks at the centre of this seminal flat-share comedy represent modern society at
00:42 large, warts and all. Over nine seasons of Peep Show, we witness Mark and Jeremy subject one
00:47 another to every atrocity imaginable, while still sharing the same square foot of a London high-rise.
00:54 The genius of Peep Show is in slowly illustrating that these two men, on the surface so different,
01:00 are actually burdened by the exact same flaws. You know, things like non-existent self-esteem,
01:06 overthinking, stubbornness and an eroding sense of morality. The supporting characters are no
01:12 better either, from the criminality of Super Hands to the indecent proposing of Johnson,
01:16 Sophie's inept stabs at motherhood and even Big Suze's complete disregard for anyone on a lower
01:22 social strata than her. The slightly lame finale of Peep Show illustrated its ultimate thesis
01:28 perfectly. Mark and Jeremy can, by this point, barely stand the sight of each other, but they're
01:32 doomed to spend the rest of eternity sniping away from the discomfort of their couch. There's just
01:38 no changing them.
01:39 Number 9 - Succession
01:40 Succession is a show about the 0.001%, a family of mega-rich influential media tycoons who only
01:47 care about preserving and inflating their own wealth and power. It was never going to be a show
01:52 replete with heroic figures, but few could have imagined that Jesse Armstrong's pitch black satire
01:57 would reach the depths it has. At its core is patriarch Logan Roy, played like a monster by
02:02 Brian Cox. We, the audience, can see from the off that he's done a number on his kits, but each one
02:08 of them still takes their turn in the spotlight to demonstrate the depths of their own depravity.
02:13 We've got everyone from the younger son Roman who seems to become worse with every taste of power
02:18 he gets, while even the prodigal Kendall Roy, who looked poised for a face turn at the end of last
02:22 season, is still self-serving and prone to cruelty as much as anyone else. Even the less cruel
02:28 characters are utterly broken, from moronic and grasping eldest son Connor to the lovable but
02:33 parasitic cousin Greg. The closest Succession gets to a heroic figure is the combative
02:38 anti-capitalist Ewan Roy, but even he's a bit of a jerk too. Number 8 - Entourage
02:43 In theory, the characters in Entourage shouldn't be irredeemable. Indeed, the whole point of the
02:48 show was to create a wish-fulfillment telly. You know, tune in every week to watch rising
02:52 Hollywood star Vinny Chasen crew traverse the highs and lows of the movie biz and the madcap
02:57 characters within. And for a while, it worked. But then it became amazingly repetitive and
03:03 downright grim watching these four idiots get everything they wanted week after week with no
03:08 peril, no drama, no consequence or no growth. Vincent was a bland lead, but his titular Entourage
03:14 comprised three of the men you'd least like to share company with. Manager Eric was whiny,
03:19 hot-headed and stupid, Driver Turtle was a greedy, barely-believable lech, and brother Johnny Drama,
03:25 while played with genuine skill by Kevin Dillon, was just plain gross. And then there's Agent
03:30 Ari Gold, the show's breakout character, whose dialogue is 75% racist, homophobic and misogynistic
03:37 slurs. As a result, this once-aspirational show turned deeply depressing by the end.
03:42 Number 7 - Top Boy The British crime drama, recently
03:45 revived by Netflix and Drake, takes a far more sensitive look at drugs and gangs than most shows
03:50 of its ilk. This is, for the most part, a sensitive and restrained depiction of drug pushers,
03:56 customers and the neighbourhoods it affects. To that end, there's a sensitivity afforded to its
04:00 characters. These young men selling drugs and carrying guns aren't doing it just for a laugh,
04:06 often it's just the life they were born into, and the only opportunity that was afforded to them.
04:10 But while the depiction is thoughtful, it simultaneously refuses to shy away from the
04:15 horrors it portrays. The two lead kingpins are no psychopaths by any means, but they're obliged to
04:21 run their estate with an iron fist, and such gruesome fates befall many characters, ordered
04:25 by or related to our protagonists. The third season brings in young upstart Jamie, and while
04:31 he's similarly motivated by the noble goal of keeping his family fed, we're under no illusions
04:36 as to what one must be willing to do in order to thrive in a trade so brutal and short-lived as
04:41 this. Top Boy walks a tightrope well, keeping its storytelling exciting and non-judgemental,
04:47 while never shying away from the cruelty and blood that fuels this world.
04:51 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
04:53 Taking its cues from another sitcom great, which we will definitely get to later,
04:57 It's Always Sunny manages to keep us invested in a gang of absolute villains week upon week,
05:02 by ensuring that the joke is, for the most part, firmly on our main characters.
05:07 To varying degrees, the custodians of Paddy's Pub are deeply problematic. Each is deeply selfish to
05:13 varying degrees, but some prove to be genuine menaces to society by virtue of their unpredictable
05:19 triggers, Charlie, their vindictiveness, Dee, undiagnosed psychopathy, definitely Dennis,
05:24 or a propensity for gunplay, Frank. And while sensitive Mac has moments of vulnerability,
05:30 it has been made plenty clear that even he has no place in polite company, with his wild religious
05:36 views and frightening obsessive qualities making him a danger in spite of his more sympathetic
05:41 elements. While the show, now a cultural behemoth, is nowhere near what it once was,
05:45 it still has a remarkable ability to dance around difficult issues without doing so for the sheer
05:50 thrill of being edgy or button-pushing. You'd never want to know these characters in real life
05:55 as they'd most likely ruin your life, but you'd certainly want to watch them from afar.
05:59 Barry
06:01 The characters of Barry are commendably complex creations. The show's concept that being a
06:06 reluctant hitman is looking to reinvent himself as an actor might not initially sound like the
06:11 most fresh necessarily. I mean, this exact concept is, but the world of wannabe actors feels as though
06:16 it's been mined dry. But still, through deeply fleshed out writing and universally terrific
06:21 performances, it breathes new life into several worlds. No one, however, is a particularly good
06:27 person. On one extreme, of course, you've got the likes of Barry Berkman, who is Bill Hader's
06:32 protagonist. He's a scarred and traumatized ex-marine groomed to kill, and kill he certainly
06:37 does without flinching. Then there's the de facto villain, Barry's handler, a man without any
06:42 scruples either. More subtly irredeemable though are the depictions of the Hollywood hopefuls.
06:47 The more we learn of these actors, the deeper we get to the core of their dishonesty and their
06:51 naked ambition that trumps everything else. Henry Winkler's Gene is obliquely self-serving,
06:56 but even the most vulnerable and damaged characters like Sally are individuals clearly
07:00 motivated by their own desires and ambitions at the expense of those around them. Barry's two
07:06 seasons thus far have shown amazing ability to dig even deeper into the core of its creations,
07:10 and as the show's ambitions rise, no doubt it'll only go further in the future.
07:14 US spin-off Veep escapes inclusion on this list by virtue of Gary Walsh,
07:20 Selina Myers' laptop assistant, whose genuine sweetness and loyalty keeps him from engaging
07:25 in any of the group's more evil acts. The thick of it though, while a little less appealing to
07:29 watch now that we're actually living it in the UK, has no such innocent characters. The Westminster
07:35 satire is packed with the types of backbiting, cautiously non-committal, frightfully ambitious
07:39 types that fill parliaments and government buildings across the globe. From the smallest
07:44 character, everyone has an agenda. The two quasi-protagonists, Hugh Abbott and Nicola Murray,
07:50 are by no means evil, but they do see politics not as a noble calling, but as a means to gain
07:56 status, power and of course a lucrative career. Principles are pretty much just a laughing matter
08:01 in this world. The operators on the sidelines are scarier still, particularly the show's finest
08:06 creation, Malcolm Tucker. Played with snarling, Glaswegian fury by Peter Capaldi, Tucker is a
08:12 spin-doctor first and a human being second. Every moment he's scheming his way out of another pickle,
08:18 his thought process punctuated by an incessant stream of swear words. He's a delightfully demonic
08:24 creature, but ultimately bereft of humanity.
08:27 Number 3 - Better Call Saul
08:28 Breaking Bad was all about the degradation of an initially mostly decent man, but while it had
08:34 its fair share of complex heroes, the likes of Walt Jr, Hank and even Jesse Pinkman could hardly
08:39 be said to be irredeemable. Better Call Saul, meanwhile, invests its time in an altogether
08:44 nastier and more criminally inclined bunch of characters. Its self-styled moral compass,
08:49 Chuck McGill, was by the end fuelled exclusively by petty jealousy. Even hitman Mike Ermentraut is
08:55 a decent man willing to do incredibly bad things for his family's security.
09:00 Its most fascinating character as well, Kim Wexler, has been on a downfall slide of morality
09:04 ever since getting involved with Slippin' Jimmy. Her ultimate fate is still dangling in question
09:09 going into the final season, but we can bet it won't be one of sunshine and rainbows.
09:14 And then of course, there's Jimmy himself. It being a prequel, we know he's going to survive,
09:19 but viewers of Breaking Bad will have seen the slippery lawyer behaving even worse
09:23 in years to come. This one is a morality tale without a hero.
09:27 Number 2 - Family Guy
09:29 Blending the button-pushing adult content of South Park and the nuclear family satire of The
09:33 Simpsons, Seth MacFarlane's animated sitcom overcame a rocky start to become a genuine
09:38 sensation. And key to its success is its flexibility. Any one of its characters can
09:43 do and be anything from episode to episode. What is consistent though is the nasty streak
09:48 that runs throughout the show. MacFarlane delights in the edginess of his writing,
09:52 and has filled his fictional New England town with everything from pedophiles to sex offenders to
09:57 violent anthropomorphised chickens and everything in between. The central family of course is no
10:02 better either. Comprised of belligerent drunks, master manipulators, dangerously needy teens,
10:08 an aggressively pretentious and foul-mouthed dog, and a worryingly sexual baby with designs
10:13 of taking over the world and/or killing his own mother. To that end, Family Guy isn't for
10:18 everyone. It often lacks The Simpsons' warmth and South Park's ability to juggle storylines
10:23 cohesively, but if you like your comedy detached, freewheeling and often downright mean, then it's
10:28 the show for you. Number 1 - Seinfeld
10:30 While some of these show's characters were irredeemable by virtue of their background or
10:34 the writers' incompetence, only Seinfeld set out with a goal of creating a cast of terrible
10:40 characters. See, Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld's mantra was always famously "No hugging,
10:45 no learning" and over 9 seasons they stuck to this vibe resolutely. So, Jerry, George,
10:51 Kramer and Elaine are by no means evil, but what they are is completely untouched by the niceties
10:56 of society. If for some of the most selfish characters ever created, they stick to one
11:01 another like glue, having alienated the rest of New York, but are nonetheless ready to betray
11:06 one another at a moment's notice should they themselves benefit from doing so.
11:10 We've seen the New York Four ruin countless relationships, their own and others', for the
11:15 pettiest of reasons. Cause the closure of several small businesses, make enemies across town and
11:21 cause at least one death through sheer stinginess. And yet, without exception, it works. The Seinfeld
11:27 crew reflect the worst in each one of us, but there's nary a viewer who can't recognise some
11:32 of their own behaviour in that of the crew. They can never ever change, but we wouldn't want them
11:37 to. So that's our list, what do you guys think down in the comments below? Are there any similar
11:41 casts on telly like this? And what do you think of these shows? While you're down there as well,
11:46 could you please give us a like, share, subscribe and head over to wotculture.com for more lists
11:50 and news like this every single day. Even if you don't though, I've been Josh, thanks so much for
11:54 watching and I'll see you soon.
11:55 [BLANK_AUDIO]