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
00:09absolute opposite direction. Not satisfied with generating a few antagonists to be bested by the
00:14gallant heroes, these programs are replete with characters who are not just flawed,
00:19but relentlessly bad, and we love them all for it. I'm Josh from WhatCulture.com,
00:24and these are 10 TV shows with no redeemable characters.
00:2810. Peepshow
00:29In life, everyone is either a Mark or a Jeremy to some degree. It's not something we'd probably like
00:36to admit, but the two fragile, selfish husks at the centre of this seminal flat-share comedy
00:40represent modern society at large, warts and all. Over nine seasons of Peepshow, we witness Mark
00:46and Jeremy subject one another to every atrocity imaginable, while still sharing the same square
00:52foot of a London high-rise. The genius of Peepshow is in slowly illustrating that these two
00:58men, on 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 superhands to the indecent
01:15proposing of Johnson, Sophie's inept stabs at motherhood, and even Big Sousa's complete
01:20disregard for anyone on a lower social strata than her.
01:23The slightly lame finale of Peepshow illustrated its ultimate thesis perfectly. Mark and Jeremy
01:29can, by this point, barely stand the sight of each other, but they're doomed to spend
01:33the rest of eternity sniping away from the discomfort of their couch. There's just no changing them.
01:39Number nine, Succession. Succession is a show about the 0.001 descent, a family of mega-rich,
01:45influential media tycoons who only care about preserving and inflating their own wealth and
01:50power. It was never going to be a show replete with heroic figures, but few could have imagined
01:55that Jesse Armstrong's pitch-black satire would reach the depths it has. At its core,
02:00patriarch Logan Roy played like a monster by Brian Cox. We, the audience, can see from the off that
02:06he's done a number on his kids, but each one of them still takes their turn in the spotlight to
02:10demonstrate the depths of their own depravity. We've got everyone from the youngest son,
02:15Roman, who seems to become worse with every taste of power he gets, while even the prodigal
02:19Kendal Roy, who looked poised for a face turn at the end of last season, is still self-serving
02:24and prone to cruelty as much as anyone else. Even the less cruel characters are utterly broken,
02:30from moronic and grasping elder son Connor to the lovable but parasitic cousin Greg. The closest
02:35Succession gets to a heroic figure is the combative anti-capitalist Ewan Roy, but even he's a bit of a
02:40jerk too. Number eight, Entourage. In theory, the characters in Entourage shouldn't be irredeemable.
02:47Indeed, the whole point of the show was to create a wishful film in telly. You know, tune in every
02:51week to watch rising Hollywood star Vinny Chase and crew traverse the highs and lows of the movie
02:56biz and the madcap characters within. And for a while, it worked. But then it became amazingly
03:02repetitive and 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, but his titular
03:13entourage comprised three of the men you'd least like to share company with. Manager Eric was whiny,
03:19hot-headed, and stupid. Driver Turtle was a greedy, barely-believable lech. And brother Johnny
03:24Drama, while played with genuine skill by Kevin Dillon, was just plain gross. And then there's Agent
03:30Ari Gold, the show's breakout character, whose dialogue is 75% racist, homophobic, and misogynistic
03:37slurs. As a result, this once aspirational show turned deeply depressing by the end.
03:42Number 7, Top Boy.
03:43The British crime drama, recently revived by Netflix and Drake, takes a far more sensitive
03:48look at drugs and gangs than most shows of its ilk. This is, for the most part, a sensitive
03:53and restrained depiction of drug pushers, customers, and the neighbourhoods it affects.
03:58To that end, there's a sensitivity afforded to its characters. These young men selling drugs
04:03and carrying guns aren't doing it just for a laugh, often it's just the life they were
04:07born into, and the only opportunity that was afforded to them. But while the depiction
04:11is thoughtful, it simultaneously refuses to shy away from the horrors it portrays. The two
04:17lead kingpins are no psychopaths by any means, but they're obliged to run their estate with
04:22an iron fist. At such, gruesome fates befall many characters, ordered by or related to our
04:27protagonists. The third season brings in young upstart Jamie, and while he's similarly motivated
04:32by the noble goal of keeping his family fed, we're under no illusions as to what one must
04:37be willing to do in order to thrive in a trade so brutal and short-lived as this.
04:42Top Boy walks a tightrope well, keeping its storytelling exciting and non-judgmental, while
04:47never shying away from the cruelty and blood that fuels this world.
04:51Number 6, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
04:54Taking its cues from another sitcom great, which we will definitely get to later, It's
04:57Always 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.
05:06To varying degrees, the custodians of Paddy's pub are deeply problematic. Each is deeply selfish
05:13to varying degrees, but some prove to be genuine menaces to society by virtue of their unpredictable
05:19triggers, Charlie, their vindictiveness, Dee, undiagnosed psychopathy, definitely Dennis, or a propensity
05:25for gunplay, Frank. And while sensitive Mac has moments of vulnerability, it has been made
05:31plenty clear that even he has no place in polite company, with his wild religious views
05:36and frightening, obsessive qualities making him a danger in spite of his more sympathetic
05:41elements.
05:42While the show, now a cultural behemoth, is nowhere near what it once was, it still has
05:46a remarkable ability to dance around difficult issues without doing so for the sheer thrill of
05:50being edgy or button pushing.
05:52You'd never want to know these characters in real life as they'd most likely ruin your
05:57life, but you'd certainly want to watch them from afar.
05:59Number 5, Barry.
06:01The characters of Barry are commendably complex creations. The show's concept, that being
06:06a reluctant hitman is looking to reinvent himself as an actor, might not initially sound like
06:11the most fresh necessarily. I mean this exact concept is, but the world of wannabe actors
06:16feels as though it's been mined dry. But still, through deeply fleshed out writing and universally
06:21terrific performances, it breathes new life into several worlds. No one, however, is a
06:26particularly good person.
06:28On one extreme, of course, you've got the likes of Barry Berkman, who is Bill Hader's
06:32protagonist. He's a scarred and traumatised ex-marine groomed to kill, and kill he certainly
06:37does without flinching. Then there's the de facto villain, Barry's handler, a man without
06:41any scruples either. More subtly irredeemable though, are the depictions of the Hollywood hopefuls.
06:47The more we learn of these actors, the deeper we get to the core of their dishonesty, and
06:51their naked ambition that trumps everything else. Henry Winkler's gene is obliquely self-serving,
06:56but even the most vulnerable and damaged characters like Sally are individuals clearly motivated
07:01by their own desires and ambitions at the expense of those around them. Barry's two seasons
07:06thus far have shown amazing ability to dig even deeper into the core of its creations,
07:10and as the show's ambitions rise, no doubt it'll only go further in the future.
07:14Number 4, The Thick of It. US spin-off Veep escapes inclusion on this list by virtue of
07:19Gary Walsh, Selina Meyers' laptop assistant whose genuine sweetness and loyalty keeps him
07:24from engaging in any of the group's more evil acts. The Thick of It though, while a little
07:29less appealing to watch now that we're actually living it in the UK, has no such innocent characters.
07:34The Westminster satire is packed with the types of backbiting, cautiously non-committal,
07:38frightfully ambitious types that fill parliaments and government buildings across the globe.
07:43From the smallest character, everyone has an agenda. The two quasi-protagonists,
07:49Hugh Abbott and Nicola Murray, are by no means evil, but they do see politics not as a noble
07:54calling, but as a means to gain status, power and of course a lucrative career.
07:59Principles are pretty much just a laughing matter in this world. The operators on the
08:03sidelines are scarier still, particularly the show's finest creation, Malcolm Tucker.
08:08Played with snarling Glaswegian fury by Peter Capaldi, Tucker is a spin doctor first and a
08:14human being second. Every moment he's scheming his way out of another pickle, his thought process
08:19punctuated by an incessant stream of swear words. He's a delightfully demonic creature,
08:24but ultimately bereft of humanity. Number three, Better Call Saul.
08:28Breaking Bad was all about the degradation of an initially mostly decent man, but while it had its
08:34fair share of complex heroes, the likes of Walt Jr., Hank and even Jesse Pinkman could hardly be said
08:39to be irredeemable. Better Call Saul, meanwhile, invests its time in an altogether nastier and more
08:45criminally inclined bunch of characters. Its self-styled moral compass, Chuck McGill, was by the end
08:51fuelled exclusively by petty jealousy. Even hitman Mike Ermentrout is a decent man willing to do
08:57incredibly bad things for his family's security. Its most fascinating character as well, Kim Wexler,
09:02has been on a downfall slide of morality ever since getting involved with Slip and Jimmy.
09:07Her ultimate fate is still dangling in question going into the final season, but we can bet it
09:12won't be one of 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.
09:27Number two, Family Guy. Blending the button-pushing adult content of South Park and the
09:32nuclear family satire of The Simpsons, Seth MacFarlane's animated sitcom overcame a rocky
09:37start to become a genuine sensation. And key to its success is its flexibility. Any one of its
09:42characters can do and be anything from episode to episode. What is consistent though is the nasty
09:48streak that runs throughout the show. MacFarlane delights in the edginess of his writing and has
09:53filled his fictional New England town with everything from pedophiles to sex offenders to violent
09:58anthropomorphized chickens and everything in between. The central family of course is no better
10:02either. Comprised of belligerent drunks, master manipulators, dangerously needy teens, an aggressively
10:08pretentious and foul-mouthed dog, and a worryingly sexual baby with designs of taking over the world
10:15and or killing his own mother. To that end, Family Guy isn't for everyone. It often lacks The Simpsons'
10:20warmth and South Park's ability to juggle storylines cohesively. But if you like your comedy-detached,
10:25freewheeling, and often downright mean, then it's the show for you. Number one, Seinfeld.
10:30While some of these shows' characters were irredeemable by virtue of their background or the
10:35writers' incompetence, only Seinfeld set out with a goal of creating a cast of terrible characters.
10:41See, Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld's mantra was always famously,
10:45no 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 the
10:55niceties of society. If for some of the most selfish characters ever created, they stick to one
11:01another like glue, having alienated the rest of New York, but are nonetheless ready to betray one
11:06another at a moment's notice should they themselves benefit from doing so. We've seen the New York 4
11:12ruin countless relationships, their own and others, for the pettiest of reasons. Cause the closure of
11:18several small businesses make enemies across town, and cause at least one death through sheer
11:23stinginess. And yet, without exception, it works. The Seinfeld crew reflect the worst in each one of
11:29us, but there's nary a viewer who can't recognize some of their own behavior in that of the crew.
11:34They can never ever change, but we wouldn't want them to. So that's our list. Once you guys think down
11:39in the comments below, are there any similar casts on telly like this? And what do you think of these
11:45shows? While you're down there as well, could you please give us a like, share, subscribe and head
11:48over to whatculture.com for more lists and news like this every single day. Even if you don't
11:52though, I've been Josh. Thanks so much for watching and I'll see you soon.