15 TV Shows Where The Main Character Is The Worst Part

Girls’ Hannah Horvath is deliberately written to be self-indulgent, rude, and selfish. She grates on pretty much everyone and doesn’t care at all. Even though she constantly compares herself to other people, she openly admits to loving herself above all else.

When she starts working at the coffee shop, she acts as if serving people is beneath her. When her dad comes out as gay, she makes it about her rather than supporting him. In fact, she doesn’t appreciate her parents at all. Hannah is over-dramatic about everything, and not in an empathetic way but in a “the world doesn’t understand me" kind of way. No, Hannah, you are not the voice of a generation, but you are one of the worst main characters to ever grace the small screen. 

Is it called Dawson’s Creek because of the stream of tears running down the face of one Dawson Leery? The main character of this show is always crying! All Dawson seems to do is complain. Sure, this sort of thing was popular in teen dramas of the early 2000s, but it hasn’t aged well.

The best example of this is at the end of Season 1 when Dawson guilt-trips Joey for wanting to spend the summer away from him in France. Why can’t she go see the world, Dawson? Don’t have enough tissues?

We’re meant to side with Dawson often, but we don’t. Being sensitive doesn't make you morally superior. 

Piper Chapman is an entry point. Orange Is the New Black uses her and her “fish out of water” vibe to introduce us to Litchfield Penitentiary and its wide variety of interesting characters. That said, once she’s sentenced, the show grows beyond her almost immediately.

Every other inmate seems to have actual issues to deal with - like racism, oppression, and pregnancy - whereas Piper’s only problem is her privilege. All she worries about are her circumstances. From her desire to be in charge to manipulating Alex’s emotions, Piper doesn’t seem to care about others. She’s not an antihero or a villain per se, just an annoying and whiny rich girl.

Ultimately, the show kept going thanks to its ensemble, not Piper’s pop-star mentality. 

Sex and the City follows sex columnist Carrie Bradshaw and her friends’ dating lives in Manhattan. At first, Carrie appears to be the type of independent woman most audiences can get on board with. Unfortunately, she begins to become the opposite of that as Sex and the City goes on.

The show wants to promote a lack of judgment and a free-spirited mentality, but Carrie judges her friends (e.g., slut-shaming Samantha) and believes herself to be above others. Think of all her affairs with Mr. Big and the way she treats her boyfriends deplorably. Calling that behavior "insufferable" is an understatement. 

When How I Met Your Mother began, audiences were on board with Ted Mosby's quest to meet the future mother of his children - that is, until his charming quest turned into a repetitive and melodramatic series of one-night stands and unrealistic expectations, which were derailed time and time again by his obsession with Robin.

Ted's narcissistic antics take time away from the plot lines involving the more well-rounded members of the group; Marshal and Lily embody true relationship goals while the story of Barney and Robin is better than the one about a girl with a yellow umbrella. And why is the all-around insufferable Mr. Mosby Robin’s backup plan anyway? As proven by Ted’s nine years of shag stories (not suitable for children), there are plenty of other fish in the sea. 

When Gilmore Girls begins, Rory is an astute student and admirable friend. As the series progresses, not so much. Near the show's end (and in the revival, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life), Rory comes off as self-obsessed and frustrating. She has affairs and doesn’t seem to care about the consequences - treating Paul like a carry-on bag she forgot at the airport.

By the end, you're left to wonder if Rory even deserves someone like Jess Mariano. Her only redeeming quality is that she's surrounded by great characters like Lorelai, Luke, and Richard - though they're partly to blame for her bad behavior because they continue to enable her.