I love me some good TV — from sci-fi, to comedies, to everything in between, I have almost no restrictions. Except for fantasy…sorry folks.
I can fall head over heels for a show, but I will always stay true to my judgement of character. Some of my favourite series have main characters that I absolutely cannot stand — whether it’s for their messy choices or just being straight-up annoying (sorry not sorry).
So after much consideration, here are my picks for the cringiest main characters ever. Consider yourself warned: I did NOT hold back:
1.
Belly Conklin from The Summer I Turned Pretty has not one, but two guys pining after her (and in Season 1, even three — I miss you Cam Cameron). Sure, I’d act a little chaotic too if I had that many people into me in high school, but she takes it to a whole other level. She made her ex-boyfriend’s mom’s funeral all about herself and began dating his brother only about two months later. Plus, he found out by catching them making out on the hood of his car. This show should just be the villain origin story of Conrad at this point.
2.
The only person more cringe than Belly from The Summer I Turned Pretty is Jeremiah Fisher. This boy made everything about himself and only wanted Belly because his brother had her first. His “how come nobody ever wants to play with me?” scene will haunt me forever. Not to mention, he cheated on Belly — then proposed a day later. AND SHE SAID YES.
3.
Ross Geller from Friends can be loveable if you don’t think too hard about it. But when I do? I get furious. Ross was NOT a good partner. He cheated on Rachel, said the wrong name at his wedding, barely looked after his child, and had major anger issues. We know it’s all in the name of comedy, but let’s be real, this man needed therapy so BADLY.
4.
Ezra Fitz from Pretty Little Liars was a predator. Sure, he didn’t know Aria was underage when they first met at a bar, but the fact that he continued to pursue the relationship after he found out? That was all I needed to know. He was a creep. Point, blank, period.
5.
Don’t even get me started on Will Schuester from Glee. He was the MOST cringe teacher ever and was also kind of creepy. He allowed his teenage students to perform several wildly inappropriate songs — “Push It” in front of the whole school?? Sir, please turn yourself in to HR.
6.
We can’t mention Will Schuester without mentioning Rachel Berry from Glee. She’s the queen of cringe. She wanted everything and expected everyone else to sit under her throne. She was a terrible person — but as Kurt Hummel said, “She may be difficult, but boy can she sing.”
7.
Andrea Harrison from The Walking Dead was annoying from the very start. She constantly made reckless decisions, refused to listen to people who knew best, and trusted the absolute worst people — the Governor? Really Andrea? She thought she was the leader of the pack, but she really just brought everyone down with her.
8.
Debbie Gallagher from Shameless was seriously a weirdo. She essentially assaulted her baby daddy, was obsessed with having a child as a literal teenager, and acted like the rules didn’t apply to her. While we’re at it, she deserves jail time too.
9.
Marnie Michaels from Girls was equal parts self-absorbed and tone-deaf. She somehow managed to make everything about herself — whether it was stealing the spotlight in the absolute worst way, or embarrassingly belting a very awkward pop cover of Kanye West’s “Stronger” to get her ex’s attention.
10.
Okay, maybe the whole Girls cast should be on this list — but I’ll cap it at Jessa Johansson. She thought she was the cool girl but was actually just a bad friend, a bad partner, and an expert in using people. She dated her best friend’s ex, constantly cheated, and left chaos wherever she went. The other characters in Girls kind of suck too, but she’s definitely the worst.
11.
Ted Mosby from How I Met Your Mother was just deeply annoying TBH. Ted was the kind of guy who thought his love story was a cinematic masterpiece when it actually could’ve been an email. He’s definitely not the worst on this list, but he was cringe and SO irritating.
12.
Rory Gilmore from Gilmore Girls started out as a smart, sweet teenager…and then became a selfish cheater who dangled Dean around until she could have Jess. She quit school, then acted like she had nothing, and ALWAYS ignored her privilege.
13.
Jenny Humphrey from Gossip Girl reeked of privilege, but still acted like she had absolutely nothing. Her line — “You might be privileged…but you work for every single thing you’ve achieved. Like me.” — will ring in my head forever. It’s not like she lived in a loft in Brooklyn and her dad was a retired rock star…You’ll be fine, sweetie.
Do you agree with my takes? Drop your most hated main characters in the comments. I want to rant with you all…
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