10 Most Hated Sitcom Characters 

TV sitcoms have become a small screen staple, evolving with the times to remain one of the most consistently popular genres on television. Sitcoms have been prevalent for decades, with countless settings, families, and characters all fleshing out some of the most popular releases in the genre. Many of the best TV sitcoms have earned their place in pop culture history, and have been immortalized due to their memorable natures, as well as their ability to make audiences laugh and cry. Though there have been countless sitcom characters that audiences truly love, there have also been a number that people generally hate.

Some sitcom characters are written to be inherently unlikable. Others, however, are hated for other reasons, with fan reactions to sitcom storylines occasionally having unfortunate repercussions for the characters involved. Regardless of the specific reasons, the fact remains that some sitcom characters are considered deeply unpleasant, irritating, or selfish, and that makes them some of the most hated in the history of the genre.

1) Steve Urkel (Family Matters) 

Steve Urkel is a character who managed to transcend the bounds of his show, as even people who have never seen Family Matters are likely to recognize him. Played by Jaleel White in the sitcom, Urkel started out as the Winslow family’s irritating neighbor. However, as he proved popular with fans, he went on to become the show’s protagonist. Even so, that didn’t make him any less annoying.

Urkel was written from the very beginning to be as obnoxious as possible, so it’s no wonder that he has his share of haters. His high-pitched voice, his mannerisms, and his off-putting personality all combine to make Steve Urkel a character who is all too easy to hate. As that was always the point of the character, it’s a credit to Jaleel White’s performance, but it still doesn’t make him any more likable.

2) Jian-Yang (Silicon Valley) 

As well as being an underrated TV sitcom, Silicon Valley is a show populated by unpleasant characters. However, Jian-Yang, played by Jimmy O. Yang, stands out as especially detestable. A tenant in Erlich Bachman’s innovation incubator, Jian-Yang regularly finds himself at odds with Silicon Valley‘s protagonist and his colleagues. During the show’s first season, Jian-Yang was a recurring character, but he was elevated to the main cast for seasons two through six.

What makes Jian-Yang so extremely hated is the way the character does not operate according to typical social cues or common courtesy. He holds various racist views, revels in tormenting several of the show’s characters, and, at one point, evicts them in the middle of the night. All of that, however, pales in comparison to the time Jian-Yang was shown pouring milk into a solid waste receptacle, outlining what a bizarre and unpleasant character he is.

3) Donna Pinciotti (That ‘70s Show) 

None of the main characters on That ’70s Show were saints, and they all had their foibles. While the show made most characters’ worst traits endearing in one form or another, it was unable to redeem one of its core cast members. Donna Pinciotti, played by Laura Prepon, is Eric Forman’s neighbor and love interest, and plays a major part in the show’s narrative. Unfortunately, she’s also a character that many fans find it all too easy to hate.

Donna is by far the least likeable of the show’s cast, not least due to her constant mistreatment of Eric. She is unreasonable toward her boyfriend in almost every conceivable way, proving consistently emotionally manipulative toward the well-meaning Forman. There are countless examples of Donna being extremely difficult or downright unreasonable, and they make her by far one of the show’s most hated characters due to the lack of any real redeeming qualities.

4) Ida Welker (Malcolm in the Middle) 

While Malcolm in the Middle‘s cast featured many memorably horrible characters, there is one in particular who stands out as comically detestable. Lois’ mother, Ida, appears on several occasions over the course of the show, and is always the source of considerable comedy. Played to perfection by the late Cloris Leachman, the Slavic Canadian matriarch is written to be deeply unpleasant toward everyone, especially her grandsons and her daughter, Lois.

Ida is, of course, designed to be as terrible a grandmother and mother as possible. That doesn’t make audiences hate her any less, though, whether she’s attempting to sue her own family into bankruptcy, belittling her young grandsons, or emotionally manipulating everyone around her. Ida is written to be the worst character in a family of unpleasant personalities, and her lack of any redeeming qualities, while hilarious, has led to her becoming perhaps the most hated recurring character on the show.

5) Leonard Hofstadter (The Big Bang Theory) 

Though The Big Bang Theory had many funny characters and memorable cameos, it’s actually one of the show’s main cast that stands out as an especially hated character. From the very beginning of the show, its core cast of scientists and their difficulties in establishing relationships were the focus, but over the years, it was Leonard who grew to be the most unlikable of the bunch. Where the others developed and grew to have more functional relationships, Leonard’s issues remained the same over the show’s whole run.

Throughout the show, Leonard is consistently jealous, petty, and obsessive, mostly toward his girlfriend (and later wife) Penny, but also toward his friends and other romantic interests. He regularly mistreated and disregarded Penny over The Big Bang Theory‘s run, leading many to the conclusion that he simply didn’t deserve her. Where the show’s other characters were given plausible reasons for their social difficulties, Leonard was just shown to be a self-loathing and often unkind person, and that led many fans to hate him as a character.

6) Screech Powers (Saved by the Bell) 

Saved by the Bell remains an iconic show years after it ended, with many figures from its cast living on in the fond memories of fans. One character that is still hated, though, is Screech Powers, played by Dustin Diamond. Screech is one of the few characters to have consistently appeared across the show in its many iterations, and was initially introduced as the somewhat uncool friend and lackey of Zach Morris.

From his first appearance, Screech rubbed many fans the wrong way. His social ineptitude, odd mannerisms, and persistently clumsy nature made him truly irritating to many. As Screech was used primarily as comic relief and a foil for the show’s cooler characters, he was often the butt of Saved by the Bell‘s jokes, which did nothing to help his popularity. Even the late Dustin Diamond himself had mixed feelings about the character, as he felt his portrayal of Screech held back the development of his acting career.

7) Simon Moon (Frasier) 

Though many sitcom characters deserve spin-offs, few get the opportunity for secondary success that Frasier got. The Cheers character’s spin-off show proved hugely successful, but that isn’t to say that it didn’t have its share of unpleasant characters. Simon Moon, brother of Martin Crane’s live-in physical therapist Daphne Moon, stands out as one of them. Played by Australian actor Anthony LaPaglia, the British Simon Moon is perhaps the most hated character in Frasier.

As well as consistently making unfunny jokes and playing dangerous and childish pranks on everyone around him, Simon Moon is, quite simply, a terrible person. He is rude, ungrateful, and generally boorish, and treats his family members and their friends and loved ones poorly. Additionally, his terrible British accent is painful to watch, causing many Frasier fans – particularly those based in the UK – hate him even more than they did based on his personality alone.

8) Pierce Hawthorne (Community) 

While Pierce Hawthorne featured heavily in many of the best episodes of Community, he was rarely, if ever, the best part of them. Played by Chevy Chase from the show’s pilot episode through to the fifth season of the show, Pierce was initially a member of the central study group, and a part of Community‘s main cast. Pierce was always the most disruptive and unpredictable member of the group, and was the most common source of conflict as a result.

What made Pierce so hated was a blend of the on-screen character and later reports of Chevy Chase’s off-screen behavior. Pierce himself is written as an offensive, prejudiced person with deep-seated insecurities that he deals with by manipulating others. Additionally, reports that Chevy Chase was consistently difficult to work with on set further soured many fans’ opinions on the character, whose utter lack of moral scruples was always a fine line to walk.

9) Newman (Seinfeld) 

Seinfeld was a show that seemed to pride itself on making the majority of its characters inherently unlikable. Even so, there are a select few that stand out more than most, and Jerry’s neighbor Newman ranks highly among them. Played by Wayne Knight, Newman is a neighbor and friend of Kramer who harbors a deep dislike of Jerry, and is constantly scheming against him.

Newman’s obnoxious personality was always grating, but the character’s slipperiness and total lack of respect for others sealed him as one of the show’s most hated figures. Every time he appears, he’s there to irritate, upset, or otherwise cause problems for the show’s characters, and Knight’s slapstick, bumbling performance perfectly captures what an unlikable character Newman truly is. In a show filled with unpleasant characters, Newman is by far the easiest to hate.

10) Ross Geller (Friends) 

As sitcoms go, they don’t really get more successful than Friends. Running for 10 seasons and breaking numerous records in that time, Friends‘ mark on pop culture cannot be understated. However, one of the show’s main characters was far less likeable than his costars, and in the years since the show ended attitudes toward him have changed considerably. Sadly, Ross Geller is the Friends character that many fans have grown to hate.

Over the course of the show, Ross had many Friends storylines, and very few of them made him look good. He was repeatedly selfish, jealous, obsessive, and prejudiced, and on several occasions committed acts that most would consider beyond questionable from a moral point of view. While Ross’ self-involved nature was most often played for laughs, it’s something that seems increasingly problematic looking back, and it has made him by far the sitcom’s most hated character.