17. Dr. Gregory House - House House was Sherlock Holmes after Doyle (but before Cumberbatch). A brilliant man with a lot of flaws and a utilitarian knack for still saving the day. It just takes a lot of tennis ball bouncing. And Vicodin. Josh St. Clair Stream House Here Fox
16. Eve/Villanelle - Killing Eve Let's give a shout out to both Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer for bringing these incredible characters to life for the two seasons that Killing Eve has been on air (with a third on the way soon). In the hands of lesser performers, Comer's Villanelle could have been a straight-up villain, but she gets played with such a gregarious energy that we somehow take joy with every complex assassination she manages to pull off. Eve is a trickier story; while she starts as a mostly-by-the-books procedural underling, her obsession with tracking and finding Villanelle eventually gives her good reason to land on this list. Is it even possible to not root for a Sandra Oh character? Probably not. Evan Romano Stream Killing Eve Here BBC
15. Frank Underwood - House of Cards If Tony Soprano was TVs first real antihero, than Frank was streamings first. With Shakespearean fourth-wall breaking and a bit of theatrical killing, Netflix (and David Fincher) gave us the perfect figure of the post-Bush political age in this show's early years. Of course, thats just about where actor Kevins Spacey heroism ends. Josh St. Clair Stream House of Cards Here Netflix
14. Kenny Powers - Eastbound and Down A raging narcissist who can't keep his foot out of his mouth, Danny McBride 's Eastbound and Down character is perhaps the best match of character, humor, and performer. Sure, Kenny Powers is a piece of garbagehe seems modeled off real-life piece of garbage and former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Rocker but there's a tiny ounce of humanity in him that's hard to resist. While McBride would be the first to admit that he's got far from the biggest acting range, he always does a good job bringing depth to his characters who feel like assholes on the surface. And they usually are assholes! But he makes them our asshole. And that's something. If you like Eastbound and Down, McBride also plays similar characters in his other HBO series, the similarly excellent Vice Principals and The Righteous Gemstones. Evan Romano Stream Eastbound and Down Here HBO
13. Dexter - Dexter If you had to center a show around a deplorable, why not make it the most deplorable of deplorables: someone who takes joy in killing (and has killed) hundreds of people? Except Dexter only kills bad guys. And he has a son who hepsychopath though he is does kinda love? And he rocks that Henley. Goddamnit, is Dexter actually just the hero Miami needs? Josh St. Clair Stream Dexter Here Showtime
12. Stringer/Bubbles/Omar - The Wire As well as The Sopranos managed to humanize Tony, the series criminal never felt, well, not criminal. (Theres only so much violence you can show, really.) The Wire, by comparison, offered a different sort of criminal, one that felt much more helpless and trapped and, well, real. This entry really belongs to the entire cast of characters, as creator David Simon somehow managed to make thin all boundaries between cop and dealer and any old American just trying to get by. Josh St. Clair Stream The Wire Here HBO
11. Nancy Botwin - Weeds What can I say about Nancy Botwin? When she's first introduced in Weeds, her intentions seem somewhat pure: selling weed to make sure her family is safe and can enjoy their comfy lifestyle in California. But as the show goes on, her original mission blurs into one that's almost parasitic. She forgets that her family has thoughts and feelings, and instead drags them along with her schemes and runaway tirade. Its only by the end of the series that you realize that although Nancy was flawed, she did the best she could with the cards that were dealt. Adrianna Freedman Stream Weeds Here Michael Desmond
10. Zuko - Avatar: The Last Airbender Avatar: The Last Airbender isnt just the best kids show of the 2000s; its maybe one of the best shows period. A perfectly plotted three seasons with some of the most complex and genuine characters in animation or live action, the show did what so few in the Game of Thrones age cant: build an original world and tell a great story. Its also maybe the first time in animated childrens television that an entire episode focuses exclusively on the antagonist: Prince Zuko. Maybe the best character arc of all time. Josh St. Clair Nickelodeon
9. Jack Bauer - 24 If you can ignore the War on Terror politics of a show that (erroneously) demonstrates the effectiveness of torture, if you can get over the fact that 24 hours includes so many shootouts and bomb threats and so little pee breaks, then maybe you can consider 24 pretty great. Kiefer Sutherlands protagonista torturing, bomb-threat-diffusing, iron-bladder-wielding counter-terrorism agentis maybe THE anti-hero of the Bush era. A relic of a different time, perhaps. But still great. Josh St. Clair Stream 24 Here Fox
8. Marty Byrde - Ozark In a way, Jason Bateman's Marty Byrde is the spiritual successor to Breaking Bad's Walter White (don't worry, you'll be hearing more about him in a bit). It might seem hard to remember, but just how Bateman is primarily known for his role in hit comedies like Arrested Development and Horrible Bosses, Cranston was previously best known for playing the dad in Malcolm in the Middle. Yeahwhat a difference a decade can make, huh? The difference in the characters here, though, is that where Walt takes a few seasons to truly become a monster, Marty is a money-laundering, family-endangering scumbag right from the beginning. Why do we keep rooting for him? Maybe it's because every other character in the show is equally corrupt? Then again, there's gotta be something about that Bateman charm . Evan Romano Stream Ozark Here Netflix
7. Vic Mackey - The Shield Was it the moment he burned a perps face on an iron stove? Yeah, it was the moment he burned a perps face on an iron stove. Was that the first episode? Yes it was. Is Mackey a violent, autism-phobic piece of shit? Yes he is. Do we still want him to avoid prison? Somehow, unbelievably, yes. Josh St. Clair Stream The Shield Here FX
6. Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman - Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul Whether you refer to him as Jimmy McGill or Saul Goodman, fans love this crooked lawyer in a way that almost makes you forget all the illegal things he's done.But while the happy-go-lucky Jimmy/Saul (mostly) tried to do the right thing on Breaking Bad, the prequel series Better Call Saul has showed that while he mostly has the right intentions, Jimmy/Saul's actions have also resulted in very real and tragic consequencesback when he was still known as just Jimmy, he embezzled $14,000 from his family's store, which leading to his father declaring bankruptcy. And while Jimmy/Saul's brother Chuck is nowhere near blameless, their intense rivalry indirectly led to Chuck's death, and Jimmy/Saul's relationship with love interest Kim has also led her to make some bad decisions. Kim is never even mentioned in Breaking Bad, leading some fans (and me) to believe that Jimmy/Saul's actions may have led to a tragic end for the sensible Kim. Temi Adebowale Stream Better Call Saul Here AMC
5. Larry David - Curb Your Enthusiasm Curb Your Enthusiasms cynicism somehow makes Seinfeld look like wholesome family television. Playing himself (kind of, maybe, who knows) Larry David says and does everything weve ever wanted to say or do but were too scared of being called an asshole. Well, Larrys our asshole. And if rooting for an asshole isnt some antihero magic, well, maybe youre the schmuck. Josh St. Clair Stream Curb Your Enthusiasm Here HBO
4. Don Draper - Mad Men Mad Men's Don Draper is the very definition of antihero, and I'd go so far as to say he's one of the most selfish, narcissistic, and cynical characters we've ever seen on television. Cheating on every woman he comes across? Check. Being an absentee dad? Check. Getting drunk at the most inappropriate times, including pitch meetings and Roger Sterling's mom funeral? Also check. But despite all of this, Don also showed that he's also capable of doing the right thing. He was once upset at the thought of dropping a smaller, loyal account for a bigger client, and he was the only partner to object to the harebrained scheme that involved getting Joan to sleep with an executive to secure a new company's account. And of course, his championing of Peggy's career was one of the bright spots of the show. We would also be remiss not to mention Don's terrible childhood, and his friendship with Anna Draper, widow of the real Don Draper, showed what Don could have been like if he had gotten a grip on his vices. However, Don was (slightly) better by the end of the series, and as that finale suggests, we should be thanking him for that iconic Coca-Cola ad . Temi Adebowale Stream Mad Men Here AMC
3. Walter White - Breaking Bad Ah, Walter White. A chemistry teacher who turns to making and dealing crystal meth in order to avoid bankrupting his family after he's diagnosed with lung cancer might sound like the perfect hero, but by the end of Breaking Bad, Walter's ego had gotten the best of him. There were several points at which Walter could have gracefully bowed out of the drug business, but Walt (oh sorry, Heisenberg) liked the power and money too much to give it up.And while that's somewhat relatable, let's not forget the things that Walt did along his path to drug lord. He poisoned a little boy , killed countless people (some of them innocent), watched Jesse's girlfriend choke to death on her own vomit, and was indirectly responsible for Hank's death . But despite all of this, Walt's descent into depravity was certainly fun to watch as a viewer, and the good news is that his family did end up being financially secure after he was goneeven though he did finally admit to Skylar that he entered the meth business for his own satisfaction , instead of for his family. Temi Adebowale Stream Breaking Bad Here AMC
2. The Gang - It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia The longest running live-action season in TV history has been treating us to terrible people doing terrible things for 14 seasons, and isn't taking its foot off the gas any time soon. Dennis, Dee, Frank, Mac, and Charlie are all so uniquely terribleand have so many episodes to demonstrate itthat we've almost lost count. Whether it's Dennis talking about "the implication," Frank running a sweatshop, or Mac bragging about "cultivating mass," we've been along for the ride for a long time with this group of utter degenerates, and don't particularly care to get off anytime soon. Evan Romano Stream It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia Here FX
1. Tony Soprano - The Sopranos If youre talking TV antiheroes and youre somehow not talkin' Tony Soprano, then what the fuck are you talkin' about? Tony ushered in the age of the antihero, the idea that a series could make the bad-guy the protagonist and still profit. Whos going to root for a guy who literally garrotes someone in the first episode? Literally everyone. Forever. Youre welcome television. Now get the fuck outta here. Josh St. Clair Stream The Sopranos Here HBO
