18 Sitcom Characters That Were Total Creeps
Many things tend to go over people’s heads in terms of comedic subject material, such as the extent of certain characters’ negative traits on a beloved TV show.
Though viewers often find themselves laughing at mischievous antics, these characters nevertheless appear as downright awful human beings, displaying some troubling personality quirks and nefarious motives in most episodes they appear within.
Avoid these characters like the plague.
Dennis (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia)
It takes a twisted individual to make the rest of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s cast seem normal by comparison. Yet, as most It’s Always Sunny fans know by now, Dennis makes for the most unhinged member of the gang, bar none.
A manipulative, delusional psychopath who may or may not moonlight as a serial killer, everything about Dennis’s character screams “I’m a complete immoral psycho devoid of any human feelings whatsoever.”
Tammy II (Parks and Recreation)
The sworn arch-enemy to Pawnee’s Stoic Ron Swanson, Tammy II appears as Ron’s lecherous, nymphomaniac ex-wife trying to ruin his life any way she can.
Bringing out all of Ron’s worst qualities — including his recklessness, immaturity, and total lack of adult responsibility — Tammy II’s demonic mastery of manipulation knows no bounds.
Packer (The Office)
If viewers ever had the misfortune of having a coworker like Packer in their office space, they can recognize the extent of how annoying his character might appear.
A brash, loud-mouthed misogynist prone to cracking all kinds of sexist, derogatory jokes, we can’t help but share The Office characters’ utter disdain towards Packer, rolling our eyes and groaning aloud every time the Pack-Man wanders on-screen.
Fez (That ‘70s Show)
At a certain point in That ‘70s Show, Fez’s naive enthusiasm for adult relationships takes on a sinister new meaning.
While audiences might have laughed at his constant attempts at flirtations in the earlier seasons, by the latter half of That ‘70s Show, Fez had become a problematic shadow of his former self — hiding in girls’ closets and displaying countless perverted characteristics.
Barney (How I Met Your Mother)
The dramatic successor to Friends’ Joey Tribbiani, anyone who refers to himself as the author of “Bro Code” might not appear as an altogether great guy.
Case in point with Barney Stinson, a charismatic womanizer who bends over backwards in the hopes of getting women to sleep with him, whether in the form of lying, manipulating, or cheating on his potential romantic partners with little to any hesitation.
Quagmire (Family Guy)
At first glance, Glenn Quagmire makes characters like Barney Stinson or Fez appear as down-to-earth and approachable as Mr. Rogers.
A lewd and demented Lothario with an eclectic taste in women, Quagmire has proven himself willing to use every trick in the book to get women to sleep with him (whether they want to or not).
Rose (Two and a Half Men)
In many ways, Two and a Half Men’s Charlie Harper and his perennial stalker Rose deserved each other.
Observing Charlie and his family from a close distance next door, Rose might appear soft-spoken and genial on the service, but beneath her calm exterior lies an unhinged, obsessive master of psychology as creepy as Misery’s Annie Wilkes or Fatal Attraction’s Alex Forrest.
Hazel (30 Rock)
The on-again, off-again girlfriend to NBC’s loyal page Kenneth, Hazel also appears as the polar opposite to Kenneth in every way imaginable.
Whereas Kenneth displays an overarching love for TV (and NBC in particular), Hazel uses her position in the company for her own odds and ends, exploiting her relationship with friends and coworkers for the purposes of fame and fortune.
Chang (Community)
Growing from a disgruntled community college Spanish teacher into a hapless dictator with a severe Napoleon complex, Chang has taken on many different personality quirks over Community‘s six seasons.
Throughout it all, though, Chang has stood apart from Community’s cast life for his mental instability alone (something that only becomes further exasperated with each new season).
Frank (Shameless)
If viewers can think of the worst qualities in a father figure, they can imagine Shameless’s Frank Gallagher.
A deadbeat alcoholic who alternates between ignoring his family and using them for his get-rich schemes, Frank’s casual indifference to his children’s well-being makes him a narcissistic slacker that we can’t help but hate.
Roger (American Dad!)
The extraterrestrial equivalent to Family Guy’s Quagmire, Roger Smith has no shortage of negative personality traits, from his persistent substance abuse and alcoholism to his violent fits of rage.
Abusing his adopted family members’ trust whenever it suits him, Roger’s list of horrendous deeds just goes on and on, from shooting Hayley out of romantic jealousy to scalping a waitress when she refuses to compliment his dining order.
Rachel (Friends)
Referring to Rachel as a creep might seem a tad harsh, but even the most apologetic Friends fans will have trouble refuting Rachel’s toxic interference in Ross’s love life.
Not only that, but Rachel also displays some other problematic characteristics when it comes to her past relationships, such as when she begs Paul to open up to her, only to break up with him when he finally does so.
George (Seinfeld)
Few sitcom characters come across as deplorable as Seinfeld’s George Costanza.
A lazy, arrogant, self-loathing New Yorker with a severe case of misanthropy, George has displayed a wide away of near-sociopathic qualities, from wishing for his dysfunctional parents’ demise to sharing little to any remorse about the death of his fiancee (a woman he indirectly wound up killing in the first place).
Howard (The Big Bang Theory)
By the final few seasons of The Big Bang Theory, Howard grows into a more well-rounded character, something brought on in part through his marriage to Bernadette.
Yet in his earliest appearances, Howard came across as nothing short of an inept creep, bumbling his way through conversations with women that came across as cringey and desperate rather than cute or flirtatious.
Zack (Saved by the Bell)
Though one of the most iconic sitcom characters of the ‘90s, fans continue to cite some of Zack Morris’s more questionable personal actions as evidence of his immoral mindset.
From selling off swimsuit calendars of his closest female friends to gaslighting Slater into thinking he has a fatal illness, Zack’s regrettable actions tend to blur the line between mischievous and just plain hurtful.
Frank (MASH)
Some people handle authority well, thriving in a leadership position and eliciting both respect and admiration from their subordinates.
Leaders like Frank Burns, on the other hand, allow power to swell their heads, using every ounce of their designated authority to harass and bully their inferiors, even as they spend their free time kissing up to their immediate superiors.
Malcolm (Malcolm in the Middle)
Malcolm’s genius-level intellect grows very thin very fast in Malcolm in the Middle’s later seasons.
Though once a lovable oddball who used his vast intelligence for pranks and other harmless antics, by the time Malcolm becomes a teenager, he becomes obsessed with using his intelligence to prove his superiority over others, often coming across as insecure, petty, and emotionally unstable above all else.
Mr. Burns (The Simpsons)
Anyone with as vast a fortune as Mr. Burns will struggle to hold their morality in check.
A wealthy businessman who harbors his own range of eccentricities, Mr. Burns has the ability to make viewers’ skin crawl by his wispy voice, skeletal appearance, or utter lack of basic human emotions (such as remorse, selflessness, or simple human decency).
