In reality, we all tend to dislike assholes, but TV managed to change that view. Here are nine television assholes that stood out to me
1. Frank Gallagher from 'Shameless'
Frank is known for being a terrible father. All six of his children had to survive on their own while he spends his time getting drunk. Frank's top priorities in life involve drinking and making money through scams. The writers go out of their way just to make him do bad things. They really want him to be an asshole. In Season 2, he went through great lengths in order to steal money from a woman whose dying of kidney failure. This included him rejecting a match that she long awaited for. Even though the writers make this character cruel, they also trick the audience feeling sympathy for him. They do that by introducing his horrible mother who gave him a rough childhood and his drug-addict ex-wife who left his family.
2. Eric Cartman from 'South Park'
It's safe to say Eric Cartman is a pure asshole. He is a self-centered prick who teases others, even his best friends. The writers make his characteristics suitable because he is naive kid who doesn't know any better. His mother is a whore. Cartman struggled to figure out who his father is. The writers showed how evil Cartman could be in Season 5, Episode 4, "Scott Tenorman Must Die." In this episode, he got revenge on a teenager by killing his parents and feeding them to him. That's dark for a comedy show. Trey Parker and Matt Stone made his actions acceptable by making the teenager slightly more evil than Cartman. It's as if we wanted Cartman to do something this absurd.
3. Sheldon Cooper from 'The Big Bang Theory'
Maybe it's too harsh to call him an asshole because he does have good intentions but he's definitely a jerk. He believes he is the smartest man in the world and that he's better than everyone else. He belittles his best friends and doesn't treat his girlfriend well, yet they're still friends with him and his girlfriend hasn't left him. As mean as he is, he is arguably the best character on the show. The audience loves him and the show would be different if he wasn't on it. The show is admired so much that the creator, Chuck Lorre, is starting prequel series revolving around this character's childhood.
4. George Costanza from 'Seinfeld'
Yes, this man is known to be a lovable asshole. He is self-centered and bases his life off the little things. He broke up with a woman because she beat him in chess. In order to escape a fire, he stormed out of a house by knocking down kids and an old lady. He almost married a woman that he didn't have true feelings for. In fact, there were times he intended to cheat on her. Yet, we love this man. His asshole characteristics are acceptable because at the end of the day, he isn't the most successful man around. He is bald, short, and never kept a steady job.
5. Larry David from 'Curb Your Enthusiasm'
Larry David was the asshole who created the prior asshole, George Costanza. He always knew how to pick arguments with people over the "little things." These issues caused him to gain new enemies. A small issue with the TiVo Guide distracted him from listening on the phone to his wife struggle through plane turbulence. As a result, she divorced him. Though he managed to make us appreciate him because he's relatable. As individuals, we all go through these "small" issues and its funny. It's why he is one of my favorite comedians. Throughout every issue he went through, he was usually right. At least 80% of the time, his actions were right. There were only a few times on the show that he was truly irrational.
6. All the main characters from 'It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia'
These characters might be the biggest assholes compared to any other show I've seen. They are literally horrible. If you could think of one of the worst people in the world, this gang isn't far off. Words can't describe their cruel actions. They ruined the lives of everyone around them, such as Matthew Mara, who is commonly referred to as Rickety Cricket; a nickname the gang called him. Originally, he had a job as a successful priest, but the character Dee tricked him into falling for her in order to help her succeed in a scheme. This caused him to quit his career so he could be with her. When she told him she lied, he couldn't get his job back and was forced to live on the street where he became known as a "street rat". I'm not lying when I say they're awful. Yet, the show is one of the most successful, long-running comedies around. It just finished it's twelfth season and is renewed for two more. It's fascinating because if these characters changed and were actually nice, the show wouldn't be successful. The audience wants them to be assholes. This is a prime example on how assholes have a strong power on television.
7. Rodney Ruxin from 'The League'
8. Reese from 'Malcolm in The Middle'
Reese is a horrible brother and a reckless teenager who constantly pranks others. He is probably the most difficult son a parent could handle. He put everyone's lives in trouble for his own amusement, yet the writers sometimes makes us feel bad for him. There was a time that he lost wrestling match to a girl, ruining his bullying career at school. For some weird reason, it put chaos in his school. The kids needed him to bully them in order for the school to function properly. That isn't a normal situation that happens in this world, but the power of TV changed that.
9. Gavin Belson from 'Silicon Valley'
Gavin Belson is the antihero of the show. He is enemy of the protagonist, Richard Hendricks. He constantly tries to achieve success through irrational means. He respects none of his workers. He stole ideas from Richard, and actually had the courage to sue him for the rights of something that didn't belong to him. He is a man who isn't loved, but he is respected. It's as if we want him to fail, but we appreciate his appearance. The show couldn't have been created if Richard didn't have this enemy to compete with.
