When you think about the golden age of television, what comes to mind? Normally, it’s nice, wholesome families.
As a kid who grew up in the ’90s, the Tanner family from Full House immediately comes to mind. Older television viewers may relate more to the Conners of Roseanne or the Walton family of The Waltons.
What about the opposite end of the spectrum? There are plenty of dysfunctional, terrible families, especially in modern television, that you certainly never want to be around. They’re great to watch, though.
The Reynolds Family – It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
One of the things that makes It’s Always Sunny such a great show is that it’s about terrible people beyond redemption doing terrible things.
All of that stems from the Reynolds family, comprised of brother and sister Dennis and Dee, along with their father Frank, who is the living definition of crude and sleazey.
There are no family hugs or reconciliation here; just a bunch of sociopaths with seemingly no ounce of love for anyone else.
The Bluths – Arrested Development
One thing that makes the Bluth family so terrible is the fact that Michael, who presents himself as the moral compass of the family, is just as bad as everyone else.
While everyone else is out in the open with how selfish, conceited, and materialistic they are, Michael tries to act as if he’s all high and mighty, when in reality, he’s just as terrible as everyone else.
The Lannisters – Game of Thrones
While you can make an argument that the Boltons are the worst family in Westeros, they’re not a major character for the entirety of the show’s fun.
Patriarch Tywin, who is admittedly wise, intelligent, and loves his family (yes, even Tyrion to an extent), his children are selfish, troubled, and constantly fail to see the bigger picture of things.
Don’t forget, too, that it’s the actions of Jaime and Cersei’s secret love affair that kickstart the war and the events of the series into motion.
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The Gemstomes – Righteous Gemstones
While the Lannister children are far from perfect, my god, the Gemstones are some of the worst people I’ve ever seen in television history.
They’re spoiled rotten, acting as if they’re superior to everyone and everything. I’m also pretty sure that some of them are the definition of adult children.
By some of them, I mean Judy Gemstone. I don’t know what’s going on there, but I swear she has the maturity of a 12-year-old.
The Roy Family – Succession
It’s truly hard to pick a worst member of the Roy clan; the answer truly is “all of the above.”
Of course, when you can easily make the argument that the worst character in the show is family patriarch Logan Roy, it’s easy to see that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
The Gallaghers – Shameless
We can argue all day about whether or not being victims of self-destruction counts as being terrible.
I’d argue that it absolutely does. No matter how good their intentions may be, the Gallaghers can’t help themselves. Then again, the show is called Shameless, after all.
The Griffins – Family Guy
As an animated series, Family Guy is able to take certain liberties that other sitcoms can’t when showcasing how terrible the Griffin family can be.
By acting as a spoof on traditional sitcoms, it’s able to exaggerate every character’s cliche for comedic effect. Say what you want about the series today, but during its original run, it struck an excellent balance between dysfunction and reality. Of course, the real treat is Peter as the idiot husband and father, able to get away with things that other similar characters aren’t.
The Barones – Everybody Loves Raymond
Ray Barone is the more traditional idiot husband and father character compared to Peter Griffin, but he’s the idiot husband nonetheless.
However, one thing that makes the Barone family so terrible is that they embody everything we fear about an overbearing Italian family. Having grown up with a close-knit Italian family, I can attest to how true a lot of the actions, particularly from Marie, are.
The Bundys – Married… with Children
Then, of course, there’s the king of the idiots himself: Al Bundy.
To be fair, the rest of the Bundy clan isn’t so pure of heart themselves, but isn’t that why we love them so much?
Married… with Children didn’t become popular by showcasing a lovable, wholesome family. It became a hit show because it did the opposite.
The Kardashians – Keeping Up With The Kardashians
So here’s the thing about the Kardashian family.
Are some of their actions hammed up a bit for the sake of reality television? Possible. Are they still terrible people? You bet.
There’s no denying the popularity of their brand and the reality TV genre as a whole, but there’s a reason why people call it “trash TV.”
The Meyers Family – Veep
While Veep’s Meyers family may not be as big, mainly comprised of Selina and her daughter Catherine (Selina’s ex-husband Andrew appears now and then), I don’t think I’ve ever seen a mother hate her daughter more.
Of course, that’s part of what makes Veep such a great show: the creative insults being thrown around help provide non-stop laughs, but there’s an extra punch behind the joke when it’s a mother talking down about her daughter.
If that’s not enough for you, then there’s Selina’s adminstration, with is the literal definition of dysfunction complete with the most terrible people you could ever imagine.
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