10 Unpopular TV Characters Everyone Eventually Realized Were Great All Along


Audiences can be very quick to judge TV characters, to the point that their first impression can often turn out to be entirely wrong, with the realization that they were great all along. This can easily happen to characters who oppose the protagonist in some way, as viewers naturally root for the lead and see anyone who is blocking their goals as a threat. However, as the characters’ motivations become clearer, everyone soon comes to the realization that they harshly and unfairly judged them.




Many of the best TV characters ever started off unpopular yet managed to redeem themselves throughout the series. In some cases, annoying TV characters managed to become fan favorites as viewers got to know and understand their backstories, motivations, and likable characteristics. The long-form nature of television has allowed for more nuanced portrayals of complex characters whose likable nature and positive traits only reveal themselves over the course of several episodes or even seasons.


10 Cordelia Chase

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997 – 2003)


Cordelia Chase was introduced in Buffy the Vampire Slayer as one of Sunnydale High’s most popular students, although she initially came across as a typical mean girl who undermined Buffy and saw her as a threat. While Cordelia slowly ingratiated herself into the Scooby Gang and became a close friend to the group and eventual love interest for Xander, it took some time for her positive attributes to truly shine through. However, it eventually became clear that Cordelia was an assertive and brave woman, and audiences realized she was great all along.

Cordelia’s role in the Buffyverse extended into the spin-off series Angel, where she joined the vampire with a soul’s detective agency, fought supernatural forces, and helped save the damned. Cordelia’s character arc was one of growth as her more negative characteristics were gradually replaced with a kinder, more selfless personality. While Cordelia was initially envisioned as a foil to Buffy’s heroism, she grew into a three-dimensional and redeeming character along the way.


9 Janice Soprano

The Sopranos (1999 – 2007)

The sister of mob boss Tony Soprano was the perfect example of a character who was initially incredibly unpopular, but viewers later began to appreciate. While Janice appeared like a self-serving and vain character who infiltrated Tony’s life after returning from her bohemian existence in Seattle, she soon established herself as one of the essential characters in The Sopranos. Janice is a link to Tony’s childhood, and as viewers have already been exposed to the influence of their overbearing mother, it makes sense that she would not be without character flaws.


However, Aida Turturro gave an amazing performance as Janice in The Sopranos, and throughout the show, her eccentricities, outbursts, and clashes with Tony made for compelling viewing. Janice added a dark sense of humor to The Sopranos, and although she may not be the first person viewers want to hang out with in real life, she was endlessly entertaining. As a character who amplified The Sopranos‘ themes of family dysfunction and generational trauma, in retrospect, it’s clear Janice was a great character all along.

8 Steve Harrington

Stranger Things (2016 – Present)


The redemption of Steve Harrington in Stranger Things was truly a wonder to behold as he grew from a typical 1980s teen movie bully into one of the show’s most beloved characters. Steve was introduced as an unlikable jock, yet there was something innately engaging about Joe Keery’s performance that his character shifted into a much more courageous and warm person. While Steve’s role as Nancy Wheeler’s mean-spirited boyfriend was short-lived, it was watching how he looked out for the welfare of the rest of the young cast in later seasons that made him so popular.

A redemption arc such as Steve’s is a great way to highlight a misunderstood character’s positive attributes and can help audiences see things in them they did not notice upon first viewing. Seeing how Steve became much more friendly with Jonathan and almost like a father figure to Dustin in later seasons of Stranger Things was one of the most wholesome and enjoyable aspects of the entire show.


7 Ash Ketchum

Pokémon (1997 – Present)

It’s easy to see why viewers might not have connected with Ash Ketchum at the beginning of Pokémon, as it even took Pikachu himself a while to warm up to his lifelong companion. Ash was introduced as a Pokémon-loving 10-year-old kid, but despite his fascination with these pocket creatures, he couldn’t even wake up on time to get his very first Pokémon from Professor Oak. With a chaotic and ill-prepared quality, it’s easy to see why viewers were frustrated by Ash in the earliest episodes of Pokémon.

However, Ash never lost sight of his quest to become a Pokémon Master, and his unstoppable commitment and determination eventually transformed him into a noble hero. Ash’s story was a coming-of-age one, and he always used his skills to help those he met in need along the way. Watching as Ash formed intense friendships with Brock, Misty, and all the others he encountered along the way showcased his caring and positive attributes in a way that made viewers realize he was great all along.


6 Janice Hosenstein

Friends (1994 – 2004)

While the utterance of Janice Hosenstein’s catchphrase “OH! MY! GOD!” is enough to send shivers down the spine of any sitcom viewer, it has to be admitted that she was one of the most memorable supporting characters on Friends. As the annoying and overbearing long-time on-again-off-again girlfriend of Chandler Bing, Janice was a recurring face throughout Friends. While Janice’s personality was a lot to take, and she may have been unpopular at first, it always felt exciting when she would reappear in Chandler’s life.


Although Chandler seemed to have difficulty accepting how much Janice meant to him, she was the most significant relationship he ever had before finally getting together with Monica. Maggie Wheeler gave a great performance as Janice and helped ensure that she did not feel like a one-note character and gave her a level of depth that made her far more than simply an annoying girlfriend. As one of the few characters outside of the main cast to appear in every season of Friends, audiences grew to love Janice over the years.

5 Pete Campbell

Mad Men (2007 – 2015)


The entitled account executive at Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency, Pete Campbell, was totally unlikable in the earliest seasons of Mad Men. Yet, there was also something remarkably endearing and real about him that meant audiences gradually warmed up to this character and eventually actually started rooting for him. While the earliest episodes of Mad Men truly cast Pete in an antagonistic role, he was one of the few characters who exhibited signs of genuine growth and a desire to overcome his glaring character flaws.

Pete’s tendency to emulate the people around him to find success and appreciation was an innately human quality, and even though he had some ruthless characteristics, his arc was still incredibly compelling. Mad Men highlighted the social and political problems of the 1960s, and although Pete benefited from the preferential treatment his privileged background granted him, viewers still saw plenty of difficult moments that made audiences sympathize with him. Although his story was never clear-cut, and it was hard to pigeonhole him as either good or bad, there was no denying that Pete was a consistently great character.


4 Michael Scott

The Office (2005 – 2013)

The American version of The Office was perhaps the greatest example of a British sitcom being successfully adapted for a U.S. audience. As a firm favorite of countless viewers who continually rewatch The Office as their comfort show, it’s also clear that there were some growing pains when it came to the character of the Dunder Mifflin boss, Michael Scott. While Steve Carell was a great choice for a sitcom lead, the early characterization of Michael was as a highly unlikable and, at times, malicious character.


Michael’s early depiction in the first season of The Office was attempting to replicate the insecure appeal of Ricky Gervais as David Brent in the UK version of The Office. However, this did not lean into the likable charisma of Carell, and it was only when they revamped his character as a much more wholesome and kindhearted boss that the true power of his performance shone through. Michael worked much better as a bumbling but well-meaning manager, and the character only truly came into his own when the writers stopped trying to make him like David Brent.

3 Howard Hamlin

Better Call Saul (2015 – 2022)


When watching the Breaking Bad spin-off series Better Call Saul, it’s natural to root for Saul Goodman and Kim Wexler and dislike those who make their lives difficult. This was certainly the case with Howard Hamlin, a managing partner of Hamlin Hamlin & McGill, whom Jimmy despises. Howard was depicted as cocky, arrogant, and self-centered in Better Call Saul, but by the time the show came to an end, audiences had started to realize that he was misunderstood initially and was actually a much better person than they had given him credit for.

Howard appears to be an unquestioning lackey for Jimmy’s cruel brother Chuck, but later, it becomes clear that he often stands up for Jimmy and tries to offer Kim mentorship. Those who have watched Better Call Saul will know that Howard’s story ended in tragedy and that his legacy was dragged through the mud as an extreme consequence of his mostly benign behavior. Watching Better Call Saul for the first time, it’s normal to focus on how Jimmy became Saul, but rewatching the series, it’s clear that Howard was a majorly misunderstood character who was great all along.


2 Larry David

Curb Your Enthusiasm (1999 – 2024)

If viewers are only exposed to a few minutes of Curb Your Enthusiasm, it would be natural to view Larry David as an unlikable, unreasonable, and flawed character. As a protagonist forever arguing with everyone he encountered, this fictionalized version of a real man was clearly the dinner guest from Hell who didn’t have the decency to follow social etiquette. However, those who stuck with Curb Your Enthusiasm and truly got to know Larry will recognize that he’s always been a great character and that what seemed like flaws at first glance were actually his greatest assets.


Larry’s willingness to stand up for his beliefs and call out ridiculous social behavior wherever he saw it made Curb Your Enthusiasm essential viewing as it deconstructed and criticized the conventions of modern living. From the frustrating nature of watching someone shamelessly skip the queue with a “chat and cut” to the awkward obligation of a “stop and chat,” Larry doesn’t allow unspoken social rules of polite society to ruin his day. Larry was the man that everyone wished they were brave enough to be, and for this reason, he was always a great character.

1 Skyler White

Breaking Bad (2008 – 2013)


It’s hard to think of a TV character who was more unfairly criticized by viewers than Skyler White from Breaking Bad. As the long-suffering wife of an egotistical, meth-producing sociopath, the audience’s sympathy for Walter was so great that they failed to notice that every issue and qualm Skyler had with her husband was perfectly reasonable. As a pregnant mother to a disabled son, all Skyler ever asked of Walt was for him to tell her the truth, yet he continually gaslit her and put their family’s lives in extreme danger in order to continue carrying out his life of crime.

Skyler’s actress Anna Gunn even wrote an op-ed in The New York Times about the tough experience of dealing with toxic fans of the show who actively hated her character. While Breaking Bad did a great job of setting Walt up as a sympathetic character, it’s clear that Skyler did not deserve any of this hate and was great all along. It’s a testament to Gunn’s acting talent that she was able to get such a vitriolic response from viewers, and she deserves an apology from those who gave her grief at the time.


Source: The New York Times



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