You’ve been there. Witnessing those cringe-worthy moments as TV parents do something that embarrasses their child and thinking back to your own time. While many shows portray an idealized version of parenthood with cheerful doting mothers and present supportive fathers, some shows shatter the fantasy. These shows are incredible in toppling expectations and slamming us with some of the most brutally dislikable and problematic parents ever committed to screen.
Where there must be care and love, these parents sow seeds of toxicity. They treat their children as props in their own dysfunctional dramas, using manipulation, schemes, and neglect as their parenting tools. Feelings and emotions are only superficial, and they dissolve in the blink of an eye.
Although disturbing, these TV parents do serve a purpose. It is through the pain and anguish they inflict on their kids that we realize how light is nurtured within darkness. We understand the trauma of a dysfunctional family and wish the best for the characters. These shows become a cautionary tale, a warning about the damage caused (and should be avoided) by neglect and the outright absence of love. In a tiny way, these shows man even inspire better parenthood.
As for us, we find ourselves thinking of familial struggles and aching for better outcomes. Because between the uncomfortable laughs and rebellion, the worst parents reveal hard truths about the role they play in shaping young lives. Though appalled, we cannot help but be transfixed by the train wreck and want more elements to unfold on screen. These parents may be terrible, but they sure are unforgettable.
10 Frank Gallagher – Shameless
On paper, Frank Gallagher is the patriarch of the Gallagher Family. But in actions, he embodies the saddest, most self-destructive type of parent. Frank has six children to look after, but he takes zero responsibility, is neglectful, and continues to fail upwards. It is Shameless’s Fiona, the eldest daughter, who has to ultimately act like an adult.
Frank's efforts to do better and mean well are often misguided by cycles of relapse and violence, dragging the entire family through hell in the process. A notable mention would be that one time when Frank convinces own son that he has cancer just so he could fraud and benefit from a philanthropic cause. Over and over again, he compromises and risks his children’s safety, future, health, and mental well-being.
9 Julie Cooper – The O.C.
Along with having the most problematic and rebellious teenagers caught in their little shenanigans, The O.C. played fair by adding a mix of bad parents. Mother to Marissa and Kaitlin Cooper, Julie Cooper seemed as if she was designed to annoy. Her foolishness and jealousy, coupled with her subtle narcissism, always made her the center of attention.
She wasn’t cruel, no. Deep down, she did care deeply about her daughters, and she saw tremendous growth in the later seasons. But by then, the damage had already been done. Julie’s selfish stupidity causes endless trouble for her daughters and embarrasses them at every turn. From stubborn flings to dramatic fights with her ex-husband, Julie could never really connect with Marissa, leading her into becoming a spoiled, struggling, shoplifting teenager. In some way, Marissa walks the path to becoming exactly like her mother.
8 Aaron Echolls – Veronica Mars
Toxic parenthood cannot get worse than Aaron Echolls. In Veronica Mars, Aaron Echolls is the father of Logan Echolls. As a bad parent who is self-centered and devoid of any feeling, Aaron goes around ruining the lives of everyone he knows. He was never really a father to Logan. For him, parenting meant providing money to the kid and not actually being involved in his life.
Although, he does get involved in his son’s girlfriend’s life. His disdain and distrust for Lily make him fool around with her and eventually murder her. Brutal, even for Aaron. As Logan’s father, he shamed utterly, exploiting their relationship rather than nurturing it. His presence never brought comfort, and he destroyed things to the point where he ended up with nothing.
7 John Winchester – Supernatural
John Winchester, the hunter-turned-absentee father of Supernatural, is the perfect portrayal of how an ideal parent should not be. Instead of raising his children, San and Dean, John devoted himself to becoming the best hunter this world has seen. Not only that, he deprived the boys of a normal life and trained them to kill vampires instead.
After making his boys the collateral damage to his grief of losing his wife, uprooting their lives and putting them in unimaginable danger, he basically disappeared. We see him in Season 1, and then he’s pretty much absent up until Season 9. And although John returns, he offers crude affection and is dubious of his sons’ feelings, coming off as a stranger more than a father. His fixation on revenge cast a haunting glow on the show.
6 Mr. Maclay – Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The Maclays were a very conservative family in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and it was only natural that they’d inflict it upon their kids. Mr. Maclay, the patriarch, was so disconnected that his child might as well be alone. As Tara’s father, he was controlling, manipulative, and downright deceitful. He convinced her that she was half demon and forbade her from having an independent life.
Danger and death constantly loomed on the show, and Mr. Maclay used it to his advantage. He cared not for the time lost and was more interested in his misogynistic fantasies, idealized as normal. While it is revealed later in the show that Tara, who is also the love interest of Willow Rosenberg, is part witch and has been practicing magic for years, Mr. Maclay’s self-absorption deprives her of the comfort and guidance that should come from a parent.
5 Ted and Karen Wheeler – Stranger Things
Parents are known to be oblivious, but not as much as Ted and Karen Wheeler. Your kids are going around chasing monsters, traveling back and forth from the Upside Down, and having near-death experiences, and you’ve got no clue whatsoever? Stranger Things has all the props in creativity and terror-building, but it’s also the epitome of ignorant and detached parents.
Ted and Karen aren’t as bad as they’re devoid of parental awareness. All they demand from Mike and Nancy is obedience, but they do nothing to nurture them. They are unaware and uninvolved in their children’s lives, blind to every threat that has entered their door and loomed over Hawkins. Everything the kids have gone through has been met with rebuke instead of support. Their lack of concern is so prominent it’s annoying.
4 Dan Scott – One Tree Hill
One Tree Hill’s Dan Scott is among the most loathsome type of parent. He is manipulative and vindictive and turns out also a murderer. As father to Nathan and Lucas, he’s never really acknowledged their presence or their role in his life; they have only existed as pawns in his ceaseless quest for power.
As opposed to love or care, Dan did everything in his power to measure them against each other. His contempt extends more toward Lucas, so much so that he even kills the only father figure in Lucas’ life. Time and again, Dan has wielded his fatherhood like a weapon to emotionally manipulate, abuse, and control Ethan. From shattering the trust of his sons to not caring about the trauma he inflicts upon them, Dan sees family as a means to an end and not the end itself.
3 Cal Jacobs – Euphoria
In one word, Cal Jacobs can be described as predatory. Euphoria is an intense show as it deals with a truckload of sensitive topics surrounding teenagers. But when it comes to Nate Jacobs’ father, the web of abuse he’s woven around his son continues to spiral tighter, and Cal’s villain-like behaviors are undeniable.
He steadily tries to control Nate, his life, and the people he spends his time with, and plays with his head to the point where Nate’s perspective around women, masculinity, and physical intimacy gets warped. Cal has always craved power, and his family hasn’t really meant anything to him. The show does dive into his backstory, but either way, it does not excuse his actions because the scars he’s left on his children aren’t ones that heal.
2 Hiram and Hermione Lodge – Riverdale
Riverdale is full of mysterious murders, notorious gang wars, and complex relationships. But perhaps the most disturbing part is Veronica Lodge’s parents. Hiram and Hermione Lodge represent a threatening new breed of parents. They are corrupt and calculative, but they mask their vicious intentions beneath a posh charm. When in reality, the couple is willing to do anything to climb up the social ladder, even if it means harming their own daughter.
Hiram and Hermione use cheap tricks and mastermind schemes just to satisfy their hunger for wealth and control. As they go around town doing their dirty business, they never think of how their actions would affect Veronica. Love and care are two words they do not understand, so what those smiling faces exactly convey is beyond us.
1 Bart Bass – Gossip Girl
To stage your own death and drive your son into madness and self-loathing just to get rid of some bad men in the business is probably the worst thing a parent could do. Gossip Girl is a show that thrives on its manipulative, scheming, and power-hungry characters. But the Bass empire does it like no other. Bart Bass, short for Bartholomew Bass, seems to find delight in destroying the lives of those around him. Especially his son, Chuck Bass.
Bart sees his family as a source of entertainment and punishes and controls them with pleasure. He doesn’t care about Chuck’s happiness, his dignity, or his psychological well-being. He betrays, sabotages, and ruins his life and his relationship for his own amusement. Tough love is good love, yes, but Bart doesn’t even get close.