All it takes to ruin what could've been the perfect TV show or movie is one character.
There could be several reasons for this.
One, it could be because audience members are unable to separate the indiscretions of an actor off-camera who was maybe embroiled in a drawn-out court case.
Or, it might be due to a horribly written character that either makes zero contributions to the over-arching plot or has distracting idiosyncrasies.
It turns out there are plenty of characters audiences could've done without.
Redditor Goingdown_in321 asked:
"Who is the most annoying character in a TV show or movie?"
Some less-than-desired characters are heavily despised through no fault of the actor.
The Problem With Perfection
"Joffrey in Game of Thrones. Incredibly well acted and written, I've never felt more active desire to beat the sh*t out of any other fictional character."
– shoeless255
Precociousness
"Any precocious child character that is wiser than the adults and has to teach them the error of their ways with sass."
– Fawqueue
He's Just Doing This Job
"Boom mic guy from The Office."
– Dinosalad88
We love to hate them.
The Bully
"Buzz from Home Alone. He was a jerk to Kevin in both movies and got away with it."
"He purposely ate Kevin's pizza, Kevin reacts and gets sent to bed."
"He teases/humiliates Kevin during the Christmas concert, Kevin reacts and his family makes him look like the bad guy."
– bre34
Religious Nut
"Mrs. Carmody from the movie 'the Mist'. Just evil."
"Marcia Gay Harden was amazing in that role!"
– anon
British Ministry Of Magic's Most Hated
"Professor Umbridge"
– satirevaitneics
"She wasn’t horrible enough in the movies compared to the book. One of the most vile characters in any series hands down."
– Deus_Ex_Dramond
They meant well, but were not among audiences' favorite.
"Did I Do That?"
"This is very old school, but back in the day, Steve Urkel from Family Matters. It was a polarising character. You either loved him or absolutely hated him."
– trunks176
"We recently rewatched the series and his inability to accept Laura's constant "no" to his advances is not funny."
– 5pens
Tritagonist Late Wife
"Lori Grimes from the walking dead. I just cannot stand her. She is the reason I cannot be bothered to finish the show and it's a shame because I really like it and all the characters but damn I cannot stand that woman."
– Waste-Ad-6298
"Bro, if she’s the reason you can’t be bothered to finish the show, I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news."
– LadnavIV
Hopeless City Romantic
"Also Carrie Bradshaw. Main character and definitely the 'main character' in her mind at all times. Irksome."
– makebelievegenius
"Ya Carrie bugged the Hell out of me too. But I was obsessed with the show anyway. It's not the same without Samantha. She was my fav."
– Successful-Side8902
At Least She Was Pretty
"Rory gilmore. Cannot stand her at all."
– Other_Whereas2766
"For such a smart person she sure made a lot of stupid decisions."
– Deadpoolgoesboop
I think Jar Jar Binks was definitely the most annoying character that failed to connect with audiences.
The wacky Gungan outcast is one of several reasons why the prequel Star Wars trilogy is not my favorite.
The addition of his character as an attempt to inject some levity was so forced, and many viewers couldn't help but notice he was a racist caricature," pointing out similarities between his look and accent and the style and dialects spoken in the West Indies."
@hebagowayed/Bluesky
@waitmanwbeorn/X
@eighthoften/Bluesky 
@antigonesdream/Bluesky 
A1