TV's Worst Character Additions Ever From Buffy, The Office, Game of Thrones and More

Anne Meara's "Sally Gallagher" the stewardess on 'Rhoda' in season 3. She was abrasive, not funny, and unlikeable. There was no way Rhoda could be best friends with such a woman after being best friends with Mary Richards for so long - these two were the complete opposite. Lucklily, the writers dropped her mid-season, with no explanation whatsoever.

I disagree with several of the characters tvline listed.

- Billie wasn't that bad, it was her sister Christie who was annoying and unnecessary. They brought Kaley in because the other 3 wanted less screen time and were planning a Charmed spin-off.

- I didn't mind Kennedy and could deal with her bossiness over Dawn's constant whining throughout Buffy. Kennedy at least tried to get shit done instead of complaining all the time like the rest of the potentials.

- Supergirl already had a bloated cast before Will showed up. I don't think fans were dying to have a trans superhero or needed Lex Luthor to overstay his welcome.

- Kevin may have been boring but he was a saint for putting up with Lucy and he wasn't completely batshit compared to the rest of the Camdens on 7th Heaven.

Rory Flanagan from Glee

Not exactly an addition, but after Vivian Vance left The Lucy Show and Gale Gordon became the second banana. The Mr. Mooney character was execrable and should never have been given such a central role.

The beginning of the end.

Poochie

I'd have said Ed Helms was a worse addition to the office, after his initial arc in season 3 they should never have brought him back.

Nanette Fabray as 'Grandma Romano' on 'One Day At A Time'. No need for her, and if they felt they needed a Grandmother on the show, pick a better actress.

Astonishing that Pippa on The Facts of Life didn't make this list. An exchange student from Australia who crashed on the couch and did nothing but speak in Australian slang. Ooroo!

[Quote]I'd have said Ed Helms was a worse addition to the office, after his initial arc in season 3 they should never have brought him back.

Ugh. Could not stand Andy and his stupid faces, signing, horrible style and "humor". They even made him manager/lead in season 9. I was so relieved when he was on that boat trip and missed most of the season. I totally agree, why did they bring him back? Hangover success? Can't believe this character was ever a fan favorite.

Steve Carrell was riding high in his movie career and on extended leave, James Spader was a necessity

I was about to scream HAZEL FROM 30 ROCK but thankfully she’s on OP’s list

What a horrid character and now I can’t stand anything Kirsten Schaal does.

The little girl on All in the Family

^^Stephanie

[quote]Could not stand Andy and his stupid faces, signing,

Andy wasn't deaf.

Andy in the Office closely tied with Nellie played by that cunt Catherine Tate.

I hated that they added all these new characters/girlfriends on The Big Bang Theory. Suddenly all the weird dudes had girlfriends and they had to be in every scene. I enjoyed the show more when it was just the original cast. Friends did a better job of sticking to the core group.

The addition of the kid "Seven" to Married with Children.

Why? Why? Why?

Every baby that's ever been added to a long-running show on its last legs and with nothing else to write about.

I despised Robert California on The Office. Plus, his character arc didn't make sense. First he was interviewed for the regional manager position, which he got. Then next season he's suddenly this rich CEO of the company?

As much as I loved that show and was grateful they continued after Carrell's departure, I'm now disappointed with how bad it was.

R16 Totally agreed. "TBBT" became unwatchable once all four of those awkward scientists got girlfriends/wives, most of them far hotter than anyone would've expected. It was worst when they gave Sheldon Cooper, a guy so deep on the autism spectrum that can count the grains of rice in a Panda Express bowl, a girlfriend/wife/child. People who are that deeply autistic typically cannot have a marriage or a family without serious complications, but they wiped all that away just to give Shelly a girlfriend. Because GOD FORBID a young person be shown as single for a whole season of a sitcom.

The show went from being a sweet and funny depiction of oddball geeks to being just another "According to Jim" sitcom where loser guys get supermodel wives.

Lol, I forgot about Cousin Oliver, lmao! I guess because I always think of 'Albert' from Little House on the Prairie. Like, what the hell.

Dawn was far worse than Kennedy in Buffy.

That Countess Cunt on 227

I think Dawn's annoying personality has been exaggerated with time. I rewatched the show semi-recently and she does a pretty good job of staying out of the way. Alyson Hannigan's weird, flat delivery bothered me more than anything Dawn did.

R10, Steve asked for a raise and they said no....I loved Steve but the others weren't horrible and there were a lot of them

Jerry Garcia, Roseanne. That kid had no presence.

I didn’t mind Robert California but loathed Andy Bernard by the end of The Office. Nothing against Ed Helms as an actor but Andy was such an unlikable character. I always wondered if the whole Baby WaaWaa send off was a dig by the writers. There was apparently a lot of resentment that he got to take so much time off to do movies.

I wish they had done more with Nellie. She started off great, was a little bit psycho, but it never really went anywhere.

R25 In hindsight, it was a bad decision on their part. That series was making a shitload of money for the network - it was THE show for most of a decade - and they could easily have afforded it. NBC is especially famous for giving tentpole stars juicy deals in the later seasons of hit shows: Ted Danson, Kelsey Grammer, the six Friends leads, Jerry Seinfeld, etc.

Blame it on that asshole Jeff Zucker, who never could program the network or manage talent, and Bob Greenblatt, who evidently let The Office rot simply because he himself didn't watch the series.

Stephan from Family Matters. Stupid.

Sam on Diff'rent Strokes. How I hated that horrible little ginger.

R27 Catherine Tate's humor never translated to American audiences or writers. They couldn't put her to good use.

And they tried too hard to make Andy Bernard into a villain by the end. He was always a polarizing character among fans, and making him the new boss was always going to be rocky. But the writers really did hate Ed Helms for getting so much time off for those bullshit movies, and for his selectively poor promotion of the show. He loved to give interviews about The Hangover, but when asked to do NBC events for the show, he would always say "Oh, my wife doesn't want to go to that. Send Kate Flannery and Jenna Fischer instead!" He didn't play well with others.

Oliver confused me so much due to the actor's strong resemblance to John Denver! A man four times his age!

Erin Moran’s perm on Happy Days. It completely destroyed the illusion of the characters living in the 1950s.

The Ed Marinaro and Leslie Easterbrook characters on “Laverne & Shirley.”

Have any of you queens been out of the house since 1978???

How do you know so much about all this network teevee???

Roy from The Simpsons

Another vote for Ed Helms in The Office. He was always showing off his musical skills and his penchant for accents. Andy was a loser salesman who apparently had all sorts of performance skills but couldn't make it in show biz. He was so unlikeable, it was impossible to relate to him or even feel sorry for him.

Dawn from BUFFY.

I fucking hate — HATE — that fucking twat.

Darren Criss on Glee. Blaine marked the beginning of the end on that shitshow.

Re Big Bang Theory I like Amy but Bernadette is too mean and the actress unfunny.

All those damn kids they adopted on Little House just because the Greenbush twins couldn't act their way out of a wet paper bag.

While I agree with the mention of Pippa on The Facts of Life upthread, I would also contend that George (Clooney) and Andy were no great gifts to the show either.

Ricky Seagull on The Partridge Family. Somewhere I have his autographed Christmas album.

Any role Ted McGinley played on any show. He was cute, but the 80's hairstyle and Jordache jeans didn't fit the Happy Days character.

Barbara Eden on Dallas as Lee Ann Whatever her name was. Stunt/Stupid casting.

Cheyenne's character on 30 Rock, the character really had nothing to do.

My show was never the same after Mr. B. and Missy took off for Baghdad and Mr. B's boring younger brother and his family moved in.

All of Tony Soprano's side chicks except for Gloria (Annabella Sciorra) & the two Russian women (Irina & Svetlana).

r22 Dawn was bad until Kennedy came into the picture, and Kennedy definitely earned the title.

Although, I will admit that I'm probably biased because I was pissed about Joss killing off Tara and then choosing Kennedy, of all characters, as her replacement. Hell, Fred would've been a better match than her.

^ Speaking of, how I haven't shown up on Joss Whedon's doorstep yet is a mystery considering how much I raged when he killed off two of my favorite characters (Tara and Cordelia).

R39, Blaine was too much of a Mary Sue archetype in earlier season. When they started to write him w/ flaws and insecurities, that’s when he started to tell w/ the initial tone of the show. Glee was supposed to be satirical and dark but they turned into a CW teen drama w/ humorless, boring characters like Marley and Rory. Not an ounce of irony in their performances, played completely straight. It’s as if these bland, Mary Sue characters showed up and existed in this black comedy. They should’ve played them up similar to the 90’s Brady Bunch movies. Like, if Marley lacked any self awareness of how boring and unoriginal she is. Typical, white, put upon “nerd” with the heart of gold stock character. I couldn’t even imagine Marley and Rachel in a scene together because it would feel like a crossover.

R45, yes! That was truly one of the all-time WORST decisions ever made in the history of television. They should just erase that entire last season and pretend as if it never happened.

[Quote] Although, I will admit that I'm probably biased because I was pissed about Joss killing off Tara and then choosing Kennedy, of all characters, as her replacement. Hell, Fred would've been a better match than her.

There is a funny scene where Willow thinks that Fred is hitting on her. I think it's during season 4 of Angel.

[Quote] Another vote for Ed Helms in The Office. He was always showing off his musical skills and his penchant for accents. Andy was a loser salesman who apparently had all sorts of performance skills but couldn't make it in show biz. He was so unlikeable, it was impossible to relate to him or even feel sorry for him.

I don't mind Andy but it sounds like Ed really pissed off the writers because of the Hangover movies. And i don't think as many Office fans care for Jim and Pam.

Mike the Orphan, and Daisy, the cockblocker, ruined Laramie's last 2 seasons. Jess and Slim were doing just fine without them. Two sexy cowboys who shared a bedroom, now had a 'son' and a mother-in-law type, to complicate their romance.

Jennilee Harrison was no Goldie Hawn but the character of Cindy was a better fit for the show than Priscilla Barnes’ Teri (who was somewhat bland and basically just another straight woman to Jack’s antics).

Yes, Jenilee Harrison was bad, but have we forgotten about Ann Wedgeworth as Lana Shields?

I worked with someone who knew cousin Oliver, AKA Robbie Rist, very well. Robbie always got recognized wherever he went. Even 40 years after being on the Brady bunch with all that age can bring one, i.e weight gain,looking different, etc, people still went up to him and asked, "Are you cousin Oliver?" My friend didn't believe that this happened until he was with Robbie and someone came up to them. Robbie said that while most people who came up to him were very nice, it did start to wear on him.

I'm actually glad that Dawn wasn't included on the list. I thought BtVS season 5 was one of the best because of the clever way Dawn was introduced. And Trachtenberg, at least in my opinion was likable and gave Buffy someone to truly love and dying to save her seemed important. Also-Glory was the best Big Bad of all seasons.

But I'm shocked they put GoT Ramsey Bolton on the list. He was so evil, he made the other villains like Cersei seem tame!! I enjoyed watching his casual cruelty knowing that eventually he'd be punished. I felt like he was all anyone could talk about for a while. So his inclusion confuses me.

[Quote] I thought BtVS season 5 was one of the best because of the clever way Dawn was introduced.

Agreed

[Quote] And Trachtenberg, at least in my opinion was likable and gave Buffy someone to truly love and dying to save her seemed important. Also-Glory was the best Big Bad of all seasons.

Dawn was a whiny brat and i wouldn't say she's the first character Buffy's ever truly loved. But Glory was a fun villain and should be a DL icon.

I thought Jenilee was great. Both her and Ritter really had the physical comedy down pat with her often injuring him.

Dodie on My Three Sons.

Emily on Family Affair.

Cindy could have been an ok replacement with a better actress but Priscilla always seemed uncomfortable and tried way too hard

Danny on 30 Rock was fine but then he disappeared... it was funny that they even brought the actor who played Josh to audition for his own role and he didn't get it. What was the story with Cheyenne? Why did he disappear fairly quickly?

I totally agree with any new character on the Office introduced season 8-9... ALL OF THEM WERE HORRIBLE

[quote]Yes, Jenilee Harrison was bad, but have we forgotten about Ann Wedgeworth as Lana Shields?

It just never made sense to me that Jack wasn't interested in her given what a sex maniac he was otherwise. Yes, she was an older woman but she was very attractive for her age and her predatory behavior wasn't much different from his own, so there was no real reason one could think of that he wouldn't have taken her up on her offer. I don't blame Wedgeworth for asking to be released from her contract.

r61

Didn't John Ritter even complain to the producers about that? I don't think he complained much

April, Too Close for Comfort

R62, Ritter did complain. This is from Ann Wedgeworth's Wiki page:

[quote]In 1979, Wedgeworth was cast as divorcée Lana Shields on the hit ABC sitcom Three's Company. Producers introduced her character to fill the void left by Audra Lindley, who had left to star in the show's spin-off, The Ropers. According to behind-the-scenes reports, the addition of Lana to the cast caused tension between series star John Ritter and the show's writers. Ritter believed it would be out of character for his character, the womanizing Jack Tripper, to inexplicably turn down the advances of Lana, a sexually voracious, attractive older woman. The writers reasoned that because Lana was older than Jack, he would be turned off. Ritter did not believe that the middle-aged Lana, only meant to be in her 40s (whereas Jack was in his late 20s/early 30s), would repel Jack. Wedgeworth claimed that she asked to be released from her contract because of Lana's dwindling role in the show.

[quote]Wedgeworth appeared in just nine episodes of the series before her character was casually written-out without any explanation and never referred to again.

Nancy as a replacement for Nellie Oleson on Little House on the Prairie.

I didn't mind Dawn that much, Kennedy was more annoying mostly because she and Willow had zero chemistry. After Tara it was a huge letdown to have this contrived relationship appear out of nowhere with the lackluster potentials. I will never understand why Whedon killed Tara off, he claimed he wanted to bring her back, but apparently he was lying. Given the claims against him it seems he targeted actresses unfairly for pissing him off (hence Cordelia getting the axe). I guess her death was the only impetus to fuel the rage for superbad Willow to emerge.

Megan on Mad Men. Terrible actress with buck teeth, only given major storylines because Matthew Weiner was obsessed with her. She ruined the last few seasons of that show.

They should have put a wig on Joanie. No one had hair like that in the fifties.

What about wise beyond my years me?

Meg MacKenzie on Knots Landing, especially when played by that little cunt Rhianna Janette.

She dragged Mack and Karen down with her.

^Stacy Galina, deflecting.

Barry and Iris's daughter on "The Flash" from a few seasons ago. IIRC, she was their adult daughter who arrived in the present day from the future and all she did was put this big guilt trip on Iris for not being there for her father. I think Iris finally got tired of her ass and told her off and let her know that she didn't have the full story. Anyway, she was such a drag that it caused me to stop watching the show, though I think she left after that season.

[quote]Dawn was a whiny brat and i wouldn't say she's the first character Buffy's ever truly loved.

Besides her mom. Yeah she loved her friends, but Dawn wasn't real and she still had absolute unconditional love for her (and died for her). Her relations with Angel and Spike and Riley were just toxic.

[Quote] I will never understand why Whedon killed Tara off, he claimed he wanted to bring her back, but apparently he was lying. Given the claims against him it seems he targeted actresses unfairly for pissing him off (hence Cordelia getting the axe).

Ultimately Joss did Charisma and Amber a favour. They didn't have to put up with his bullshit anymore and i don't think Amber got along with Alyson either.

[Quote] Besides her mom. Yeah she loved her friends, but Dawn wasn't real and she still had absolute unconditional love for her (and died for her). Her relations with Angel and Spike and Riley were just toxic.

I still like her relationship with Angel but i think Riley was her healthiest. I'm baffled by the fans who think Spike was the one for Buffy even after he tried to rape her. Dawn should have disappeared during season 6.

Rob Lowe was like the Andy Dwyer of Parks and Rec. Super cringey and lame, never liked his weird energy or delivery.

Jim and Pam were fine during the first four seasons of the office, after that they became obnoxious. The writers of the office and parks and rec seemed to have an obsession with the cool, douche characters such as Jim, Andy and that Jim clone during the first couple of seasons of parks and rec. Something tells me a lot of the writers on those shows were the nerdy kids at school desperately looking for validation from the jocks.

Three's Company wasn't a great experience for Jenilee or Priscilla. Both have said the producers were horrible. Plus it's usually tough being a newbie on an established, hit show and replacing someone popular at that. They were looking for someone closer to Ritter and DeWitt's age for Suzanne's replacement but couldn't find anyone they liked. They spotted Jenilee at her acting coach's and decided to cast her. According to Jenilee, they never let her forget that she was too young, and they weren't happy with her. I think she really tried hard (physical comedy in particular is very tough to pull off) but was too inexperienced. I think her klutz thing would get old very quickly if she had her role expanded.

They had another casting call for the next season and picked Priscilla and decided to go in totally different direction with her character. They kept Jenilee around incase viewers didn't accept her character, but most seemed to prefer Priscilla to her, and they slowly phased Harrison out by the end of that season. I bought Janet and Terri as friends more than Chrissy or Cindy.

I would've preferred Jenilee playing Cindy, Terry and Mr. Furley if it avoided the Mary Cadorette/Three's a Crowd debacle.

The article lists Erik Palladino when he joined the cast of ER with Season 6 - but really all of the new characters they introduced that season to help fill in the void of Clooney leaving in Season 5 were uninspired.

Goran Visnjic as Luka was handsome but his character turned out to be extremely depressing and deadly dull. Michael Michelle made absolutely no impression at all. And the return of Ming Na as Deb Chen could have been interesting but they completely wasted her.

I did like Maura Tierney initially as Abby, and I’ve enjoyed her in other things (including The Affair). Unfortunately they quickly made Abby the star of the show who every guy fell in love with while also making her character a perpetual sourpuss.

R79 it’s weird that Maura always plays those characters that every guy is in love with. She is the definition of plain.

I liked Palladino on ER.

He had gotten his medical degree from some fly-by-night med school in a 3rd world country.

He was cute as fuck, too.

R63, Deena Freeman was just an off-brand Didi Conn, if they couldn't get Didi they should have gone in a different direction. I'm sure Susan Richardson wasn't busy!

Daphne's mother, brother and father on Frasier.

[quote] Jim and Pam were fine during the first four seasons of the office, after that they became obnoxious. The writers of the office and parks and rec seemed to have an obsession with the cool, douche characters such as Jim, Andy and that Jim clone during the first couple of seasons of parks and rec. Something tells me a lot of the writers on those shows were the nerdy kids at school desperately looking for validation from the jocks.

Yeah, I agree on Jim and Pam. Couldn't stand them for the most of the show's run.

Every previously unheard of bowl-cut six year old with a sudden, thinly explained connection to the lagging interest sitcom family who moves in to join the series as a last ditch effort for cute relevance in the waning seasons of a series,`1970s--mid-2000s and beyond, probably.

I get that Jim and Pam could be rather smug at times. But they also treated Michael pretty well considering what a horrible boss he was.

Fake Laurie and Randy on That 70s Show during the later seasons.

The Umbrella Academy, season 3: Diego and Lila's fake son, Stanley. It was so satisfying seeing that nasty, gravel-voiced brat vaporized when that stupid story arc was over.

Will Bailey and Kate Harper on "The West Wing." And in the final season ,they inexplicably became a couple.

[quote]According to Jenilee, they never let her forget that she was too young, and they weren't happy with her. I think she really tried hard (physical comedy in particular is very tough to pull off) but was too inexperienced. I think her klutz thing would get old very quickly if she had her role expanded.

Don't know if it was true or not but I also recall reading at the time that one of the primary reasons Cindy wasn't kept around was because she was Chrissy's cousin and the producers were so incensed at Suzanne that they just wanted to erase all connection to the Chrissy character so that there would be no reason for her name to even be mentioned on the show ever again.

Damn, that was one LONG sentence. Sorry about that!

Speaking of bowl-cut moppets, Joey Lawrence on Gimme a Break reeked of desperation, which was only surpassed by the addition of his younger even more bowl-cutted brother, Matthew.

What, exactly, did Nell Carter's character need a break FROM? She was a hired housekeeper.

[quote] I get that Jim and Pam could be rather smug at times. But they also treated Michael pretty well considering what a horrible boss he was.

Even though I couldn't stand Pam by the time Michael was written off the show, I loved the scene of her saying goodbye to him at the airport. Another time I liked Pam was in the Christmas episode where Darryl was having trouble connecting with his daughter due to drama with his ex-wife. Pam was very helpful and kind to him. Overall, I thought Pam and Jim were some of the most overrated tv characters of all time.

For The Office, I always preferred Angela, especially in the later seasons when her life's many lies and fantasies started to unravel.

Most of the characters were one-note to begin with, and never moved beyond that by the finale. But Angela became more complex and colorful. And who could forget her cat-lady appearance in the final arc, pouring toy booze bottles into a Big Gulp cup at 10am and screeching at her landlord on her work phone.

The kid added to One Day at a Time. Glenn Scarpa-something

Angela and Dwight were way better than Jim and Pam. They were more interesting to begin with and had more growth whereas Jim and Pam just became assholes.

Charlie Wade on Dallas.

I can't stand Angela but her dynamic with Dwight is 👌 As is watching Phyllis and Oscar give her shit for acting like an uptight asshole.

I didn't really get the additon of Isaac on Teen Wolf. Or maybe I just didn't think the actor belonged on the show.

R68 Happy Days wasn't exactly an accurate representation of the 50s.

He was supposed to be awful, but Rupert Graves as Gary in the third season of Last Tango in Halifax was the worst.

Warren and Emmett on The Andy Griffith Show. Just annoying as hell. Also, that shrew Helen Grump as Andy's girlfriend.

Sean Rowan in Season 8 of Dynasty, the show's worst year.

I didn't care much for Mary Jane on The Lucy Show. Not a bad actress (she was great on the cheese/airplane episode on I Love Lucy) but she wasn't a particularly good sidekick for Lucy.

Dody on My Three Sons. Beverly Garland's character on My Three Sons. The sons' wives on Ozzie And Harriet. The Lorenzos on All In The Family. Later, Stephanie. And Martin Balsam.

The second Darrin.

Helen Baxendale on Friends as Ross' intended bride. No chemistry with him or any of the cast.

R100 I don't exactly understand all the love Isaac gets from fans, but he was one of Derek's betas. And he was originally supposed to get killed off in season 2.

Susan, George's finacee (Heidi Swedberg) on Seinfeld.

*fiancée

Not sure why TBB thought they needed to pull stunts like Cousin Oliver and going to Hawaii. They should have hired new writers who could have transitioned an appealing adolescent cast into college students, marriage, etc. Shows like "Room 222" were dealing with Serious Issues at the time.

Jennilee Harrison's idea of Comedy was always looking like the toilet was overflowing(!). Instead of working with her like they had SS, they just replaced her.

R110 You wanted serious issues on The Brady Bunch?