They may be terrible, but these are 15 TV characters we love to hate

Michael Scott – The Office

What’s his deal: Don’t @ me, people. Y’all know that Michael Scott was designed to be horrible, so his appearance on this list isn’t all that surprising. He’s wildly sexist, a little racist, and so insecure it is almost painful to be around him. As the regional manager for a drab paper company in a nondescript town in Pennsylvania, he wields a nominal amount of power, but has deluded himself into thinking he has much more. This creates an unearned confidence that is off-putting and wildly grating.

Why we love him anyway: Michael Scott isn’t a character unto himself, but rather a symbol of every terrible boss we’ve ever had. He embodies every annoying thing about working in a grinding corporate workplace, and he acts as a proxy for us to laugh at our own bosses. He’s like a cartoon in those early episodes, so we can dump all our disgruntled feelings onto him.

Also, as much of a tool as he is in those early seasons, he really does evolve into a mostly tolerable guy. As his co-workers, and audiences, began to see him as a fully realized person with a crippling self-esteem problem and a pathological need to be liked, it became harder and harder to hate him. Before he exited the office for parts unknown, he was beloved by his colleagues and viewers.

Where you can find him: As if you didn’t already know, you can watch the entire series on Netflix.