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he has the actors executed for treason
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** Of the four main-series Blackadders, the most villainous is probably the one from "Blackadder the Third", who commits multiple murders, abuses his underlings, robs, swindles, lies, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking even kicks a cat]] at one point. He's at least self-aware about it; when there's an ad for a "treacherous, malicious, unprincipled cad" to be King of Sardinia, [[CardCarryingVillain Blackadder gives it due consideration]].
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** Of the four main-series Blackadders, the most villainous is probably the one from "Blackadder the Third", who commits multiple murders, abuses his underlings, robs, swindles, frames, lies, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking even kicks a cat]] at one point. He's at least self-aware about it; when there's an ad for a "treacherous, malicious, unprincipled cad" to be King of Sardinia, [[CardCarryingVillain Blackadder gives it due consideration]].
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I assume putting 'even kicks a cat' after murders is a deliberate invocation of this trope
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** Of the four main-series Blackadders, the most villainous is probably the one from "Blackadder the Third", who commits multiple murders, abuses his underlings, robs, swindles, lies, and even kicks a cat at one point. He's at least self-aware about it; when there's an ad for a "treacherous, malicious, unprincipled cad" to be King of Sardinia, [[CardCarryingVillain Blackadder gives it due consideration]].
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** Of the four main-series Blackadders, the most villainous is probably the one from "Blackadder the Third", who commits multiple murders, abuses his underlings, robs, swindles, lies, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking even kicks a cat cat]] at one point. He's at least self-aware about it; when there's an ad for a "treacherous, malicious, unprincipled cad" to be King of Sardinia, [[CardCarryingVillain Blackadder gives it due consideration]].
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* ''Series/TheSopranos'': Considering that well over half the cast is in the Mob, this trope was bound to pop up. Even the nicer ones have no problem with murder, drug trafficking, and other unsavory, illegal activities. And chances are, if you're not in the mob, you're a huge {{Jerkass}} who just doesn't happen to be as morally bankrupt.
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* ''Series/TheSopranos'': Considering that well over half the cast is in the Mob, this trope was bound to pop up. Even the nicer ones have no problem with murder, drug trafficking, and other unsavory, illegal activities. And chances are, if you're not in the mob, you're a huge {{Jerkass}} who just doesn't happen to be as morally bankrupt. Tony Soprano is [[GenreTurningPoint notably credited with making this character archetype a viable option for the medium as a whole]].
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* ''Series/TwentyFour'' has a couple: in the penultimate season there was [[spoiler: Tony Almeida]] who actually eclipsed Jack for a good chunk of the season by working with a group of terrorists and actually is the first to plan out an attack on a subway station all so he could work his way up try and kill their leader, and in the final season both [[spoiler: Allison Taylor]] who protects the masterminds behind a successful assassination attempt on a foreign government official and [[spoiler: Jack Bauer himself]] who attempts to assassinate said masterminds even though his doing so starts indirectly putting innocent people in danger, so much so that he [[spoiler: ultimately nearly stars a world war trying to kill the one in charge.]]
* ''Series/TheAmericans'' plays with this trope. The protagonists are deep-cover KGB sleeper agents in the United States in 1981, so American audiences are expected to approach them as the "villains" of the show. Indeed, they do commit murder and many other ruthless crimes throughout the series. However, the show's drama hinges on the pair being sympathetic, primarily through their home life as a family. They are often shown to be similar to their American rivals, and they occasionally get forced into making difficult choices between duty to their nation and their own moral scruples.
* The titular character of ''Series/{{Barry}}'' is a ProfessionalKiller who - while conflicted and remorseful about his profession - still won't hesitate to kill innocent people if it means saving his own skin. It's demonstrated most shockingly towards the end of the first season, where he [[spoiler:murders his innocent friend Chris to stop him from going to the police.]]
* ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'':
** Edmund Blackadder is a greedy, self-centred arse who [[DeadpanSnarker enjoys insulting those around him]] and will happily betray, abuse and mis-treat those around him, especially his inferiors. Frankly, if he wasn't played by Rowan Atkinson he'd be almost completely unlovable. Averted - albeit temporarily - in "Blackadder's Christmas Carol", and [[spoiler: in the final minutes of the final episode of ''Blackadder Goes Forth'']].
** Of the four main-series Blackadders, the most villainous is probably the one from "Blackadder the Third", who commits multiple murders, abuses his underlings, robs, swindles, lies, and even kicks a cat at one point. He's at least self-aware about it; when there's an ad for a "treacherous, malicious, unprincipled cad" to be King of Sardinia, [[CardCarryingVillain Blackadder gives it due consideration]].
* Many ''Series/BlackMirror'' protagonists are awful people who really need to be taught a lesson. In the show, HumansAreBastards because they keep abusing technology. The biggest example is Robert Daly from "USS Callister", a creepy, self-entitled nerd who presides as an asshole god over a modded version of a video game he developed and subjects the sentient characters to torture to relieve his frustrations from work.
* All male members of the ''Series/BlakesSeven'' crew flirt with this, even Blake. In the finale of Season 2, it's made clear that he was fully willing to cause the deaths of millions of people (by computer failure) in order to take down the Federation.
* ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'': By the end of the second season, nearly every major character qualifies. [[spoiler: Hell, even the HeroAntagonist has turned into one.]]
* ''Series/TheBorgias'': Rodrigo Borgia, also known as Pope Alexander Sextus, is this. He's AffablyEvil, has four kids and an openly-known mistress, and has no problem with blackmail or bribery, and pimps his kids out to the highest bidder. Plus, there's all of the less-than-ethical executions he's considered, and the situations his children have had to endure--in what amounts to emotional abuse. His elder son, Cesare, is an even better example, what with the killing people, having a personal assassin as a best friend, and [[BrotherSisterIncest really]] loving his sister, though that's probably the least villainous part of his personality. [[TruthInTelevision If history has anything to say about it,]] he gets worse.
* Walter White of ''Series/BreakingBad'' slowly [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain evolves toward this]] over the course of the first four seasons, especially under his "Heisenberg" alter-ego. Walter still remains an AntiHero, thus maintaining audience support, by always struggling against someone worse than him. By the fifth season, however, Walter has become a cold and cruel man, and his opposition is his own family, becoming the BigBad in his own story, [[spoiler: up until his downfall in 'Ozymandias', after which he's relegated to ExBigBad and eventually a dark version of TheAtoner]].
** Similarly, the spin-off show ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' follows the sketchy but ultimately good-hearted Jimmy [=McGill=]'s descent into the sleazy and amoral Saul Goodman that he becomes in the main show, [[spoiler: and then afterwards, the fallout that happens due to him working with the likes of Gustavo Fring, the Salamancas, and Walter White/"Heisenburg", and the things that happen to him after Heisenburg's downfall.]]
* Almost every episode of ''Series/{{Columbo}}'' starts off from the villain's point-of-view as he or she carries out a supposedly perfect murder.
* ''Series/CrazyExGirlfriend'' has a {{Deconstruction}}. The protagonist Rebecca is not really a bad person, but she moved all the way to West Covina just to reunite with her ex-boyfriend, and has repeatedly done bizarre schemes to get together with him, even though he's with someone else. The ex-boyfriend's current girlfriend Valencia is portrayed as an AlphaBitch who sees other women as "just jealous of her", but the show makes it on many occasions that Rebecca's actions to steal Josh away, however she may justify them to herself, are still wrong. Rebecca herself comes to think so, in her HeelRealization song "I'm The Villain In My Own Story".
* Al Swearingen in the first season of ''Series/{{Deadwood}}'' is a co-protagonist and the main villain, with Seth Bullock as the heroic co-protagonist. In the second and third season, the Hearst enterprises serve as the villain and Al becomes a more sympathetic AntiHero.
* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'': The main character is a serial killer who [[SympatheticMurderer targets other murderers]]. Thus, Dexter is an AntiHero for much of the series; although he is a murderer, the conflict comes from him opposing a ''more'' villainous BigBad in each season. In the final season, however, Dexter's flaws finally catch up to him and he's portrayed as his own worst enemy, pushing him into becoming the villain of his own story.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': The three-part finale of Series 9 ("Face the Raven"/"Heaven Sent"/"Hell Bent") sees '''the Doctor''' undergo a ProtagonistJourneyToVillain when he experiences a horrifying TraumaCongaLine of betrayal, torture, and above all [[spoiler: the death of his companion and sweetheart [[MoralityChain Clara Oswald]]]]. He thus spends most of "Hell Bent" as a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds ready to risk the safety of the universe on the TragicDream of [[spoiler: saving her from the grave]], but ultimately has a HeelRealization and with the help of LaserGuidedKarma returns to his best self.
* To the extent that they are protagonists, rather than Echo, the staff of the ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'' is this. Although their villainy lessens over time, especially in season 2 as a Greater Evil is uncovered.
* ''Series/EscapeAtDannemora'': The protagonists are two convicted murderers and the philandering prison employee who helps them escape.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': House Lannister has gradually became the most prominent one in the story with Tyrion and Cersei ranking the first and the second in terms of speaking lines over the course of four seasons (and Jaime placing within the top 5), and despite the existence of its more sympathetic members, like Tyrion and Jaime, it still serves as the BigBad of the families of Westeros, with even those characters technically supporting the villainous side. Until Tyrion's exile, anyway. Cersei Lannister is clearly the viewpoint character during the Faith in King's Landing storyline in Season 6.
** In the penultimate finale of Season 8, [[spoiler:Daenerys Targaryen has gone insane from a combination of the deaths of Missandei and the dragon Rhaegal, and also the revelation of Jon's true ancestry [[AllForNothing negating her claim to the Iron Throne]]. After she has put all of King's Landing to the torch, innocent and guilty alike, she has completely alienated her surviving allies and racked up a greater body count than Cersei, Joffrey or Aerys.]]
* ''Series/{{Gotham}}'' focuses as much on [[ComicBook/ThePenguin Oswald Cobblepot]] and his rise to power as it does on Jim Gordon and Bruce Wayne, with conflicts usually shown from two perspectives - the GCPD's and Penguin's crime family. A writer for The Atlantic even argued that the series should be renamed The Penguin Show.
* Discussed in the ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'' episode "Yes, Virginia, There Is a Hercules", where -- behind the scenes -- the lead actor Kevin Sorbo goes missing, forcing the writers to consider changing the show to account for Hercules' disappearance, and two of the staff members, a gun nut and an unhinged psychopath played by the actors who play [[WarGod Ares]] and Xena's nemesis Callisto, gleefully propose spinoff series about Ares and Callisto respectively.
* Sylar of ''Series/{{Heroes}}''. In the first season he's the BigBad, but in the second and subsequent seasons he's a protagonist and goes through a HeelFaceRevolvingDoor, spending some portions as a hero and more portions as a villain.
* ''Series/HitlerTheRiseOfEvil'': To be expected in a biographical miniseries that focuses on UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler. The main character is a racist demagogue who wants to institute a new dictatorial empire and annihilate the Jews.
* After a certain point in season 1 of ''Series/{{Homeland}}'' and throughout season 2, the audience is aware of POW turned terrorist Nicholas Brody having ill intentions of which the intelligence agent protagonists are unaware, and the audience's sympathies are split between wanting to see them stop him and seeing if/how he can overcome various obstacles in his way. In season 5, a significant amount of the plot involves a new character, Allison, who is a DoubleAgent for Russia. The regular cast members essentially play a HeroAntagonist role in relation to her, as she plays them against each other and later on, attempts to evade discovery and capture.
* Francis Urquhart in the BBC series ''Series/{{House of Cards|UK}}'' and its sequels ''To Play the King'' and ''The Final Cut''. Urquhart is a ''Theatre/RichardIII''-esque British MP who schemes his way up to being Prime Minister via various sneaky and some downright evil acts.
* Frank Underwood in the ''Series/{{House of Cards|US}}'' U.S. remake is a ruthless politician who will do ''anything'' for more power. In Shakespearean tradition, he frequently gives snide, sneering and self-satisfied asides to the audience, letting the viewer see inside his twisted mind. Also applies increasingly to his wife Claire as she gets more and more focus and power. They're both pretty damn evil, really.
* ''Series/HouseOfSaddam'' chronicles the rise and fall of Iraq's infamous former dictator.
* There are a few episodes of ''Series/ICarly'' where even Freddie and Carly end up going against Sam when she does something bad. Example, starting a child labour sweatshop.
* [[UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist The Gang - yep, all of them - in]] ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia''. Don't hang out with those guys, or they'll crush your spirits and make you as vile as them.
* ''Series/{{Justified}}'' splits its screentime equally between {{US Marshal}} Raylan Givens and Harlan County crime boss Boyd Crowder, the latter of whom, as a ruthless criminal trying to take control of the county, is a definite example of this.
* One series that really toys with this along with many other tropes is ''Series/TheLeagueOfGentlemen'' which doesn't so much follow one central plot as much as seperate parallel storylines where most of the characters get their time in the limelight. And many of those easily fulfill this role as well in their part of the story. Examples include the xenophobic and murderous local shop owners Edward and Tubbs Tattsyrup who make a [[SerialKiller habit out of disposing the un-local elements]], the verbally and physically abusive job-restart officer Pauline Campbell Jones and Geoff Tipps a volatile and [[PsychopathicManchild immature man]] who [[TheResenter envies and resents]] his supposed best friends and often [[DisproportionateRetribution threatens them with his gun]].
* On ''Series/MrRobot'', Angela slowly evolves into this by the third season. After spending two seasons trying to get justice for her mother's death and getting constantly looked down by others, Whiterose's brainwashing turns her into a cold, borderline sociopathic woman who is willing to get what she wants no matter at what cost, even go as far as to mind raping Elliot.
* Alan [[MeaningfulName B'stard]] of ''Series/TheNewStatesman''. A corrupt politician abusing his power, all PlayedForLaughs.
* ''Series/{{Oz}}'', being set in a prison, naturally revolves around the inmates, many of whom are guilty of murder, rape, drug dealing, etc.
* ''Series/ResidentAlien'' is about an alien who crash-lands on Earth while trying to deposit and detonate a DoomsdayDevice in order to KillAllHumans. He still intends to complete this mission once he repairs his ship and recovers the device, even as he tries to blend in among the local population.
* ''Franchise/SailorMoon'': [[spoiler:Sailor Moon herself]] is revealed to have been this all along toward the end of ''Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon''. She's the WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds variety.
* ''Series/{{Scandal}}'': Olivia Pope and her team start out as traditional protagonists, but that changes at the start of season 2. For starters, Olivia and Supreme Court Justice Verna shut down Quinn's trial to save Quinn. David Rosen is unhappy about that, and he decides to dig for answers about Quinn. It turns out that Olivia, Verna, Cyrus, Mellie, and Hollis are working together in some sort of conspiracy. Olivia had an affair with President Fitz for a long time, despite the fact that Fitz is still married to Mellie. Also, Olivia participated in rigging the election so that Fitz would become President. She also sabotaged David's efforts to find answers. When you put it together, you have a group of protagonists who are actually villains and not heroes.
* In both the [[Series/ShamelessUK original British]] and [[Series/ShamelessUS American]] versions of ''Shameless'', Frank Gallagher is an alcoholic, lying, dishonest, violent, neglectful parent, but he's still the main character.
* ''Series/TheShield'': The entire Strike Team are guilty of numerous crimes, but particularly [[TheLeader Vic Mackey]] and [[TheLancer Shane Vendrell]]. The pilot episode drives the "bad cop" point home by having [[spoiler:Vic shooting and killing a fellow cop, because Vic knew he was planning on ratting the Strike Team out to Internal Affairs.]]
* ''Series/{{Skins}}'' has Tony Stonem in Series 1, who is a manipulative, heartless bastard. [[CharacterDevelopment He gets better.]]
* ComicBook/LexLuthor in ''Series/{{Smallville}}''. Although the show is supposed to be about [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Clark Kent]], it focuses on Lex just as much and his descent into becoming the ArchEnemy of Superman.
* Early seasons of ''Series/SonsOfAnarchy'' paint Jax Teller as the more idealistic (though far from innocent) alternative to his violent, crooked stepfather Clay Morrow. But near the end of Season 4, that all changes. A series of tragedies in Jax's personal life cause him to be sidetracked onto a path of revenge, and he becomes increasingly violent, manipulative, and generally controlled by evil. The show attempts to portray him favorably by putting SAMCRO up against some of the worst criminals imaginable, but [[HeWhoFightsMonsters his efforts to defeat them always wind up causing him and his club more mental anguish]]. By the start of Season 7, it's apparent that Jax has become the villain of his own story.
* ''Series/TheSopranos'': Considering that well over half the cast is in the Mob, this trope was bound to pop up. Even the nicer ones have no problem with murder, drug trafficking, and other unsavory, illegal activities. And chances are, if you're not in the mob, you're a huge {{Jerkass}} who just doesn't happen to be as morally bankrupt.
* Harry Montebello in ''Series/TheStraits'' has been known to kill people by feeding them to a variety of exotic wildlife. This is because he takes the security of his drug-smuggling business and his family ''extremely'' seriously.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': By the end of Season 10, it's clear that [[spoiler:Sam and Dean Winchester are the biggest threats currently out there, and only barely any better than the things they hunt, if at all]].
* ''Series/{{Taken}}'': Three generations of the Crawford family, Owen, Eric and Mary, commit terrible crimes as part of their crusade to discover what the aliens are planning. Owen is a complete sociopath while Mary is highly erratic and unstable. Eric is not on quite the same level as his father and daughter. In "Maintenance", he tries to become a better man. In "God's Equation", he has reached the stage where he does not want any more deaths on his conscience.
* This is very often the case on ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'', where the protagonist is a murderer or some other sadistic criminal (who usually [[AssholeVictim gets what's coming to him]] at the hands of someone who's even worse.) For instance, in "Surprise Party", the protagonist finds his father is going to donate a chunk of farmland and its ruined house to charity -so he kills him. When the son goes ''out'' to the farmhouse, he finds the reason it's ruined is his father burned it down years ago [[spoiler:-with the attendees to a party still inside. Their ghosts can't take revenge on the father anymore...]]
* ''Film/TrilogyOfTerror'': The segment "Julie" has Chad Morgan, a sexual predator who blackmails his English professor into dating him.
* UsefulNotes/HenryVIII on ''Series/TheTudors'' is a [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder chronically-backstabbing]], ControlFreak {{Narcissist}} with a HairTriggerTemper who spends four straight seasons abusing his family, murdering his rivals (and sometimes their innocent family members), and manipulating national policy to flatter his own vanity.
* ''Series/TheVampireDiaries'' didn't start out this way, but as more of the MainCharacters became vampires, and even "good" vampires like Stefan were revealed to have done horrific things, Villain protagonists became the norm. By the end of the third season, Elena admits that killing all the vampires in the world, including her friends, would actually be the right thing to do, and that trying to keep them alive, at the expense of who-knows-how-many people they'll go on to kill, makes her the bad guy. To which she adds, "Fine, I'll be the bad guy."
* ''Series/TheVillainsOfValleyView'' focuses on a ''whole family'' of villains, and the protagonist is their only daughter.
* In ''Series/WandaVision'', Wanda is more of an AntiVillain Protagonist, but she definitely fits. Regardless of how sympathetic her motives are, the fact is that she trapped hundreds of people inside the bubble and controlled their minds (even if the initial creation was an accident), gaslit Vision when he started to get suspicious and turned violent with anyone who even slightly challenged her comfort-reality.
* Nancy Botwin and her AffablyEvil associates from ''Series/{{Weeds}}'' are drug dealers. Then again, [[BadCopIncompetentCop almost every official and law officer is a corrupt hypocrite]]. She starts out in a StepfordSuburbia in a CrapsackWorld, and [[CerebusSyndrome things go downhill from there]].
* The host of the game show ''Series/WordWhizOrSlimePit'', Dr. Slime, is a LaughablyEvil and [[EvilIsHammy hammy]] scientist who spends each episode trapping three children, the contestants of the show, in his lab to be potential minions of his and giving them some word-based challenges to complete. Those who don't do well enough in the challenges will be CoveredInGunge and forced to work with him.
* On ''Series/You2018'', the protagonist Joe is a StalkerWithACrush who is obsessed with a grad student named Beck and would do anything to be with her.
* ''Series/ZeroZeroZero'': All three storylines are told from the perspective of drug runners, though their level of villainy varies dramatically.
* ''Series/TheAmericans'' plays with this trope. The protagonists are deep-cover KGB sleeper agents in the United States in 1981, so American audiences are expected to approach them as the "villains" of the show. Indeed, they do commit murder and many other ruthless crimes throughout the series. However, the show's drama hinges on the pair being sympathetic, primarily through their home life as a family. They are often shown to be similar to their American rivals, and they occasionally get forced into making difficult choices between duty to their nation and their own moral scruples.
* The titular character of ''Series/{{Barry}}'' is a ProfessionalKiller who - while conflicted and remorseful about his profession - still won't hesitate to kill innocent people if it means saving his own skin. It's demonstrated most shockingly towards the end of the first season, where he [[spoiler:murders his innocent friend Chris to stop him from going to the police.]]
* ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'':
** Edmund Blackadder is a greedy, self-centred arse who [[DeadpanSnarker enjoys insulting those around him]] and will happily betray, abuse and mis-treat those around him, especially his inferiors. Frankly, if he wasn't played by Rowan Atkinson he'd be almost completely unlovable. Averted - albeit temporarily - in "Blackadder's Christmas Carol", and [[spoiler: in the final minutes of the final episode of ''Blackadder Goes Forth'']].
** Of the four main-series Blackadders, the most villainous is probably the one from "Blackadder the Third", who commits multiple murders, abuses his underlings, robs, swindles, lies, and even kicks a cat at one point. He's at least self-aware about it; when there's an ad for a "treacherous, malicious, unprincipled cad" to be King of Sardinia, [[CardCarryingVillain Blackadder gives it due consideration]].
* Many ''Series/BlackMirror'' protagonists are awful people who really need to be taught a lesson. In the show, HumansAreBastards because they keep abusing technology. The biggest example is Robert Daly from "USS Callister", a creepy, self-entitled nerd who presides as an asshole god over a modded version of a video game he developed and subjects the sentient characters to torture to relieve his frustrations from work.
* All male members of the ''Series/BlakesSeven'' crew flirt with this, even Blake. In the finale of Season 2, it's made clear that he was fully willing to cause the deaths of millions of people (by computer failure) in order to take down the Federation.
* ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'': By the end of the second season, nearly every major character qualifies. [[spoiler: Hell, even the HeroAntagonist has turned into one.]]
* ''Series/TheBorgias'': Rodrigo Borgia, also known as Pope Alexander Sextus, is this. He's AffablyEvil, has four kids and an openly-known mistress, and has no problem with blackmail or bribery, and pimps his kids out to the highest bidder. Plus, there's all of the less-than-ethical executions he's considered, and the situations his children have had to endure--in what amounts to emotional abuse. His elder son, Cesare, is an even better example, what with the killing people, having a personal assassin as a best friend, and [[BrotherSisterIncest really]] loving his sister, though that's probably the least villainous part of his personality. [[TruthInTelevision If history has anything to say about it,]] he gets worse.
* Walter White of ''Series/BreakingBad'' slowly [[ProtagonistJourneyToVillain evolves toward this]] over the course of the first four seasons, especially under his "Heisenberg" alter-ego. Walter still remains an AntiHero, thus maintaining audience support, by always struggling against someone worse than him. By the fifth season, however, Walter has become a cold and cruel man, and his opposition is his own family, becoming the BigBad in his own story, [[spoiler: up until his downfall in 'Ozymandias', after which he's relegated to ExBigBad and eventually a dark version of TheAtoner]].
** Similarly, the spin-off show ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' follows the sketchy but ultimately good-hearted Jimmy [=McGill=]'s descent into the sleazy and amoral Saul Goodman that he becomes in the main show, [[spoiler: and then afterwards, the fallout that happens due to him working with the likes of Gustavo Fring, the Salamancas, and Walter White/"Heisenburg", and the things that happen to him after Heisenburg's downfall.]]
* Almost every episode of ''Series/{{Columbo}}'' starts off from the villain's point-of-view as he or she carries out a supposedly perfect murder.
* ''Series/CrazyExGirlfriend'' has a {{Deconstruction}}. The protagonist Rebecca is not really a bad person, but she moved all the way to West Covina just to reunite with her ex-boyfriend, and has repeatedly done bizarre schemes to get together with him, even though he's with someone else. The ex-boyfriend's current girlfriend Valencia is portrayed as an AlphaBitch who sees other women as "just jealous of her", but the show makes it on many occasions that Rebecca's actions to steal Josh away, however she may justify them to herself, are still wrong. Rebecca herself comes to think so, in her HeelRealization song "I'm The Villain In My Own Story".
* Al Swearingen in the first season of ''Series/{{Deadwood}}'' is a co-protagonist and the main villain, with Seth Bullock as the heroic co-protagonist. In the second and third season, the Hearst enterprises serve as the villain and Al becomes a more sympathetic AntiHero.
* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'': The main character is a serial killer who [[SympatheticMurderer targets other murderers]]. Thus, Dexter is an AntiHero for much of the series; although he is a murderer, the conflict comes from him opposing a ''more'' villainous BigBad in each season. In the final season, however, Dexter's flaws finally catch up to him and he's portrayed as his own worst enemy, pushing him into becoming the villain of his own story.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': The three-part finale of Series 9 ("Face the Raven"/"Heaven Sent"/"Hell Bent") sees '''the Doctor''' undergo a ProtagonistJourneyToVillain when he experiences a horrifying TraumaCongaLine of betrayal, torture, and above all [[spoiler: the death of his companion and sweetheart [[MoralityChain Clara Oswald]]]]. He thus spends most of "Hell Bent" as a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds ready to risk the safety of the universe on the TragicDream of [[spoiler: saving her from the grave]], but ultimately has a HeelRealization and with the help of LaserGuidedKarma returns to his best self.
* To the extent that they are protagonists, rather than Echo, the staff of the ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'' is this. Although their villainy lessens over time, especially in season 2 as a Greater Evil is uncovered.
* ''Series/EscapeAtDannemora'': The protagonists are two convicted murderers and the philandering prison employee who helps them escape.
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': House Lannister has gradually became the most prominent one in the story with Tyrion and Cersei ranking the first and the second in terms of speaking lines over the course of four seasons (and Jaime placing within the top 5), and despite the existence of its more sympathetic members, like Tyrion and Jaime, it still serves as the BigBad of the families of Westeros, with even those characters technically supporting the villainous side. Until Tyrion's exile, anyway. Cersei Lannister is clearly the viewpoint character during the Faith in King's Landing storyline in Season 6.
** In the penultimate finale of Season 8, [[spoiler:Daenerys Targaryen has gone insane from a combination of the deaths of Missandei and the dragon Rhaegal, and also the revelation of Jon's true ancestry [[AllForNothing negating her claim to the Iron Throne]]. After she has put all of King's Landing to the torch, innocent and guilty alike, she has completely alienated her surviving allies and racked up a greater body count than Cersei, Joffrey or Aerys.]]
* ''Series/{{Gotham}}'' focuses as much on [[ComicBook/ThePenguin Oswald Cobblepot]] and his rise to power as it does on Jim Gordon and Bruce Wayne, with conflicts usually shown from two perspectives - the GCPD's and Penguin's crime family. A writer for The Atlantic even argued that the series should be renamed The Penguin Show.
* Discussed in the ''Series/HerculesTheLegendaryJourneys'' episode "Yes, Virginia, There Is a Hercules", where -- behind the scenes -- the lead actor Kevin Sorbo goes missing, forcing the writers to consider changing the show to account for Hercules' disappearance, and two of the staff members, a gun nut and an unhinged psychopath played by the actors who play [[WarGod Ares]] and Xena's nemesis Callisto, gleefully propose spinoff series about Ares and Callisto respectively.
* Sylar of ''Series/{{Heroes}}''. In the first season he's the BigBad, but in the second and subsequent seasons he's a protagonist and goes through a HeelFaceRevolvingDoor, spending some portions as a hero and more portions as a villain.
* ''Series/HitlerTheRiseOfEvil'': To be expected in a biographical miniseries that focuses on UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler. The main character is a racist demagogue who wants to institute a new dictatorial empire and annihilate the Jews.
* After a certain point in season 1 of ''Series/{{Homeland}}'' and throughout season 2, the audience is aware of POW turned terrorist Nicholas Brody having ill intentions of which the intelligence agent protagonists are unaware, and the audience's sympathies are split between wanting to see them stop him and seeing if/how he can overcome various obstacles in his way. In season 5, a significant amount of the plot involves a new character, Allison, who is a DoubleAgent for Russia. The regular cast members essentially play a HeroAntagonist role in relation to her, as she plays them against each other and later on, attempts to evade discovery and capture.
* Francis Urquhart in the BBC series ''Series/{{House of Cards|UK}}'' and its sequels ''To Play the King'' and ''The Final Cut''. Urquhart is a ''Theatre/RichardIII''-esque British MP who schemes his way up to being Prime Minister via various sneaky and some downright evil acts.
* Frank Underwood in the ''Series/{{House of Cards|US}}'' U.S. remake is a ruthless politician who will do ''anything'' for more power. In Shakespearean tradition, he frequently gives snide, sneering and self-satisfied asides to the audience, letting the viewer see inside his twisted mind. Also applies increasingly to his wife Claire as she gets more and more focus and power. They're both pretty damn evil, really.
* ''Series/HouseOfSaddam'' chronicles the rise and fall of Iraq's infamous former dictator.
* There are a few episodes of ''Series/ICarly'' where even Freddie and Carly end up going against Sam when she does something bad. Example, starting a child labour sweatshop.
* [[UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist The Gang - yep, all of them - in]] ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia''. Don't hang out with those guys, or they'll crush your spirits and make you as vile as them.
* ''Series/{{Justified}}'' splits its screentime equally between {{US Marshal}} Raylan Givens and Harlan County crime boss Boyd Crowder, the latter of whom, as a ruthless criminal trying to take control of the county, is a definite example of this.
* One series that really toys with this along with many other tropes is ''Series/TheLeagueOfGentlemen'' which doesn't so much follow one central plot as much as seperate parallel storylines where most of the characters get their time in the limelight. And many of those easily fulfill this role as well in their part of the story. Examples include the xenophobic and murderous local shop owners Edward and Tubbs Tattsyrup who make a [[SerialKiller habit out of disposing the un-local elements]], the verbally and physically abusive job-restart officer Pauline Campbell Jones and Geoff Tipps a volatile and [[PsychopathicManchild immature man]] who [[TheResenter envies and resents]] his supposed best friends and often [[DisproportionateRetribution threatens them with his gun]].
* On ''Series/MrRobot'', Angela slowly evolves into this by the third season. After spending two seasons trying to get justice for her mother's death and getting constantly looked down by others, Whiterose's brainwashing turns her into a cold, borderline sociopathic woman who is willing to get what she wants no matter at what cost, even go as far as to mind raping Elliot.
* Alan [[MeaningfulName B'stard]] of ''Series/TheNewStatesman''. A corrupt politician abusing his power, all PlayedForLaughs.
* ''Series/{{Oz}}'', being set in a prison, naturally revolves around the inmates, many of whom are guilty of murder, rape, drug dealing, etc.
* ''Series/ResidentAlien'' is about an alien who crash-lands on Earth while trying to deposit and detonate a DoomsdayDevice in order to KillAllHumans. He still intends to complete this mission once he repairs his ship and recovers the device, even as he tries to blend in among the local population.
* ''Franchise/SailorMoon'': [[spoiler:Sailor Moon herself]] is revealed to have been this all along toward the end of ''Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon''. She's the WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds variety.
* ''Series/{{Scandal}}'': Olivia Pope and her team start out as traditional protagonists, but that changes at the start of season 2. For starters, Olivia and Supreme Court Justice Verna shut down Quinn's trial to save Quinn. David Rosen is unhappy about that, and he decides to dig for answers about Quinn. It turns out that Olivia, Verna, Cyrus, Mellie, and Hollis are working together in some sort of conspiracy. Olivia had an affair with President Fitz for a long time, despite the fact that Fitz is still married to Mellie. Also, Olivia participated in rigging the election so that Fitz would become President. She also sabotaged David's efforts to find answers. When you put it together, you have a group of protagonists who are actually villains and not heroes.
* In both the [[Series/ShamelessUK original British]] and [[Series/ShamelessUS American]] versions of ''Shameless'', Frank Gallagher is an alcoholic, lying, dishonest, violent, neglectful parent, but he's still the main character.
* ''Series/TheShield'': The entire Strike Team are guilty of numerous crimes, but particularly [[TheLeader Vic Mackey]] and [[TheLancer Shane Vendrell]]. The pilot episode drives the "bad cop" point home by having [[spoiler:Vic shooting and killing a fellow cop, because Vic knew he was planning on ratting the Strike Team out to Internal Affairs.]]
* ''Series/{{Skins}}'' has Tony Stonem in Series 1, who is a manipulative, heartless bastard. [[CharacterDevelopment He gets better.]]
* ComicBook/LexLuthor in ''Series/{{Smallville}}''. Although the show is supposed to be about [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Clark Kent]], it focuses on Lex just as much and his descent into becoming the ArchEnemy of Superman.
* Early seasons of ''Series/SonsOfAnarchy'' paint Jax Teller as the more idealistic (though far from innocent) alternative to his violent, crooked stepfather Clay Morrow. But near the end of Season 4, that all changes. A series of tragedies in Jax's personal life cause him to be sidetracked onto a path of revenge, and he becomes increasingly violent, manipulative, and generally controlled by evil. The show attempts to portray him favorably by putting SAMCRO up against some of the worst criminals imaginable, but [[HeWhoFightsMonsters his efforts to defeat them always wind up causing him and his club more mental anguish]]. By the start of Season 7, it's apparent that Jax has become the villain of his own story.
* ''Series/TheSopranos'': Considering that well over half the cast is in the Mob, this trope was bound to pop up. Even the nicer ones have no problem with murder, drug trafficking, and other unsavory, illegal activities. And chances are, if you're not in the mob, you're a huge {{Jerkass}} who just doesn't happen to be as morally bankrupt.
* Harry Montebello in ''Series/TheStraits'' has been known to kill people by feeding them to a variety of exotic wildlife. This is because he takes the security of his drug-smuggling business and his family ''extremely'' seriously.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': By the end of Season 10, it's clear that [[spoiler:Sam and Dean Winchester are the biggest threats currently out there, and only barely any better than the things they hunt, if at all]].
* ''Series/{{Taken}}'': Three generations of the Crawford family, Owen, Eric and Mary, commit terrible crimes as part of their crusade to discover what the aliens are planning. Owen is a complete sociopath while Mary is highly erratic and unstable. Eric is not on quite the same level as his father and daughter. In "Maintenance", he tries to become a better man. In "God's Equation", he has reached the stage where he does not want any more deaths on his conscience.
* This is very often the case on ''Series/TalesFromTheCrypt'', where the protagonist is a murderer or some other sadistic criminal (who usually [[AssholeVictim gets what's coming to him]] at the hands of someone who's even worse.) For instance, in "Surprise Party", the protagonist finds his father is going to donate a chunk of farmland and its ruined house to charity -so he kills him. When the son goes ''out'' to the farmhouse, he finds the reason it's ruined is his father burned it down years ago [[spoiler:-with the attendees to a party still inside. Their ghosts can't take revenge on the father anymore...]]
* ''Film/TrilogyOfTerror'': The segment "Julie" has Chad Morgan, a sexual predator who blackmails his English professor into dating him.
* UsefulNotes/HenryVIII on ''Series/TheTudors'' is a [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder chronically-backstabbing]], ControlFreak {{Narcissist}} with a HairTriggerTemper who spends four straight seasons abusing his family, murdering his rivals (and sometimes their innocent family members), and manipulating national policy to flatter his own vanity.
* ''Series/TheVampireDiaries'' didn't start out this way, but as more of the MainCharacters became vampires, and even "good" vampires like Stefan were revealed to have done horrific things, Villain protagonists became the norm. By the end of the third season, Elena admits that killing all the vampires in the world, including her friends, would actually be the right thing to do, and that trying to keep them alive, at the expense of who-knows-how-many people they'll go on to kill, makes her the bad guy. To which she adds, "Fine, I'll be the bad guy."
* ''Series/TheVillainsOfValleyView'' focuses on a ''whole family'' of villains, and the protagonist is their only daughter.
* In ''Series/WandaVision'', Wanda is more of an AntiVillain Protagonist, but she definitely fits. Regardless of how sympathetic her motives are, the fact is that she trapped hundreds of people inside the bubble and controlled their minds (even if the initial creation was an accident), gaslit Vision when he started to get suspicious and turned violent with anyone who even slightly challenged her comfort-reality.
* Nancy Botwin and her AffablyEvil associates from ''Series/{{Weeds}}'' are drug dealers. Then again, [[BadCopIncompetentCop almost every official and law officer is a corrupt hypocrite]]. She starts out in a StepfordSuburbia in a CrapsackWorld, and [[CerebusSyndrome things go downhill from there]].
* The host of the game show ''Series/WordWhizOrSlimePit'', Dr. Slime, is a LaughablyEvil and [[EvilIsHammy hammy]] scientist who spends each episode trapping three children, the contestants of the show, in his lab to be potential minions of his and giving them some word-based challenges to complete. Those who don't do well enough in the challenges will be CoveredInGunge and forced to work with him.
* On ''Series/You2018'', the protagonist Joe is a StalkerWithACrush who is obsessed with a grad student named Beck and would do anything to be with her.
* ''Series/ZeroZeroZero'': All three storylines are told from the perspective of drug runners, though their level of villainy varies dramatically.
