Certain shows’ protagonists are not always the most honest, upstanding “heroes” that the good-guy-always-wins Hollywood has trained us to expect them to be. Some shows feature down right criminals and monsters and somehow build a story around them that causes the viewer to sympathize with, and even root for, the antihero.
Not all of these shows hit the mark, but the ones that do really explore the intricacies of circumstance, free will, and human emotion.
So, with that in mind, we are going to open the polls and ask YOU who your favorite TV antihero is:
Tony Soprano
The Sopranos – HBO
This American crime drama, which aired on HBO in the early 2000s, revolves around New Jersey-based Italian American mobster Tony Soprano and his struggles to balance his family life with his criminal organization.
See also: James Gandolfini: The Disintegrating Man
Enuch “Nucky” Thompson
Boardwalk Empire – HBO
Set in Atlantic City, New Jersey during the time of Prohibition, this period crime drama aired on HBO and stars Steve Buscemi as Enuch “Nucky” Thompson—a political figure who rose to prominence during the Prohibition era by playing both sides of the law, often conspiring with gangs, the mob, politicians, government agencies, and others.
See also: Boardwalk Empire 5.08: Series Finale “Eldorado”
Tommy Shelby
Peaky Blinders – BBC Two
A gangster family epic set in Birmingham, England in 1919—just after World War I—this show centers on a gang known as Peaky Blinders (the name deriving from the practice of stitching razor blades to the peaks of their flat-brimmed caps to be used as weapons) and their dangerous leader, Tommy Shelby.
Walter White (AKA Heisenberg)
Breaking Bad – AMC
When high school chemistry teacher Walter White learns he has terminal lung cancer, he begins to worry about the crippling cost of treatment and his family’s financial future once he ultimately dies. This leads him to do what anyone would—use his knowledge of chemistry to begin cooking crystal meth to make enough money to secure his family’s future. Pairing with former student Jesse Pinkman, we get to watch Walter White devolve into the drug kingpin “Heisenberg” as it becomes less about the money and more about the thrill and desire to reach the top of the drug ring.
See also: Breaking Bad Rewatch 1.01: “Pilot”
Dexter Morgan
Dexter – Showtime
Originally airing on Showtime, Dexter is the story of a young boy “born in blood” who grows up to be a serial killer with a sense of justice. After watching his mother get tortured and brutally murdered at a very young age, Dexter Morgan is adopted by a police officer who recognizes the boy's killer tendencies and teaches him a code of ethics—leading him to only kill “bad guys.”
Vote below:
Is your favorite not on this list? Let us know what gang show you think is the best in the comments!
Olivia Pope. Sure, she and her fellow narcissistic sociopaths call themselves gladiators, and they occasionally succumb to brief fugues of angst masquerading as conscience … but Olivia, especially, is actually driven by lust for power, sex and vengeance. The fact that many of her fans think of her as the “good guy,” simply because her lust taps into some of our frustrated anger at the villainy of the powerfu, only proves she belongs on this list.
Thomas Shelby for sure! Cillian murphy is superb!
Heisenberg
Jax Teller from Sons of Anarchy needs a mention i think, but from the list i would have to pick Tommy Shelby
Hannibal Lecter all the way!!! Suave and sophisticated, with a “taste” for the finer things, including members of high society, there is no more dashingly debonair demon than Hannibal.