Antiheroes have been all the rage for the past decade. Whether it's Walter White on Breaking Bad or Dexter Morgan on Dexter, audiences love rallying behind someone doing horrible things. The thing is, out of all the antiheroes we've fallen in love with on the small screen, most have been men.
Traditionally, female characters haven't been written as complexly as male characters have. They're often written with likability at the forefront. Occasionally, though, a show will come along that proves women can be complex people who do terrible things just as well as men can.
Spoilers Ahead
'Killing Eve' (2018-2022)
Killing Eve is a unique tale of cat and mouse, where a cat and a mouse are trying to kill each other so much, that they actually fall in love. The show follows Eve (Sandra Oh), a British Intelligence officer who is tasked with hunting down the psychopathic assassin known as Villanelle (Jodie Comer).
Villanelle isn't the kind of person you would expect to be a ruthless assassin. She's funny, charismatic, and has an incredible fashion sense. You can see that deep down, there's some good in her. That's part of why Eve becomes so obsessed with her. A good antihero has both good and bad qualities, and that perfectly describes Villanelle.
'Kevin Can F**k Himself' (2021-2022)
The CBS sitcom Kevin Can Wait was revamped after the first season, killing off Kevin's wife and bringing on Leah Remini as his new love interest. AMC's Kevin Can F**k Himself was inspired by the way that this show just tossed away a female character without a second thought. Sitcoms have a long history of neglecting and misusing their female characters without regard.
Kevin Can F**k Himself is about Allison (Annie Murphy) who decides to kill her husband in order to reclaim her life. What makes her such a unique antihero is the way that she leans more hero than a villain. Sure she's planning a murder, but when you see the way Kevin takes over her life, you can't help but understand.
'Damages' (2007-2012)
Glenn Close can play good or evil, and you'll buy into it completely. She's just that good. That's why she was perfect casting for Damages. It's a lawyer's job to defend or prosecute whoever is on the other side of the court. That can make you do things you may not want to. Patty Hewes (Close) is willing to do whatever is necessary to win the case at hand.
She knows the law inside and out and knows exactly how to manipulate it to her advantage. She's willing to commit blackmail, intimidation and even murder to win a case. But she justifies her behavior by taking down bad guys. It's up to you to decide who's really worse.
'The Americans' (2013-2018)
The Americans was a show that followed the lives of two Soviet spies, Elizabeth (Keri Russell) and Phillip (Matthew Rhys), who have infiltrated American society during the Cold War. The show explores how their professional relationship interacts with their personal relationship.
Elizabeth and Phillip didn't fall in love before being sent on their mission. They were just assigned to each other. It's hard to connect to someone you've just met. While Phillip falls in love with the American dream, Elizabeth remains focused on the task at hand, refusing to lose her purpose. She was sent to the U.S. to help bring it down from the inside, and that's exactly what she's going to do.
'Hacks' (2021- )
Hacks is not your typical show about an antihero. Instead of being about a criminal, it's about a comedian who is as ruthless as her jokes. Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) is definitely an antihero. She's tough and brutal, because, in the entertainment industry, women have had to become that in order to win. Hacks doesn't glorify her behavior but seeks to understand why she is the way she is.
Her relationship with her writer Ava (Hannah Einbinder) slowly begins to soften Deborah. Partly because she's realizing how much the world has changed, and because she sees herself in Ava. Hacks is a show that seeks to heal its antihero, instead of taking pride in her pain.
'Gypsy' (2017-2017)
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Traditionally, women are depicted on television as being monogamous people with little to no desire for sex. Gypsy is a show that understands women desire sex and excitement. Jean, (Naomi Watts) is a therapist who becomes too invested in the lives of her patients. It reaches a point where she begins having an affair with one of her patient's ex-girlfriends.
Jean, being a therapist, expertly manipulates the people in her life, but she never sits down to truly analyze what she's going through. She's too busy having fun to realize the pain she's causing. Gypsy was canceled after one season, so we'll never really know whether Jean confronts herself.
'Ozark' (2017-2022)
At first glance, you may think Ozark is just Breaking Bad but In Missouri. But what sets Ozark apart is the show's women. Wendy Byrde (Laura Linney) is the person that truly embodies an antihero. Once she becomes a part of her husband's criminal enterprise, Wendy becomes more invested in money laundering than Marty ever was.
Having worked in politics, Wendy uses cutthroat tactics to gain leverage, including blackmail and threats. However, Wendy begins pulling her family deeper and deeper into the mess they have been fighting to get out of. The brilliance of Wendy is that you understand her. After every sacrifice, her family has had to make, who wouldn't want to come out on the other side with as much as possible?
'House of Cards' (2013-2018)
What makes House of Cards great is that, even though the Underwoods are killing people on their way to the presidency, it's believable because it's not that far from reach. Frank (Kevin Spacey) and Claire (Robin Wright) are really just considered antiheroes because they're the protagonists of the show. Other than that, they're pretty awful people.
Claire is a loyal partner to her husband as he manipulates his way up the chain of power. However, after Spacey was accused of horrific sexual assault, Frank was killed off, putting Claire at the head of the show. House of Cards had already been dropping hints throughout its run that Claire is just as relentless as Frank. The final season was a mess, but Claire continued to be a woman you just love to hate.
'UnREAL' (2015-2018)
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The truth behind reality TV is that it's not all that different from scripted TV. It's the job of the producers to ensure that a clear story is told. To do that, they take real people and morph them into TV characters through serious manipulation. UnREAL is a scripted look inside this world, following the production staff of a Bachelor-like dating show called Everlasting.
While most reality TV is light, UnREAL gets pretty dark, revealing a side to television the industry would probably like to keep a secret. The show's co-creator, Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, was a producer on The Bachelor. The character of Quinn (Constance Zimmer) proves herself to be maybe the most ruthless character on the show. Sure, it's all in the pursuit of doing her job and creating an entertaining episode, but she pushes people to their absolute edge. It's a form of mental torture.
'Game of Thrones' (2011-2019)
There are a lot of characters on Game of Thrones. It's a show where everyone is after power and will do anything to get it. Perhaps the most ruthless character in all of Westeros is Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey). She knows what she wants and is not afraid of whoever stands in her way.
Some may see Cersei and call her a villain. There's definitely some merit to that, but the secret to her antihero status is her family. She wants to keep the Iron Throne for her kids, Joffrey and Tommen, and when that's no longer an option, she takes it for herself. She rules with an iron fist because it shouldn't have been her on the throne, it should have been her sons.