15 Overrated TV Shows We’d Rather Not Talk About

Some television shows are critically and commercially successful, while others are the most overrated of all time.

Have you ever wondered why certain shows are so successful? Have you ever felt left out of the water cooler chatter about the shows people can’t seem to get enough of?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, then this list is for you.

When it comes to overrated TV shows, few, if any, can match FriendsWith all due respect to the recently deceased Matthew Perry, the show was barely bearable in the 1990s and is even less bearable in 2024.

The jokes are ableist and fat-phobic (remember the “Fat Monica” storyline?), the characters are thoroughly unlikable, and the show’s New York City setting is completely unrealistic. Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) is a typical narcissist, and Ross Geller (David Schwimmer) needs a therapist for his clinical depression.

The recent revelation that Living alone —a truly hilarious, predominantly black show aimed at a black audience—was reportedly the uncredited blueprint for Friends only adds to its overrated status.

2. The Walking Dead (2010-2022)

The walking dead is an inexplicably popular show with a fairly broad swath of the American population. And while it’s true that its success spawned a series of spin-offs (including the recent Those who live), it is also one of the most overrated television series in history.

Zombies used as a “big bad guy” get boring after a while. Werewolves, vampires, and other triptychs have an unparalleled appeal, but zombies are just mindless automatons with no personality or memory. How many times can someone watch zombies get beaten up without getting bored to death or becoming a zombie themselves?

3. SATC training (1998-2004)

Sex and the city is another series set against the backdrop of New York City, which, again, has precisely zero realistic elements of the Big Apple. Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw simply couldn’t afford the luxury apartment and designer clothes on a journalist’s salary (no, not even in the ’90s).

Fans of the show claim that it has influenced fashion and shown strong, intelligent women on the small screen, but the reality is quite the opposite.

All of the women (except Samantha Jones, played by Kim Cattrall) are shallow and unlikable, and their “deep observations” amount to nothing more than “men don’t want to commit!” and “women like to shop!”, which is nothing more than stereotypical for both genders.

Again, the show was created by Darren Star, who was responsible for placing 90210 And Melrose Place on our screens, so it’s no surprise that he also created one of the most overrated television series in HBO history.

4. Rick & Morty (2013-present)

Rick and Morty has become the flagship program on the Adult Swim network, which is not good news for the network and society as a whole.

While the cartoon was certainly once a cultural phenomenon, it has now become increasingly self-referential, much like The Simpsons, to the point that even fans are turned off by its “meta” approach.

One fine day, Rick and Morty was Beavis & Butthead for the 21st century. These days, fans are lucky if they can get one good joke out of an entire episode. Not only is this one of the most overrated TV shows, it’s also one of the most overrated cartoons.

5. Seinfeld (1989-1998)

It’s unclear when Gen X collectively decided that Jerry Seinfeld was a comedy genius, but they couldn’t have been more wrong. The title character and his supporting cast are unlikable lumps of recklessness who can’t find joy in anything.

That kind of energy isn’t funny, it’s exhausting.

6. The Sopranos (1999-2007)

The Sopranos is one of the most overrated television shows of all time, and it’s truly baffling how series creator David Chase has become something of a hero to a generation of fanboys obsessed with Hollywood’s inaccurate portrayal of mafia culture.

Aside from dysfunctional focal point Tony Soprano (played by the late James Gandolfini, who deserves a better legacy than this), the real problem with the show is how blatantly inaccurate it is.

Tony Soprano would have been devastated in the first episode if the show had been truly accurate. The way Italians and Italian-Americans are portrayed is stereotypical and, quite frankly, insulting to anyone with even a shred of Italian ancestry.

7. Fuller House (2016-2020)

The appeal of the original Full hall lay in the adorably precocious character of Michelle Tanner, played by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.

Now that the Olsen twins refuse to return for the Fuller House reboot, the Netflix series became a moralistic quagmire worthy of the Hallmark Channel. It seemed more focused on pushing preachy morals than delivering humor and genuine warmth, which is why it makes our list as one of the most overrated TV shows.

8. Ted Lasso (2020-2023)

While the first two seasons of Ted Lasso were a huge success with both critics and commercial broadcasters, but the third (and final) season was a huge flop.

The character development was non-existent, most of the action took place off-screen, and the episodes seemed to drag on (and on) with no end in sight.

9. Game of Thrones (2011-2019)

The first four seasons of Game of Thrones were nothing short of television masterpieces. The HBO blockbuster subsequently became one of the most overrated television shows in the network’s history.

There isn’t an episode without chunks of terrible story filler – and that’s not to mention the finale, which was rushed and unsatisfying.

Perhaps the most disappointing of all the truly terrible storylines is the “Daenerys as Mad Queen” plot, which is handled with all the care of a fumbled football. It’s a shame that such an epic show has become a forgettable joke because of the inflated egos of a few writers.

10. Outlander (2014-present)

Aside from the problematic fandom, Foreigner is one of the most overrated shows on television today, thanks in no small part to its source material. The prose is as thick as old cheese, and the historical anachronisms are glaring. And that’s not even getting into the gratuitous depictions of attacks and enslavement.

While Sam Heughan (who plays Jamie Fraser) is fine, Jamie’s character is questionable. His character is also unintentionally hilarious when you realize Foreigner creator Diana Gabaldon (derisively called “Diana Babble-on” by her critics) began her career in the industry drawing Scrooge McDuck cartoons for Disney.

Anyone want to analyze the similarities between Jamie and McDuck?

11. Only Murders in the Building (2021-present)

Only murders in the building is one of those shows with phenomenal acting, and Selena Gomez gets a lot of deserved praise for taking on veterans Steve Martin and Martin Short. Still, the story falls short.

The premise of the show is a “murder mystery with comedy,” but it draws on the physical comedy that the baby boomer generation enjoys as The Benny Hill Show was on the radio. Martin Short’s whole trick is playing characters that are caricatures of himself, but that one-trick pony quickly makes for boring TV.

Only murders in the building could have been a classic series, but instead it is one of the most overrated television series.

12. Euphoria (2019-present)

Zendaya’s aesthetics, cinematography, and cultural phenomenon have all Euphoria one of the most popular shows. But apart from those factors, it is one of the most overrated television shows today.

The show does a great job of portraying the challenges facing students today — issues like mental health and drug addiction are all dealt with with raw, unflinching honesty. It’s also true that the way the actors (Zendaya excepted) deal with such issues is timely and clichéd.

Sydney Sweeney is not a good actress and the scripts in the show don’t even come close to the reality of Gen Z life.

13. Wednesday (2022-present)

Let’s be clear: Jenna Ortega is a national treasure, and her portrayal of Wednesday Addams is spectacular. The show Wednesday is itself one of the most overrated television series in Netflix history.

The plot itself has transformed the classic Addams Family story into an over-the-top teen drama designed specifically for the Gen Z audience, and the love triangle at the heart of the All my children-worthy storyline was clichéd and boring.

If it was done right, Wednesday could have been a binge-able show and would have been re-watched repeatedly. Instead, it disappeared from the vine almost a few weeks after it was released. Wednesday has no staying power, despite all the ingredients for a memorable show being present.

14. Riverdale (2017-2023)

In the beginning, Riverdale took the classic Archie comics and delivered a tour de force story with a murder mystery, a love triangle and palpable teenage angst. It also turned Charles Melton, who played Reggie, into a bonafide star.

Oddly enough, at the end of season five, Veronica’s father, Hiram Lodge, planted a bomb under Archie’s bed, transporting the cast to the parallel universe of “Rivervale.” This turned the show into the Great Value version of WandaVisionand it went from a great TV series to one of the most overrated TV series of all time.

15. This is us (2016-2022)

It’s hard to overstate how much of a cultural phenomenon this is This is us was. The show transformed Tuesday nights into must-see TV, revived Mandy Moore’s acting career, and turned Sterling K. Brown into a bonafide superstar. As quickly as it landed, This is us fell off — and now no one even talks about it anymore.

The series played on quite a few stereotypes and was quintessentially American, making it, in retrospect, one of the most overrated television series.

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