8 TV Villains Who Saved Their Shows (2025)

8 TV Villains Who Saved Their Shows (1)

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8 TV Villains Who Saved Their Shows (5)

Summary

  • TV villains can save a show by improving the story or making a significant impact.
  • A good villain has complexity, backstory, and motivation while being an antagonistic force.
  • Villains like Moriarty, Spike, and Gus Fring have made their respective shows even better.

While the protagonist and heroic characters generally get the lion's share of screen time on TV series, there have been plenty of TV villains who saved their shows. Whether they helped improve an already failing story or simply made such an impact that it's hard to imagine the show without them, it's always great to see an antagonist become so popular in their respective shows. Introducing them later in the story also helps create a new standard for a show, either plotwise or just in general.

A good villain is often complex, with a good backstory and motivation, while still filling the role of being an antagonistic force. While a villain's purpose is not to uphold the show, as this is usually down to its main character, there have been some great examples of when this has happened. There have been some brilliant characters on TV over the years, but some villains simply made their shows just that much better.

8 Jim Moriarty

BBC Sherlock

Sherlock

Release Date
August 8, 2010
Cast
Martin Freeman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rupert Graves

Seasons
4

BBC Sherlock's Moriarty, played by Fleabag and Band of Brothers star Andrew Scott, is easily one of TV's smartest villains of all time, it's hard to believe that he didn't appear from the start. While Moriarity's full reign of terror didn't really kick in until season 2, his first appearance was in season 1, episode 3, entitled "The Great Game." Even though Sherlock only saw three episodes per season, each episode was so rife with detail and complexity, they almost felt like mini films.

"A Study in Pink," and "The Blind Banker" were decent in their own right, but Moriarty's arrival in the show really shook things up. Having been pulling strings in the background, he proved just how completely unhinged he was, a mastermind. Moriarty's choice of phrasing often caused chills, and his first episode gave audiences the legendary Sherlock quote, "I will burn the heart out of you."

7 Spike

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

8 TV Villains Who Saved Their Shows (7)
Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Release Date
March 10, 1997
Cast
Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Anthony Stewart Head, James Marsters, Emma Caulfield Ford, Michelle Trachtenberg, Charisma Carpenter, David Boreanaz, Kristine Sutherland, Amber Benson, Seth Green, Marc Blucas, Danny Strong, Tom Lenk, Eliza Dushku, Armin Shimerman, Juliet Landau, Adam Busch, Robia LaMorte, Mercedes McNab, Harry Groener, Charlie Weber, D.B. Woodside, Iyari Limon, Clare Kramer, Bailey Chase, Leonard Roberts, Sarah Hagan, Lindsay Crouse

Seasons
7

James Marsters' Spike was Buffy The Vampire Slayer's best villain, easily, but over the years became a good guy. Spike was introduced in the season 2 episode "School Hard" as a widely-feared vampire responsible for the death of two Slayers. Over time, he eventually became an ally and eventually lover of Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar).

The breakthrough character was praised for his wit and rebellious nature, while at the same time avoiding completely falling into the Big Bad trope. While he was initially introduced as a secondary villain, Spike made such an impact that he cemented his position in the show. Spike was eventually redeemed when he sacrificed himself, however, but his quirky and villainous streak always remained with the character.

6 Gus Fring

Breaking Bad

8 TV Villains Who Saved Their Shows (8)
Breaking Bad

Release Date
January 20, 2008
Cast
Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, Dean Norris, Betsy Brandt, Anna Gunn, RJ Mitte, Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, Giancarlo Esposito, Steven Michael Quezada, Charles Baker, Christopher Cousins, Matt Jones, Michael Shamus Wiles, Lavell Crawford, Jesse Plemons, Ray Campbell, Tina Parker, Carmen Serano, Emily Rios, Krysten Ritter, Laura Fraser, Jeremiah Bitsui, Mark Margolis, Ian Posada, David House, David Costabile, michael bowen, Kevin Rankin, Aaron Hill, Harry Groener, Patrick Sane, Daniel Moncada, Luis Moncada, Marius Stan, Bill Burr, Todd Terry, Jessica Hecht, Tait Fletcher, Rodney Rush, Kaija Roze Bales, Matt Metzler, John de Lancie, Tom Kiesche, Jere Burns, Maurice Compte, Morse Bicknell, Nigel Gibbs, Tess Harper, Raymond Cruz, Max Arciniega, Cesar Garcia, Jesus Jr., Michael Bofshever, Julie Dretzin, Mike Seal, Christopher Dempsey, Javier Grajeda, Mike Batayeh, Chris Freihofer, Louis Ferreira, Gonzalo Menendez, Jason Douglas, Adam Godley

Seasons
5

The Breaking Bad villain Gus Fring (Giancarlo Esposito) is notably remembered for his gory death, which saw him lose half his face in an explosion before collapsing to the ground. While Gus ended up being one of the main villains in Breaking Bad, he wasn't actually introduced until the season 2 episode "Mandala." The Chicken Man created quite the atmosphere with his complex cover story as a drug lord, and despite his normal appearance and demeanor, he was, deep down, a vicious and evil person.

Despite being in the drug business for over two decades and one of the most dangerous Kingpins around, he was no match for Walter White (Bryan Cranston). Gus was such an antagonistic force in Breaking Bad that it's easy to forget that the character only appeared in seasons 2 to 4. Without Gus, the show would likely have been less endearing, even with other villains scattered throughout.

5 Negan Smith

The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead

Release Date
October 31, 2010
Cast
Steven Yeun, Andrew Lincoln, Chandler Riggs, Laurie Holden, Jeffrey DeMunn, Sarah Wayne Callies, Melissa McBride, Norman Reedus, Jon Bernthal, Iron E. Singleton

Seasons
11

One of The Walking Dead's biggest villains, Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), was introduced rather late in the show, making his first appearance in the season 6 finale, "Last Day on Earth." Negan is often remembered for one of The Walking Dead's most shocking moments, which saw him heartlessly and horrifically beat Glenn (Steven Yeun) to death with a chain-covered baseball bat, but the reason why Negan killed Glenn is still often debated in the fandom. Despite this shocking act, Negan made The Walking Dead better, giving the long-running show the shake-up it needed.

4 The Shame Wizard

Big Mouth

Big Mouth

Release Date
September 29, 2017
Cast
Fred Armisen, Jessi Klein, Nick Kroll, Ayo Edebiri, Jenny Slate, Andrew Rannells, Jordan Peele, John Mulaney, Maya Rudolph, Jason Mantzoukas

Seasons
7

It wasn't until Big Mouth season 2 that the show introduced its first proper villain, The Shame Wizard (David Thewlis). While season 1 was funny and entertaining, the show's lack of antagonistic force was very clear, and the introduction of The Shame Wizard helped fill that gap. Although puberty could have been considered a villain, Thewlis' character gave it a physical form.

His cruel comments towards the kids of Bridgeton Middle were hilarious and impacted each of them greatly, with the exception of Coach Steve (Nick Kroll). The Shame Wizard's unusual relationship with Steve turned into quite a sweet friendship, which saw the Coach refer to him as "The Shane Lizard." Even though the Big Mouth and Human Resources creatures have posed their own problems to the kids, The Shame Wizard tops the list.

3 Love Quinn

You

8 TV Villains Who Saved Their Shows (9)
You

Release Date
September 9, 2018
Cast
Elizabeth Lail, Michaela McManus, Ambyr Childers, Victoria Pedretti, Luca Padovan, Scott Speedman, Travis Van Winkle, Penn Badgley, Jenna Ortega, Shay Mitchell

Seasons
4

Netflix's You was unique, in that it was a TV show where the villain is the main character, with Joe (Penn Badgley) often being his own antagonistic force. At least, this was the case until the introduction of Love Quinn (Victoria Pedretti) in season 2. Love was first introduced as a romantic interest, but over time revealed herself to be just as murderous and messed up as Joe, which is one of the reasons why Joe and Love's relationship strangely worked.

With a cover of appearing sweet and caring, Love was possibly even more obsessive than Joe was. Love's obsession was quite impactful for the show, as it was an impressive feat that anyone could trump him in this quality. You season 3 killed off Love at the hand of Joe, not only because of his deep savior complex but also because he realized that his wife could be just as awful as him, making her an ultimate villain.

2 Crowley

Supernatural

Supernatural

Release Date
September 13, 2005
Cast
Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins, Jim Beaver, Jared Padalecki, Katie Cassidy, Lauren Cohan, Mark A. Sheppard, Mark Pellegrino, Alexander Calvert

Seasons
15

Possibly one of the strongest villains in Supernatural, the show introduced Crowley (Mark Sheppard) in season 5 as the King of the Crossroads. The charismatic and manipulative Crowley was considered to be the ultimate mastermind, often jumping between being an ally to the Winchesters and a source of evil, making him completely unpredictable. Much like The Walking Dead, Supernatural was a decent way into its run when Crowley was introduced, but his addition to the show helped shake things up and Crowley made such an impression that Sheppard was promoted to series regular in season 10.

1 Klaus Mikaelson

The Vampire Diaries

8 TV Villains Who Saved Their Shows (10)
The Vampire Diaries

Horror

Fantasy

Drama

Cast
Nina Dobrev, Ian Somerhalder, Steven R. McQueen, Paul Wesley, Kat Graham, Michael Trevino, Michael Malarkey, Zach Roerig, Candice King, Matthew Davis

Seasons
8

Joseph Morgan was such a crucial character in The Vampire Diaries that it's hard to believe Klaus was introduced in season 2, quickly becoming a character that was hated and loved. His irresistible charm was hard to avoid, despite his constant terrorizing of Mystic Falls. Klaus' arrival came at the right time for The Vampire Diaries, just as the ongoing love triangle was starting to get boring, and his arrival threw a spanner in the works. Klaus falling for Caroline (Candice King) then allowed for a new angle on the character, causing a shift in the show as a whole.

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