TV Shows That Are Unwatchable (But Hard To Look Away From)

Here we are looking at shows that, deep down, we know are bad. On paper they should be totally unwatchable, but there’s something about them that has got us hooked. They’re like a slow-motion car crash: you know you shouldn’t be watching, but somehow it’s impossible not to.

Whether it’s guilty-pleasure reality TV, a drama that takes itself way too seriously, or a series that’s unintentionally hilarious, these shows remind us that television doesn’t always have to be good to be entertaining.

Here are 10 shows that should be totally unwatchable yet somehow are incredibly addictive.

‘Riverdale’ (2017 – 2023)

Based on the Archie comic series, Riverdale revolves around a group of teenagers who try to unravel the evils lurking within the town and, to be fair, the first couple of seasons were fun, self-aware, quirky, and refreshingly different. However, as the show progressed, it began to teeter on the edge of absurdity, becoming almost unwatchable at times due to the barrage of over-the-top plot twists and increasingly unrealistic storylines. On top of this, the tone was so inconsistent you were never sure whether you were watching a melodrama, a supernatural thriller, or some kind of teen comedy.

‘Riverdale’ Is Strangely Addictive

Characters made baffling choices, mysteries stretched into convoluted messes, and the show seemed to thrive on chaos rather than coherent storytelling. Yet, despite all this, there was a strangely addictive quality to it—an almost hypnotic pull to see just how far things would spiral next. Despite an obvious dip in quality, there are few people who began watching Riverdale that didn’t feel compelled to follow it through right until the final credits of the final episode.

‘Flavor of Love’ (2006 – 2008)

Flavor Flav has been the center of controversy for about as long as he’s been in the public eye. The co-creator and hype man of legendary hip-hop group Public Enemy and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, he’s also had a long-standing, well-documented history of drug addiction and legal troubles, landing him in the news (and jail) multiple times. Elsewhere, he is no stranger to reality TV, having appeared on The Surreal Life, where he controversially insisted on driving the group’s RV despite not having a license and for allegedly ‘hitting’ the Surreal Life puppy.

It was during this time that Flav began a relationship with fellow housemate Brigitte Nielsen, which was explored in the reality show Strange Love. Following the pair’s break-up, Flavor of Love was created.

‘Flavor of Love’ is Like ‘The Bachelor’s’ Trashier Cousin

The show’s format is similar to that of The Bachelor—20 different ladies compete for Flavor Flav’s heart as they live together in a mansion. From contestants fighting over beds like it was life or death, to the infamous moment someone literally defecated on the mansion floor, to wild screaming matches that ended in drinks being thrown and wigs being snatched, every episode felt like a fever dream. Women tattooed their love for Flavor Flav after knowing him for days, delivered the most unhinged confessions in clock ceremonies, and somehow managed to outdo themselves week after week.

It was messy, trashy, and completely over the top—and while we might not know a single person who admits to watching it now, the show was drawing big numbers, was renewed for multiple seasons, and spawned multiple spin-offs.

‘Mystery Science Theater 3000’ (1988 – Present)

The brilliantly insane premise of Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) revolves around a human test subject who has been imprisoned aboard a spacecraft by mad scientists and is forced to watch a series of bad movies in order to find one that will drive the test subject insane.

So Bad It’s Good

The whole show revolves around the airing of movies that are considered so bad they’re good—movies like Manos: The Hands of Fate and Pod People. The fascinating nature of a project gone so wrong, whether it be poor writing, acting, direction, or all of the above, makes it impossible to take your eyes off the screen. Add in some hilarious riffing and commentary provided by the MST3K actors, and you have some truly unwatchable but strangely compelling TV.

‘Baywatch’ (1989 – 2001)

Anyone over a certain age will undoubtedly remember Baywatch. It was everywhere—a cultural phenomenon—but there’s no real argument for it actually being a good show. The characters were lazily written, oversexualized, walking (or slow-motion running) stereotypes, the acting was wooden, the plotlines were over-the-top and ridiculous, and the dialogue was beyond cringey. It was consistently panned by critics throughout its surprisingly long run, and yet, despite all this, it was unfathomably popular.

‘Baywatch’ Was the Most Watched Show in the World

Revolving around the personal and professional challenges of a team of lifeguards, Baywatch starred ’80s icon David Hasselhoff alongside rising stars like Pamela Anderson and Carmen Electra. At one point, it was the most-watched television series in the world, with a weekly audience of over 1.1 billion viewers who simply couldn’t resist its cheesy, sun-soaked escapism and unapologetic beachside eye candy.

‘Emily in Paris’ (2020 – Present)

Lazy French stereotypes and an unimaginably bland lead character haven’t deterred viewers from watching Emily in Paris in droves. Even the most ardent fans of the show would be the first to admit that it’s far from perfect, yet like cheap candy, it leaves them feeling mildly unsatisfied while immediately reaching for another handful.

Watching ‘Emily in Paris’ Is Like Scrolling Through Instagram

The kind of show you love to hate, binging episode after episode despite rolling your eyes at every cliché, every borderline offensive stereotype, and every corny line of dialogue. I think Kristen Lopez of IndieWire put it best when she described it as “like scrolling through Instagram. It’s a great way to waste time looking at pretty pictures with no depth.”

‘Sex and The City’ (1998 – 2004)

Following the romantic and professional lives of Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha as they navigate life in the Big Apple, Sex and the City’s success and popularity are undeniable. With over 50 Primetime Emmy Award nominations under its belt, Variety ranked it the sixth greatest TV show of all time. But for each person who praises the franchise and its characters for being fun, glamorous, relatable, and empowering, there is another who criticizes it for being shallow, materialistic, dull, and guilty of reinforcing outdated gender stereotypes and roles.

Feminist? Anti-Feminist? Post-Feminist? Or Just Good Old-Fashioned Fun?

When you peel back the glossy surface of Sex and the City, it’s easy to see why so many people argue that it actually works against modern ideas of feminism. The show often ties female empowerment to consumerism, glamorizes unhealthy relationship dynamics, and sometimes reduces independence to simply buying shoes or chasing Mr. Big. But if you put the critiques aside and take it for what it is—stylized, witty, champagne-soaked escapism—it becomes dangerously addictive, and while it may not always stand up to academic scrutiny, as a piece of pure entertainment, Sex and the City is endlessly watchable and hard to quit.

‘Beavis and Butt-head’ (1993 – 1997, 2011, 2022 – Present)

Created by Mike Judge, Beavis and Butt-Head revolves around the two titular teenage boys. Obsessed with dirty jokes, vandalism, snacks, and heavy metal, they’re unintelligent, unmotivated, and undesirable—but this didn’t stop millions from tuning in on a weekly basis to hear the duo barely coherently mumble about the state of the world, making them the “biggest phenomenon on MTV since the heyday of Michael Jackson,” according to Rolling Stone.

Beavis and Butt-Head Was a Cultural Phenomenon

On the surface, it’s pure trash TV—the ’90s equivalent of today’s “brain rot” online content. While it was panned by many critics, others defended it as a cleverly subversive vehicle for social criticism, with Roger Ebert stating:

“Mike Judge’s characters reflect parts of the society that produced them. To study Beavis & Butt-Head is to learn about a culture of narcissism, alienation, functional illiteracy, instant gratification, and television zombiehood.”

Not lost, though, is the irony that as we slouch on the sofa, laughing at the empty-headed couch potato antics of Beavis and Butt-Head, we are forced to confront our own passive consumption, making the show a mirror that implicates its audience in the very behavior it ridicules.

‘Love Island’ (2019 – Present)

Love Island is regarded by many as the epitome of “trash TV” but has grown increasingly popular in recent years. Starting off as a reality dating show in the UK, it found its way across the pond to the United States in 2019. The format sees a group of contestants, living in isolation from the outside world in a tropical villa, constantly under video surveillance. To survive in the villa, the Islanders must couple up with another Islander—whether it be for love, friendship, or money—and the overall winning couple receives a grand prize.

‘Love Island’ Rewards Attention-Seeking Behavior

On the surface, it’s marketed as a glamorous, sun-soaked romance competition, but in reality, it thrives on shallow drama, manufactured tension, and endless trivial arguments. It celebrates superficiality, rewards attention-seeking behavior, and turns emotional vulnerability into entertainment, making it more of a social experiment in humiliation than a celebration of love.

Yet it hooks in viewers by the millions by combining tropical escapism with heightened drama and romance, turning every flirtation and argument into addictive, must-watch television. Audiences can’t resist judging contestants, rooting for couples, and joining the endless online debate. As a result, it has been highly successful and influential in British popular culture, becoming ITV2’s most-watched show in the network’s history, and has been making similar waves more recently in the U.S.

‘The Secret Life of the American Teenager’ (2008 – 2013)

The intention of The Secret Life of the American Teenager was to explore the realities around teenage sexuality and attempt to educate viewers about the consequences of sexual activity. However, thanks to its uber-preachy tone, unrealistic dialogue, emphasis on abstinence, and oversimplified portrayals of complex issues, it feels more like a Catholic school educational video than a teen drama.

A Show You Love To Hate

While viewers and critics have accused it of being overly judgmental and out of touch with the realities of teenage life, it still proved to be a ratings hit. Whether “hate-watching” it to moan about it later, watching it to laugh at its absurd situations and exaggerated teen angst, or simply getting sucked into the melodrama—something certainly kept viewers glued to their seats over the course of its run.

‘The Jeremy Springer Show’ (1991 – 2018)

Many moons ago, former lawyer and political campaigner Jerry Springer started The Jerry Springer Show with the intention of creating a respectable talk show with a focus on political issues and current events. Unfortunately, the show failed to garner much attention, with the only part of the show seeming to gain any traction being the panel discussions with everyday people—and the quirkier the people, the better the response. By 1993, it had been reformatted into a tabloid talk show focusing on single-issue panel discussions with “everyday people.”

Controversy Sells

As more and more people began tuning in to witness this on-screen chaos, the “everyday” people featured on the show became increasingly unhinged, and the show gained notoriety for covering controversial topics such as incest and adultery, as well as its frequent profanity, chanting, heckling, physical fights (with frequent interventions from security), nudity, and flashing audience members for “Jerry Beads.”

The show was consistently lambasted by critics who complained about its low-brow nature, with some claiming it exploited many of its guests for entertainment, some of whom had learning difficulties. TV Guide proclaimed it the “Worst TV Show of All Time,” and even Springer himself said the show was “stupid” and admitted, “I would never watch my show. I’m not interested in it. It’s not aimed towards me. This is just a silly show.”

Despite the never-ending controversy surrounding the show and the consistent negative critical feedback, it still rose to prominence in the mid to late ’90s, becoming one of the most-watched shows on TV and the first talk show in years to beat The Oprah Winfrey Show. Car crash TV at its finest—the more ridiculous, outrageous, and controversial the show and its guests were, the more viewers would tune in by the millions, knowing full well it was awful but somehow glued to their sets, unable to look away. The program was so popular that it caused contemporaries like Jenny Jones, Maury Povich, and Ricki Lake to “revamp” their own shows in order to improve ratings—leading many to claim that it was a bad influence on the morality of the United States.