15 TV Bosses Who Shouldn’t Have Made it Past the Pilot
Getting promoted to management doesn’t automatically make someone qualified to manage anything. Television has demonstrated this repeatedly, usually through bosses who spend more time humiliating employees than actually running their businesses. Some inherit enormous companies despite having questionable judgment. Others land important positions through blackmail, family connections, or sheer luck. Then there are the managers who somehow keep their jobs after doing things that would send a real HR department into a panic. They’re often hilarious to watch, although reporting to any of them would be a different story. Here are 15 TV bosses whose employees deserved a much better deal from the very beginning.
Logan Roy, Succession
Logan runs Waystar Royco through intimidation, constantly playing executives against each other and treating his own children like disposable employees whenever they challenge his authority.
Ava Coleman, Abbott Elementary
Ava became principal after blackmailing the superintendent, then spent much of her workday promoting herself and bothering teachers who were actually trying to educate children.
Mr. Burns, The Simpsons
Springfield’s wealthiest employer cuts corners at his nuclear power plant, ignores employee safety, and keeps a trapdoor handy for particularly inconvenient visitors.
Selina Meyer, Veep
Selina insults her staff, takes credit for their accomplishments, and blames them whenever something goes wrong, usually before anyone has figured out what actually happened.
Don Draper, Mad Men
Don might be a brilliant advertising executive, but his drinking, disappearing acts, and unpredictable treatment of coworkers would make any ordinary office miserable.
Gus Fring, Breaking Bad
Gus maintains an impressively professional restaurant operation while secretly running a criminal empire, where employee mistakes can have consequences considerably worse than getting fired.
Wilhelmina Slater, Ugly Betty
Wilhelmina regularly schemes against her colleagues at Mode, undermines Betty, and treats professional advancement as an excuse to sabotage practically everyone around her.
Michael Scott, The Office
Michael forces employees into embarrassing meetings, makes inappropriate jokes, and treats the HR department like his personal enemy, all while proudly displaying his World’s Best Boss mug.
Jacqueline Voorhees, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Jacqueline treats her household staff like personal assistants available around the clock, making ridiculous demands while remaining completely oblivious to their actual lives.
Dr. Bob Kelso, Scrubs
Kelso regularly prioritizes the hospital’s finances over his doctors’ concerns, delivering unpopular decisions with a cheerful attitude that only makes his staff more frustrated.
Douglas Reynholm, The IT Crowd
Douglas inherits Reynholm Industries despite his history of inappropriate behavior, then runs the company with virtually no understanding of what his employees actually do.
Louie De Palma, Taxi
Louie controls the Sunshine Cab Company’s drivers from his dispatch cage, using insults, intimidation, and his authority over assignments to make their shifts miserable.
Patty Hewes, Damages
Patty manipulates her associates, hides crucial information, and demands absolute loyalty, particularly from Ellen Parsons, whose professional development comes with some alarming personal risks.
Ian Grimm, Mythic Quest
Ian constantly clashes with his creative team, makes grand demands about his video game, and struggles to share control with Poppy despite depending heavily on her technical expertise.
Dr. Gregory House, House
House routinely insults colleagues, ignores hospital rules, and pushes his diagnostic team into ethically questionable situations, expecting everyone to tolerate his behavior because he’s usually right.