Frank Costanza, Seinfeld

Apart from being a bad father, Frank Costanza is also quite possibly one of the truly horrible people the television audience has witnessed. His constant yelling, which never seemed to fail to put people on edge, and his complete inability to handle the disappointment, including his son, Frank, made him a bad, bad dad. Who else would beat his son up to the extent of putting him in a coma? 

Malcolm Merlyn, Arrow
A dad who hangs with the worst gang in the world, sleeps with his best friend’s wife, father’s a child with her, uses their daughter to further his interests and frames her for the murder of a friend. He even convinces her that she’s the killer. He’d rather have his daughter die than lose the chance of being the boss of the League of Assassins. But hey, when he’s not manipulating her, he loves her to death. How?! Don’t ask us. 

Tywin Lannister, Game of Thrones
They feared him, they obeyed him, they were in awe of him. But Tywin Lannister hardly cared to be the best father in Westeros. A ruthless man, he detested his younger son, Tyrion, so much that he had the girl Tyrion loved killed. He turns a blind eye to the incest between his twins Jaime and Cersei, and was not hesitant to sentence Tyrion the dwarf to death. 

John Winchester, Supernatural

Hot as hell he might be but John Winchester was the poster child for the absentee father. He was the reason his sons, Sam and Dean, spent their lives on the road and went to hell (literally). He didn’t have it easy, sure, but his absence and his obsession with his wife’s death stole his children’s childhood and gave them massive emotional baggage to deal with. And what was it with the cryptic clues he left them? Definitely hot, er, we mean not quite ideal.

Walter White, Breaking Bad

Don’t be fooled by his well-intentioned entry into the meth-making business. The intention — providing for his wife and kids — was forgotten all too soon as he discovered a knack for cooking the best meth and a head for business. He endangered his family’s life more than once and essentially forgot about being a dad in his quest to become the big daddy of drugs in Albuquerque. We are thankful to him for all the quotable quotes though. 

Don Draper, Mad Men

He may be a big guy in the advertising firm, but Don Draper never was much of a father. Half-a-point for him for his intentions though. He was focused on providing for his family, slogging at office (which is second home for him), but it also meant that when he did see his wife and kid, he was either too tired or in a drunken stupor. Extra bad points for being seen trying to hook up with his daughter’s elementary schoolteacher. 

Stannis Baratheon, Game of Thrones

We were happy when Brienne chopped his head off. And it wasn’t because he had his brother stabbed or because of the way he treated his wife, but because he was so power-crazy that he had his daughter burned alive! He did not flinch before tying Shireen to a stake and setting her alight. While most parents would think twice before laying a finger on their child, he watched as she screamed and went up in flames. All. In. His. Bid. To. Win. A. War. 

Dan Scott, One tree hill

There are driven fathers. And there is this driven father who drove his kid… right out of home! Dan Scott was oppressive not only to the son he acknowledged, Nathan, he was also terrible to the son he never called his own, Lucas. What’s worse, he set one against the other. He tried to “better” Nathan’s life, but made it worse by trying to live his own dreams through him. And don’t forget the times he publicly insulted Lucas. 

Peter Griffin, The Family Guy

You can laugh at his antics all you want, but this seemingly lovable oaf would have his child taken away if he were a real dad. When not causing mayhem and destruction in Quahog, he is an irresponsible parent and specially hostile to his daughter, Meg. He is seen farting in her face, shaming her about her appearance and is generally rude for no reason. Not to mention the number of times he’s flat-out ignored Stewie, his younger son.

 

 

Anthony cooper, Lost

In a show that had quite a few questionable daddies, this daddy took the cake or rather the kidney. John Locke’s dad manipulated a kidney out of him, before running away without leaving a thank-you note. He conned Sawyer’s family out of money, leading to their death. Oh, and he pushed John out of an eight-storey window leaving him paralysed waist down. Oh, what a guy! 

 

 

THE DAD WHO KILLED HIS KIDS WITH BOREDOM!

Ted Mosby, How I met your mother

Well, here’s a dad who keeps his teenaged children waiting for nine seasons promising to talk about how he met their mother — who died tragically young — but only talks about his many sexcapades. Just think, the entire story was a ploy for Ted Mosby to bug his kids so much that they would give him permission to go back to their “Aunt” Robin just to shut his trap. LOL!

 

Who’s the worst dad of TV? 
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