Top 30 villains in television history

We rank the 30 best villains in television history.

Television villains never get enough love compared to the heroes since their plans are always getting thwarted for the characters to get happy endings. However, now is the time to honor some of the all-time great antagonists who helped make a show worth watching. From fantasy epics like Game of Thrones to the beloved sci-fi cult show Orphan Black, there are plenty compelling bad guys that fans fall in love with.

Never underestimate an antagonist who can get viewers to root for them compared to the protagonist and it’s truly the mark of a great character.

Photo Credit: Warner Brothers

30. Barbas 

Quickly becoming a fan favorite villain, it was no surprise that Barbas become a recurring character despite getting vanquished upon his first encounter with the Halliwell witches. The demon of fear became obsessed with getting his revenge on the Charmed ones when he repeatedly failed to defeat them. However, it’s his power of bringing to life his victim’s greatest fears which make him such a scary villain.

He consistently tried to use the sister’s fear of losing each other against them and it posed as a reminder about how difficult it was to lose Prue. Eventually, he gave up going against the sister and instead began targeting Wyatt, the super-powered son of Piper, preying on the worst possible fear of a parent: losing a child. It’s unsurprising that Barbas has continued through history as one of the most memorable villains from television because he possesses a power to terrify audiences.