History JerkassWoobie / LiveActionTV

** Leanne Tilsley. Despite being a manipulative opportunist, [[YourCheatingHeart a cheat]], [[TheMistress a homewrecker]] and usually a total bitch, things have really stunk for her in her life. Her mother abandoned her at birth, she's forced to abort the child she created with the husband she loves, she gets addicted to drugs and works as a prostitute to pay for said addiction, she suffers a miscarriage with her second husband, [[{{Irony}} who then cheats on her and eventually marries the other woman]], her next husband (who was also her first husband) cheats and slept with his sister-in-law ''on Christmas day'', possibly impregnating her, watches her one-time fiancé die in an explosion and her stepson, who used to love her like his own mother, verbally and physically abuses her.

** Leanne Tilsley. Despite being a manipulative opportunist, [[YourCheatingHeart a cheat]], [[TheOtherWoman a homewrecker]] and usually a total bitch, things have really stunk for her in her life. Her mother abandoned her at birth, she's forced to abort the child she created with the husband she loves, she gets addicted to drugs and works as a prostitute to pay for said addiction, she suffers a miscarriage with her second husband, [[{{Irony}} who then cheats on her and eventually marries the other woman]], her next husband (who was also her first husband) cheats and slept with his sister-in-law ''on Christmas day'', possibly impregnating her, watches her one-time fiancé die in an explosion and her stepson, who used to love her like his own mother, verbally and physically abuses her.

* Alan Diaz from ''Series/MightyMed'' is a JerkAss with a visceral hatred of [[{{Muggle}} "normos"]] like Kaz and Oliver. But he is also a sympathetic character as he grew up not knowing his own father, is treated like crap by the staff of Mighty Med hospital, including his own uncle Horace, and is often the ButtMonkey on the show. And many fans agree he has a right to be angry that two amateur "normo" doctors leapfrogged a superpowered boy who spent years
working hard and preparing to be Horace's natural successor. Luckily, this is not lost on Skylar, who often emphasizes with Alan's problems and tries to talk others into being more respectful of him.

** Even the boys' mother Lois qualifies (in her more humane moments). She's far from being an ideal mother but dealing with several rambunctious sons and a doormat of a husband has definitely left its mark on her. Not to mention her own mother Ida was ''even worse'' towards her.

** Also, Jade, to an extent. Sure she's really mean when she wants to be, but it's known that she and her father have a poor relationship and it's implied she has a bad relationship with the rest of her family as well. Sure, she's controlling and jealous to Beck, but once you realize how easy it was for him to kiss Tori as well as how he barely seems phased with other girls flirting with him, it's understandable.

*** The Thirteenth Doctor doesn't start off as one, being generally genial and good-natured and having a LighterAndSofter first season, but in her second season, she gets hit hard with one hell of a TraumaCongaLine, with [[spoiler:the Master returning and revealing that he destroyed Gallifrey again due to finding out a terrible secret hidden by the founders of Gallifrey, a regeneration of herself that the Doctor has no memory of and who has no memory of her showing up and causing quite the identity crisis for Thirteen, and the return of the Cybermen towards the end of the season triggering some of her old trauma about losing Bill Potts to Cyberconversion,]] and as a result, starts acting far moodier, lashing out at her companions, and becoming much harsher with enemies.

** Say what you like about Faith's brash, tactless attitude, her willingless and lack of shame at using people like tampons and her psychotic murderous qualities, but even her most zealous of haters (as well as [[BaseBreakingCharacter her most dedicated fans]]) admit that it must of '''sucked''' to be her. To have abusive, alcoholic parents who are strongly implied to be dead, to see your watcher die in front of your eyes and to never of had a real father figure must of stung pretty badly. [[spoiler: And of course, there's the whole being stuck in a coma for months thing, before awakening to find the only person who ever cared for you is dead. Truly the cherry upon the crappy cake that is Faith's life.]] [[BrokenBase The real question among the fandom is]] whether Faith uses all her misfortune as a excuse to be a heartless, violent bitch or if she is genuinely a victim who has been pushed off the rails and needs all the support she can get. Of course, then there are the people who argued that she ''was'' offered support, but chose not to take it, preferring to resume her sociopathic, reckless lifestyle for her own selfish benefit. Or even if she was so unused to being offered friendship and understanding that the poor mess couldn't process it. Either way, definitely a Jerkass, definitely a woobie.

* ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'': Most of the cast counts, given that they have committed crimes but have also led fairly harsh and disadvantaged lives. Several of the prison staff as well:

** Pennsatucky in season two, when her former clique shuns her and she struggles to become a better person, and also in the first season when she landed in Psych - due to actions she committed genuinely believing she's helping people. Plus in season 3 it's revealed that she was raped as a teenager. And at Litchfield, she's assaulted again, by CO Coates.
** Many fans found themselves feeling sorry for Piper despite her jerkass tendencies in season 4 when [[spoiler: she genuinely tries to make things right between her and other inmates and she's left on her own with no one to spend time with at a dance before the Hawaiian girl turns on her and sells her out to the Spanish gang who brand her with a swastika in retaliation for her framing one of them with contraband underwear. The scene was disturbing and tearjerking especially when we see Piper's face contorted in pain and her anguished screams.]]
*** Piper showed these tendencies before that, it was helped by her CryCute moments and while some fans thought she complained too much about her first world problems there are many things she experienced that are genuinely worth crying about.
** The next episode shows Piper crying in her bunk and when the Hawaiian girl asks her if she's okay Piper responds brokenly "Not even a little bit." She also looks unwell physically as well as mentally.

* Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell from ''Series/PrisonBreak'' certainly fits this. He's an unrepentant AxCrazy psychopath, murdered children, is a racist, and is a DepravedBisexual of the highest order who will get it on with AnythingThatMoves. But his horrible childhood (being the product of incest and rape, being molested by his father, and forced to memorize entire dictionaries) combined with some of the horrible things that happen to him in the series (having his hand cut off, for starters) really stirs up some pity for the bastard. It becomes more apparent in the fourth season when T-Bag slowly starts BecomingTheMask after taking on a fake identity, genuinely wanting redemption, only for it to just not work out in the end. Robert Knepper (who played him) noted this pretty well.

** When his character breaks out of prison again in a crossover episode of ''Series/BreakoutKings'', it turns out that his monstrous actions during the episode were motivated solely by [[spoiler: getting revenge on the orderlies who sexually abused his comatose, dying mother]]. During the final chase scene, he is not trying to escape but is actually running to his mother's hospital room so he can see her before her death. Even the marshalls who witnessed his horrendous crimes are not able to refuse him that last moment.

* ''Series/{{Oz}}''
%%** Dino Ortolani, Donald Groves, Miguel Alvarez, Nino Schibetta, Peter Schibetta, Schillenger's son, Andrew (and occasionally Schillenger himself), Beecher, and James Robson.
** Chris Keller. Despite how terribly manipulative he was to practically everyone and the fact that he was an insane murderer, he truly did love Beecher in his own twisted way and suffered horribly (and willingly).
** Shirley Bellinger. She is a criminally insane woman who deliberately killed her daughter with no remorse, racist, and sexually promiscuous. But the scene where [[spoiler: she is to be hanged, in which she freaks out, struggles against the guards, has to be tied up, and fervently prays to God for forgiveness while sobbing uncontrollably]] is nothing short of heartbreaking.
*** Every Woobie in the show did something that landed them in prison in the first place.
%%* Brenda Chenowith in ''Series/SixFeetUnder''.
* ''Series/{{Lost}}''
** Ben. Definitely a villain, ManipulativeBastard, unrepentant liar, and murderer, yet his FreudianExcuse and the fact that the writers seem to enjoy having him constantly get the pulp beaten out of him (even though most of the time, he deserves it) have the side effect of making him somewhat sympathetic. It also helps that he was redeemed in the episode "Dr. Linus".
** Also, Sawyer, at least for the first three seasons. After that, the jerkass part tones down.
** Locke, at times. He's not a bad guy, but he definitely comes across as one to his fellow survivors on several occasions, most notably after attacking Sayid, killing Naomi and becoming slightly tyrannical once assuming leadership of a group of islanders. He only does all of this, however, because he knows that the Island is special and he feels he needs to protect it at all costs. It's the first time he felt he had a real purpose, as his life before the Island was one big heap of misery.
* Topher from ''{{Series/Dollhouse}}'', by the series' end. Especially after [[spoiler: Bennett, the only girl he could have truly loved, was killed right in front of him]]
* In ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace'', Alex in the OutOfCharacter Episode ''Alex's Logo''. Also, since deep down she's an attention seeker, she can be considered to be this in general.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** The Doctor himself has this a bit:
*** The First Doctor was a contemptuous and evasive GrumpyOldMan who liked to do MaliciousMisnaming and could occasionally be really ruthless, and was usually very rude even to people he liked. The longer his tenure goes on the more we realise that he's secretly very scared and insecure and [[YouCantGoHomeAgain must never]] [[ArcWords go back]].
*** Is it really any wonder the Third Doctor tends to pick on the Brigadier and Jo when he's [[spoiler: been abused as a BoxedCrook by the Time Lords for centuries]], had TARDIS travel stripped from him and is being forced to co-operate with a military organisation that committed a genocide in its third on-screen story? His rudeness towards his friends is really the only power he has.
*** The Fourth Doctor starts out as a sparkling and hilarious [[TheMadHatter Mad Hatter]] (with occasional moments where his madness would make him a bit disturbing) but by the time of "Logopolis" seems to have [[ReluctantPsycho segued into a more realistic portrayal of mental illness]]. He appears skeletal, temperamental and brittle, barks at his companions and makes insensitive comments to Tegan about her aunt dying - and makes awkward, disjointed plans based on paranoia that make no sense and in a few cases are actively suicidal. He gets over it, but only by making [[TheNthDoctor a big change in his life]].
*** The Ninth Doctor is much more abrupt and jerkish than his past incarnations. However, most of this is because he thinks he is the LastOfHisKind and he killed his own people to end the Time War.
*** The Tenth Doctor could be mean and petty; not only is he still dealing with trauma from the Time War but also the loss of the woman he loved.
*** The Twelfth Doctor is can be mean spirited, insulting and is less likely to weep over the deaths he sees. This is partly because he knows grieving will not help anyone and is likely to get more people killed and partly due to being racked by insecurities and having lost so many people already.
** Omega, one of the early Time Lords, a deranged megalomaniac who only became that way after aeons of isolation and who just wants to return to our universe. The Doctor treats him more with pity than anger or contempt.
** Eldrad in "The Hand of Fear" possesses Sarah Jane, and accidentally causes an innocent man to die by possessing them into a murderous frenzy state in which they [[DisneyVillainDeath fall off things]]. She tortures the Doctor for little reason and tortures other people with an AgonyBeam - but at the same time it's difficult not to feel sorry for her due to her (apparently) unjust exile and physical beauty. Upon regenerating [[GenderBender into a male form]] he reveals he's actually just a genocidal megalomaniac, but still inspires pity due to his despair about the other Kastrians cheating him out of his victory.
** Turlough is this, at least for his first few episodes. He's an alien criminal trying secretly to murder the Doctor, but his boyishness and conflicted nature makes him rather sympathetic.
* Scorpius from ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' gets into this territory at times- at least, when he's not knee-deep in his {{plan}}. Despite the fact that he'd spent most of his tenure of the show hunting, torturing and terrorizing Crichton and the others for the secrets of wormhole technology, he still manages to achieve a certain degree of sympathy when his backstory is unveiled: the son of a woman abducted and raped by the Scarran, he was raised by them as part of an experiment to determine if the Sebaceans could be used as ''breeding stock.'' The first eleven years of his life was a virtually non-stop torture session, enduring beatings, dehydration, and a whole host of other techniques designed to punish him for being born sickly; at one point, he was even forced to watch a video recording of his mother being raped. After over a decade of this treatment, he escaped and joined the Peacekeepers; however, it later becomes clear that this wasn't because he wanted power, but because he wanted revenge for what was done to him [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas and his mother]]. It is ''literally'' the only thing he really wants: even when Crichton finally manages to defeat him at the end of season three, Scorpius wearily declines all opportunities to take revenge on him- either by letting his I-Yensch bracelet kill him or by destroying Earth- simply because there'd no point in it now that the vengeance he ''really'' wanted was out of reach.
** Before him was Captain Bialar Crais, who doggedly pursued Crichton across an implausibly large portion of space because of an honest-to-goodness-accident that lead to his brother's death, repeatedly refusing to believe it was an accident and, even when he does come to terms with that fact, ''doesn't care'' and continues the hunt anyway. This hunt goes further and further against his direct orders, eventually leading to his expulsion from the Peacekeepers and replacement, Scorpius dubbing him a fugitive as well. A prolonged EnemyMine with the crew of Moya turns out that his ENTIRE purpose in hunting down Crichton so dutifully was because, as a child, he'd sworn that he would do ''anything'' to protect his little brother; in the end, Crais simply couldn't accept the fact that- after all the years he spent looking out for Tauvo, he died because of a simple accident that nobody, not even Bialar, could have planned for. All the speeches about revenge were just a cover for the brotherly love he felt that was considered a weakness by [[ProudWarriorRace his people]] and he was never able to properly express. He finally makes up for all the hardship he caused the crew by [[HeroicSacrifice performing a suicide maneuver]] in order to allow the people he [[RedemptionEqualsDeath finally considers friends, who he forgives and who forgive him]], to escape capture.

%%* [[Series/{{FawltyTowers}} Basil Fawlty]].
%%* [[Series/{{FatherTed}} Father Ted]].
* [[Series/{{House}} Gregory House]]. Cuddy [[LampshadeHanging calls him out on it]] in the season 6 finale.
** Chase is a womanizing pretty-boy who kisses up to House and badmouths patients when he's not meeting with them, but between his AbusiveParents, [[spoiler:dad's death]] in season 2, [[spoiler:nervous breakdown and divorce from Cameron]] in Season 6 and general abuse and disrespect from his boss and coworkers, it's hard not to sympathize with him.
** Foreman has a God complex, insists that everyone recognize his authority whenever House steps out of the room and generally has a severe case of SmallNameBigEgo, but his mom barely remembers him anymore due to advanced-stage Alzheimer's, his father is cold and unsympathetic, his one attempt to get away from House and have a normal life blows up in his face, and it's revealed in later seasons that a lot of his egomania is because he's very insecure about his abilities and feels he didn't deserve his medical career.
* ''Series/VeronicaMars''
** ''Logan!'' "Obligatory psychotic jackass" or not, his life just sucks ''so much''. Dead girlfriend [[spoiler:and mother]], horribly abusive father [[spoiler:who was also the one who killed his girlfriend]], falsely accused of murder, and generally, his friends and loved ones keep dying/being evil/breaking his heart/fleeing the country/any combination of the above.
** [[spoiler:Cassidy,]] [[DracoInLeatherPants who]] has a good FreudianExcuse and massive PuppyDogEyes, so we pity him.
** Even ''Dick'' starts crossing into this late in season 3, when he has something of a HeelRealization [[spoiler:about the way he treated his brother]], [[ItsAllMyFault blaming himself]] for [[spoiler:everything Cassidy did, including his suicide]].
* ''Series/{{Smallville}}''
** ComicBook/LexLuthor, thanks to his abusive childhood at the hands of his father, Lionel.
** [[TheBaroness Tess Mercer]] is an even better example. She may be a CorruptCorporateExecutive, DarkActionGirl, and MisanthropeSupreme, but her brutal childhood, manipulation by Lex and Zod, and [[spoiler:the recent revelation that she was one of Granny Goodness' orphans]] earn her a lot of sympathy. Unlike Lex, she never crosses the MoralEventHorizon, and remains in WellIntentionedExtremist territory.
*** And, of course, [[spoiler: this is thanks to her abusive childhood due to abandonment by her father, Lionel.]]
** Even Lionel qualifies. Born and raised in the slums, where his mother was an alchoholic and his father was a thief and murderer, he has to claw his way to the top of the financial spectrum (which he starts by [[SelfMadeOrphan murdering his parents]]). Loses his younger infant son, Julian when (he thinks) Julian's older brother Lex accidentally kills him. Loses his wife, Lillian, who dies while Lex is still a pre-teen. Then Lex is rendered permantly bald by the meteor shower. When an adult Lex discovers what Lionel did to his own parents, Lionel's forced to drive Lex into insanity and erase his memory. Lionel actually feels [[EvenEvilHasStandards a great deal of remorse about it.]] He then learns, long after it's too late to do anything about it or make it up to Lex for it, that Julian was [[spoiler:actually deliberately murdered by Lillian.]] He undergoes a HeelFaceTurn right around the same time Lex does a FaceHeelTurn, ensuring that he and his son will always be at odds. Falls genuinely in love with Martha Kent (and she even [[AllGirlsWantBadBoys seems to return some of that affection]], even if she's a bit freaked out by it), but can never fully win her over because he has to reveal to her that he's indirectly, unintentionally responsible for her husband's death[[labelnote:Details]]Lionel staged a meeting with Jonathan Kent to reveal he knew Clark's secret. Lionel's intention was to form an alliance with the Kents, but his arrogant demeanor combined with Jonathan's quick temper resulted in Jonathan physically attacking Lionel. While Lionel didn't strike back, the strain of attacking Lionel brought about Jonathan's fatal heart attack.[[/labelnote]]. After being knocked out while trying to help Clark defeat Bizarro, is then kidnapped and tortured for several weeks by Lana Lang. He meets Grant Gabriel, the adult clone of his dead son Julian, and starts to bond with Grant...only to witness Grant being murdered on Lex's orders. He can never fully let go of his manipulative tendancies, so when he gets several cryptic threats about Clark, resorts to kidnapping him to keep him safe. Clark shuns him for this, since Lionel's not [[CreatorsPet Lana]] [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality Lang.]] Patricia Swann tells Clark that Lionel killed her father, further deepening the rift between them.[[note]]And the very fact that Patricia's accusation makes no sense since her father died sometime after Lionel's HeelFaceTurn, only makes Lionel even more sympathetic than was perhaps intended.[[/note]] Lionel desperately tries to warn Clark and Chloe about the looming threat of Lex and the coming Apocalypse, [[ReformedButRejected but they'll now have nothing to do with him.]] Is finally cornered by Lex, and when he refuses to divulge Clark's secret, is murdered by his own son, dying friendless and alone.
** Really, being a JerkassWoobie seems to be a [[spoiler:Luthor family trait.]] You want to hug all three of them, Lex, Lionel, and Tess, then slap them in the face and say, "Stop being such bastards, guys! Even being {{Magnificent Bastard}}s doesn't make up for all the crap you go through for being bastards!"
** A (milder) example would be Oliver Queen. The {{fangirl}}s apparently find him TroubledButCute, especially in season nine with his self-destructive spiral. However, other than being a {{jerkass}} towards Clark, he also [[spoiler:murdered Lex]].
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''
** Say what you like about Faith's brash, tactless attitude, her willingless and lack of shame at using people like tampons and her psychotic murderous qualities, but even her most zealous of haters (as well as [[BaseBreakingCharacter her most dedicated fans]]) admit that it must of '''sucked''' to be her. To have abusive, alcoholic parents who are strongly implied to be dead, to see your watcher die in front of your eyes and to never of had a real father figure must of stung pretty badly. [[spoiler: And of course, there's the whole being stuck in a coma for months thing, before awakening to find the only person who ever cared for you is dead. Truly the cherry upon the crappy cake that is Faith's life.]] [[BrokenBase The real question among the fandom is]] whether Faith uses all her misfortune as a excuse to be a heartless, violent bitch or if she is genuinely a victim who has been pushed off the rails and needs all the support she can get. Of course, then there are the people who argued that she ''was'' offered support, but chose not to take it, preferring to resume her sociopathic, reckless lifestyle for her own selfish benefit. Or even if she was so unused to being offered friendship and understanding that the poor mess couldn't process it. Either way, definitely a Jerkass, definitely a woobie.
** Spike spent most of his human life as a ridiculed introvert, rejected by the woman he loved. Then he was turned, and turned his mother out of love and devotion. She promptly tried to molest him, and implied that he was Oedipal, forcing him to stake her. He then spent twenty years or so in the company of three of the most evil vampires in history, often considered bottom of the pack as the youngest, and had to see Drusilla, who he adored, screw Angelus. Then he lost Drusilla and was essentially neutered and mocked, used as a source for information and occasional meatshield by the Scoobies. Despite this, he retained a capacity to feel love (even if he was phenomenally bad at expressing it in a remotely human manner) and affection (e.g. Dawn and Joyce), making him nigh on unique among vampires. After that, Buffy essentially yanks him back and forth for most of series 6. Then he gets driven mad by the First and dies after being re ensouled in a HeroicSacrifice. The Woobie part is very definitely there, especially as the universe is clearly still kicking the crap out of him, judging by Series 5 of Angel and the Season 8 comics.
*** This quote sums it up pretty well; ''"The chip. It won't let me be a monster. And I can't be a man. I'm nothing."'' Did Spike get what was inevitably coming to him? Did he deserve this? Did he bring all or at least most of his suffering on himself? Well, yeah. Does that make him any less ashamed, lonely and conflicted in a way a lot of the audience really connected with? Not one bit.
** Buffy herself, after she sacrificed herself to save her sister [[AlwaysSaveTheGirl (and the world, though at that point, she cared little about it in comparison)]] only for her friends to bring her back to life. Confused, scared, and hurt, she reveals that she was happy being dead and in heaven, simultaneously pushing people away and using them.
** And from [[Series/{{Angel}} the Spin Off]], we have several, but one of the most noted is Connor. This is the kid that grew up in a hell dimension, his father figure lied to him about the nature of his real father, he was driven mad with revenge, and was seduced into the service of an EldritchAbomination. Sometimes, you just want to give the little guy a hug, but he was also known for being ''unbelievably AxCrazy...''
* Mini from the third generation of ''Series/{{Skins}}'' is turning out to be this. Yes, she is the AlphaBitch with major [[ManipulativeBastard Machevellian]] tendencies and is bitchy, passive aggressive, and very SugarAndIce. On the other hand, she has an insane longing for control and stability in her unstable life, eating disorders (and probably some sort of anxiety problem), her best friend slept with her boyfriend, her boyfriend took her virginity (painfully), and she generally just seems like a sad, sick girl playing at confidence. On top of it all, her friendship with Franky - the one truly authentic person in her life - has gotten complicated because [[spoiler: Mini has developed a [[LesYay crush]] on her]] while Franky [[AllLoveIsUnrequited only has eyes for Matty.]] YMMV, though. [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Some people]] just see her as a jerkass.

* ''Series/ICarly''
** Sam in the episode "iSpeed Date". A case for a {{Jerkass}} becoming a {{Woobie}} in that episode.
*** Even more so when you remember that her mom is not the most competent parent, her father abandoned her, and most of her family is or was in jail.
** Nora. She ''was'' a psychopathic kidnapper who tried to outright murder Gibby, but it's hard not to feel sorry for her. The girl's parents left her alone on her birthday (the way she said it implies that this is a common occurence), she had no friends except her chicken, and her insanity was likely because of it. In-universe, Carly actually feels sorry for her.
%%** Nevel becomes this in "iPity the Nevel".
* ''Series/{{Victorious}}''
** Robbie. He gets a few episodes where he is clearly the 'villain' of the piece, then we get episodes like ''Rex Dies'' and the one where he gets his car stolen, where he's woobie-tastic.
** Also, Jade, to an extent. Sure she's really mean when she wants to be, but it's known that she and her father have a poor relationship and it's implied she has a bad relationship with the rest of her family as well. Sure, she's controlling and jealous to Beck, but once you realize how easy it was for him to kiss Tori as well as how he barely seems phased with other girls flirting with him, it's understandable.

* Nathan in ''Series/{{Misfits}}'' (E4 Channel, UK) is very much shaping up to be a Jerkass Woobie. While he started off as a pretty straightforward jerk, moments in which he reconnects with his Mum, has a fight with his Dad, and we see him shell-shocked after barely surviving an attack by his rabid probation officer in an alterna-present (it's complicated. Watch the show. No, seriously, watch the show) all point squarely at him being a classic example of a Jerkass Woobie. The fact that they have cast the rather pretty Creator/RobertSheehan in the role also indicates that this is exactly the effect the programme makers wanted. But the main factor of his JerkassWoobie status -- aside from some very effective PetTheDog moments, and the casting of a ridiculously charismatic actor with big puppy dog eyes -- is probably the fact that the writers seem to just ''delight'' in punishing him. Although he is a genuine jerkass, the viewer barely has time to hate him before some kind of amusing karmic retribution (often in the shape of Kelly's fist) comes along to knock the crap out of him.
** Rudy seems to have taken over this position rather nicely, though in a different way. Sure Rudy is a jerkass with little regard for how he hurts people, but the secound his other side comes out(rather literally) it's impossible not to feel sorry for the guy.
* Theodore "T-Bag" Bagwell from ''Series/PrisonBreak'' certainly fits this. He's an unrepentant AxCrazy psychopath, murdered children, is a racist, and is a DepravedBisexual of the highest order who will get it on with AnythingThatMoves. But his horrible childhood (being the product of incest and rape, being molested by his father, and forced to memorize entire dictionaries) combined with some of the horrible things that happen to him in the series (having his hand cut off, for starters) really stirs up some pity for the bastard. It becomes more apparent in the fourth season when T-Bag slowly starts BecomingTheMask after taking on a fake identity, genuinely wanting redemption, only for it to just not work out in the end. Robert Knepper (who played him) noted this pretty well.
-->"Around episode 6 or 7, I got so many letters from people saying, 'When I first started watching this show, I absolutely hated you and I wanted you dead. Now I still want you dead, but I'm starting to feel for you.' I think there's something in my eyes, a childlike thing in there. There's still an innocence. There's still a bit of hope."
** When his character breaks out of prison again in a crossover episode of ''Series/BreakoutKings'', it turns out that his monstrous actions during the episode were motivated solely by [[spoiler: getting revenge on the orderlies who sexually abused his comatose, dying mother]]. During the final chase scene, he is not trying to escape but is actually running to his mother's hospital room so he can see her before her death. Even the marshalls who witnessed his horrendous crimes are not able to refuse him that last moment.
* ''Series/ImAlanPartridge'': Alan Partridge, absolutely insufferable and yet, sometimes, his haplessness is pitiable. He's an utter twat but, sometimes, you want to give him a mug of hot cocoa and a hug.
* ''Series/DegrassiJuniorHigh'': Kathleen is a snooty bitch, but her life is such a wreck - alcoholic mom, absentee dad, abusive boyfriend, anorexia...

* Howard Moon from ''Series/TheMightyBoosh''. He's a pompous, deluded, self-absorbed misanthrope who seems to cause more trouble than he's worth, but is put through hell in the course of most episodes, to the point where he more than wins the audience's sympathy. At least once in most live shows, there's a scene where he's cruelly picked on or gets incredibly depressed, and the accompanying sympathetic "''Awww''" from the audience is loud enough to warrant a response from Howard.
-->'''Howard:''' So alone...\\
'''Random Girl from Audience:''' Come back to my place!\\
'''Howard:''' I'm not ''that'' lonely.
%%* Damon, from ''Series/TheVampireDiaries''.
%%** Tyler Lockwood and Caroline Forbes before characterdevelopment set in.
* ''Series/RedDwarf'': Arnold Rimmer. It's a comedy series, so his problems are usually treated light-heartedly, but given everything, [[FreudianExcuse is it any wonder that he's a mess?]] In particular, he would have turned out like [[TheAce Ace]] Rimmer ([[PhraseCatcher what a guy!]]) had he simply been held back a year instead of being allowed to progress. Even when he gets a break, it turns out for the worst. Of course, the series also takes pains to point out that the Woobie part doesn't automatically excuse or justify the Jerkass part; he's still, in many ways, a loathsome, repellent, hypocritical coward, for the most part.
** Perhaps no episode highlights both the Jerkass and Woobie portions of his personality better than "[=Me2=]", when we are faced with a second Rimmer Hologram. The second Rimmer is every bit the Jerkass the original was, except he seems to delight in focusing all of his worst qualities against the original Rimmer hologram. [[spoiler: Under the belief that he has been chosen for deletion, the original Rimmer hologram shares a deeply personal, and painfully embarrassing, moment from his life with Lister and Cat. It's revealed after he's finished that Lister had already deleted the second hologram as he'd exited the room.]] What helps further highlight Rimmer's Jerkass status is that, as Lister points out, this is all his own fault: he was the one who stole and hid all of the other hologrammatic disks, going to the extent of replacing the disk for Kristine Kochanski with a second copy of his own, then refused to own up even after Lister had come up with a plan for creating a second functioning hologram.
** Another good example is Terrorform. AnthropomorphicPersonifications of Rimmer's self-hatred and inner demons are bearing down on the ship, which is unable to drag itself out of a swamp representing his despair. His friends take this opportunity to tell Rimmer that, regardless of their past differences, he is a member of the crew and they care about him. This briefly brings back to life the personifications of Rimmer's good-qualities, like his nobility and self-confidence, which hold off the demons and frees the ship from the swamp. [[spoiler: Upon escaping the planet, Rimmer asks the crew whether all of the things they said were just to escape and if they meant any of it. The crew's response? [[WhatTheHellHero A unanimous and immediate "No!"]]]]

* ''Series/BadGirls'' has Denny Blood (before CharacterDevelopment), Zandra Plackett (ditto), Maxi Purvis, Snowball Merriman, and Shell Dockley.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
** Dean Winchester. He can have a nasty temper and is a cocky, self-righteous, judgmental, always-wisecracking {{Jerkass}} manwhore with such low self-esteem that he thought he deserved to go to hell, has an almost obsessive devotion to his family (and he really wanted them back together again, which is never going to happen) and especially his [[BigBrotherInstinct little brother]], an unwillingness to actually stand up for himself (when it came to Missouri, John, and sometimes Sam), has shown an honest willingness to sacrifice himself and his own happiness for perfect strangers, and all that wisecracking is just to "mask all that nasty pain". Not forgetting that he's also the [[TheChewToy show's favourite bitch]], so you've got to give him some sympathy.
** His brother, Sam. He's self-absorbed, doesn't seem to think much of Dean sometimes even though he'd give anything for him, can be incredibly cruel at times ("You were ''four'' when Mom died. How could you possibly know how I feel?", anyone?), and is prone to self-pity by the bucket-load. He knows just how to twist Dean around his little finger, but he tries a hell of a lot harder to make Dean feel better than John ever did, he falls apart trying to save Dean in Season Three, he's using his demonic powers for good, he really did try to make it up to his father after "In My Time Of Dying" by focusing on the hunt, and much of the bitchiness is leaning towards the affectionate DeadpanSnarker style and not the unsympathetic Jerkass style. His violent streak isn't quite natural in origin and, much like Dean, he [[BreakTheCutie endures a lot of crap]] [[CorruptTheCutie throughout the series]].
** Gabriel/[[spoiler:the Trickster]]. Yes, he screws with people and likes to torment Sam Winchester even more than the other antagonists, but he left Heaven because he couldn't stand to watch his brothers kill each other, only for the fight to begin again and to be dragged back into the fight. He then fought for the humans, believing them to be better than the angels, because they at least try to be better, and gets killed by his big brother, Lucifer, who he loved. The look on his face when [[http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l1cii774LI1qb05qfo1_500.png he's stabbed]] will break your heart.
** Castiel is turning into this. He has always been a Woobie but, in season six, he starts becoming a JerkAss. He is fighting a civil war against other angels in Heaven and chose to [[spoiler: make a DealWithTheDevil in order to get the power needed to win the fight]]. Despite that, he still helps Sam and Dean and tries to keep them safe [[spoiler:until he sacrifices even his friends]].

* Both Mark and Jeremy from ''Series/PeepShow''. You could count the times things have worked out for either of Them on one hand. Jeremy stands out more though. He's a complete dick with practically no morals, motivation or loyalty to his friends and is happy to sponge off everyone around him. But His dad abandoned him, his music career is going nowhere, he doesn't seem to have any other friends aside from an equally pathetic crack addict, he can't form a meaningful relationship and the only woman he loved used him to get a green card and left him, his best friend and roommate sees Him as the living definition of a fuck up and the universe seems set on viciously crushing whatever optimism he can scrounge up around him.
** Not to downgrade Mark either. He's neurotic, selfish, never thinks of others and is constantly coming up with excuses for his behaviour. Still his life seems determined to crush anything good that comes his way while also putting him in terrible and awkward situations beyond his control. He is also ''TheUnfavourite'' of his family, his father is emotionally abusive, his mother had an affair, and pretty much everyone he meets seems to think he exists solely to be treated like crap and be their personal whipping boy.
* ''Series/AshesToAshes2008'' has Gene Hunt. (Ray has his moments as well.)
* Guy of Gisborne from ''Series/RobinHood'' stabs unarmed women, leaves babies in the woods to die, burns down houses, and sells his sister to a rapist. He's also arrogant, selfish, and has a vicious temper that causes mass suffering to him and everyone around him. And yet, whenever anyone shows him a shred of kindness, he blossoms like a delicate little flower in the sun...the fact that he's a DracoInLeatherPants doesn't hurt either.

* Alex from ''Series/GreysAnatomy'' is a {{Jerkass}}, but he also grew up in and out of foster care, had an abusive, drug-addicted father and an alcoholic mother, had a girlfriend breakdown, and when he finally started to trust someone, she got cancer and left him with her hospital bills over a stupid miscommunication. And he was shot. And he had to commit his brother to a psych ward after he had a psychotic episode and tried to kill their sister.
* ''Series/{{MASH}}'':
** Frank Burns could be considered one of these. While he often acts in a way that makes you want to see karma bite him in the ass, karma bites him [[HumiliationConga so often and so mercilessly that it's easy to actually feel sorry for him]]. Particularly after Margaret left him and he became progressively more unhinged; even Hawkeye and BJ eased up on him during that time. We're also given occasional hints that Frank's childhood was [[FreudianExcuse not a happy one]].
** His successor at the 4077th, Charles Winchester, occasionally was one of these as well. Particularly in the final episode. Although he's generally a lot less of a {{jerkass}} than Frank Burns was as well.
* Adrian Monk from ''Series/{{Monk}}'' moves back and forth between the status of TheWoobie and JerkassWoobie. While he's a nice and caring man who's crushed under a debilitating amount of phobias and compulsions, his inability to connect with others on an empathic level makes him an insufferably demanding boss and an outright jerk at times. It should be hard to feel sympathy for a guy who would take candy from a baby if it wasn't unsanitary, but he suffers from a socially debilitating disorder, was basically abandoned by his parents, and his [[AloofOlderBrother one remaining relative]] is more neurotic than he is. Not to mention that [[TheGwenStacy his beloved wife]] was murdered in the one crime he can't solve. Of course, it helps that Monk can show his heart of gold ''while'' being a total {{Jerkass}}.
* ''Series/{{Cheers}}'': Cliff Clavin gets a lot of abuse for his KnowNothingKnowItAll attitude. Mostly from Carla, but after a while, Sam also had difficulty hiding just how much he depises Cliff.
* One hopes this trope doesn't apply to the RealLife Larry David, but the Larry David ''character'' on ''Series/CurbYourEnthusiasm'' exemplifies it. He's a legitimate {{Jerkass}} and extremely self-centered...but the Universe seems determined to make him ''seem'' even worse than that. He also endures ''a lot'' throughout the series and some of it isn't even his fault.
* Al Bundy from ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'' is mean, egoistical, and hates everyone and life in general, but considering how practically everyone and everything, from his wife who constantly picks on him and refuses to do anything worthwhile around the house to the fat women who make his shoe salesman job hell to the universe [[YankTheDogsChain yanking his chain]] whenever ''anything'' begins going slightly right for him, [[SadistShow craps on him]], you can't really hate him and even have to admire him for refusing to give up even in the face of everything in his life conspiring against him.\\\
"...But I'm not a loser...And the fact that I haven't put a gun in my mouth, you pudding of a woman, makes me a winner." (The full speech delivered by Al - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyLmSAnoR6g - is even more impressive.)
* GOB from ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment''. He's a total ass to everyone in the family, selfish, and aggressively stupid, but his parents hate him and nothing ever goes right for him. As much of a {{jerkass}} as he is, it's hard not to feel sympathetic towards him. Pretty much every single awful thing he does is done in an attempt to make someone love him, appreciate him, or even ''notice'' him.
** Maeby. Yes, she's manipulative, greedy, and sometimes doesn't get how wrong or stupid her behavior is, but her own parents forget she exists when they're not using her as leverage in their failing marriage. Much like GOB, a lot of her bad behavior is really a cry for attention.
** Lindsay is a bad bordering on neglectful mom, but she still manages to be sympathetic thanks to her abusive mother Lucille and criminally stupid husband Tobias.
** Michael may have become this in Season 4: He was TheWoobie in earlier seasons even if he wasn't as kind or competent as he thought he was, but after [[spoiler:unethical tactics to get releases from the rest of his family, blowing up George Michael's relationship, and possibly murdering Lucille 2]] he's not a good guy anymore and probably falls under this trope.
** Lucille in Season 4, when she realizes [[spoiler:her kids really do hate her or just don't care]].
* Charlotte on ''Series/PrivatePractice'' is a horrible, thoroughly unpleasant person. And then she was [[spoiler: brutally beaten and raped]] and it became impossible ''not'' to feel sorry for her.
* Avon of ''Series/BlakesSeven'' acts like a [[{{Jerkass}} complete git]] for much of the time, refuses to trust anyone and points out ''repeatedly'' that anyone who trusts ''him'' is stupid. Then we learn that his lover died under torture, protecting him. Still later, it turns out that [[spoiler:she wasn't actually dead, but had been working for the authorities all along.]] At the beginning of Season 4, [[spoiler:the woman he maybe even ''liked'' a bit, who liked him back, dies.]] He spends two years searching for his [[spoiler:lost leader]], going through failure after failure and [[SanitySlippage gradually losing his grip on sanity]]. ''This man needs a hug.''
* Jonah of ''Series/SummerHeightsHigh''. He's undeniably a Jerkass (just look at the way he treats a lonely kid assigned to be his buddy for confirmation), but one can't help feeling at least a little sympathetic for him in the final episode when he [[spoiler: is humiliated in front of his entire class by his ''teacher'', and expelled from the school.]]
* ''Series/TheColbertReport'': Stephen Colbert (but not Creator/StephenColbert) is a delusional SmallNameBigEgo type who takes his own vanity and arbitrary biases to [[InsaneTrollLogic absurd extremes]]. It becomes difficult not to pity him during his more delusional moments.
* ''Series/TheOfficeUS'':
** Michael Scott. He may be an insensitive JerkAss with no internal filter and a massive lack of self-awareness, but when you consider his horrid relationship with the bitchy Jan and his depression after his roast over how much fun he'd have instead of what really happens at a roast and his short-lived romance with Holly (and he still holds a torch for her), it's hard not to sympathize with him. Also, in general, his lack of social skills can be a downer sometimes.
*** Even further than that, throughout the show, it's clear that most of Michael's decisions (becoming a salesman being a big one) are made with the intent of [[IJustWantToBeLoved either making friends or finding romance]]. Unfortunately, failure seems to be the only option for him, as bad luck tends to break up any chance at either that Michael's own thoughtlessness, childishness, obliviousness, or generally self-centered nature doesn't drive away first. It gets really woobie-ish at the brief points where Michael actually realizes this, such as in "Bring Your Daughter to Work Day".
** Also, Dwight in some episodes.
** Andy in the ninth season. While he was often a straight woobie, in the ninth season, he [[TookALevelInJerkAss takes a level up in jerkass]] after his father ([[WellDoneSonGuy whom he had spent a long time trying to make proud]]) bankrupted the family and his girlfriend leaves him for another guy.
* ''Series/{{Titus}}'': Ken Titus's own ''mother'' liked to play cruel pranks on him, [[ForTheEvulz just for shits and giggles]], and his father was a drunken womanizing {{jerkass}}, [[GenerationXerox just like him]].

* In ''Series/TheTwilightZone'' episode "A Piano in the House", the owner of the titular piano is showing being a caustic {{Jerkass}} who delights in being the center of attention by tearing others down -- in this instance, through using a magic piano whose songs bring out the deeper personalities in people. However, when the tables are turned, he zips right into [[TheWoobie woobie]] territory, when he's forced (through the piano's magic) to reveal that he [[FreudianExcuse has an inferiority complex]], and the reaction to his doing that...[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAYQKiZ5eig#t=3m50s is for the party-goers to leave, his wife to finally divorce him]], and his normally stoic butler to quit, saying, [[KickTheSonOfABitch "You're not funny anymore."]]
* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'':
** Armus from "Skin of Evil", especially if he ever got free. He's a black liquid of pure evil made of the discarded negative emotions of an ancient race of highly advanced aliens, but he had no choice in his own creation and his constant state of undirected rage and hatred actually pains him as well. He wants nothing more than to be reunited with his creators for leaving him on a dead planet for millennia, but he will never get the chance. Both Picard and Troi express their pity for him while acknowleding his malevolence, but he angrily rejects it.
** Gul Madred, Picard's Cardassian torturer in the two-part episode "Chain of Command", grew up on the streets as a poor boy, once beaten up over some food. Picard, however, calls him out on it in light of how he became a brutal torturer:
-->'''Picard:''' When I look at you now, I won't see a powerful Cardassian officer... but a small boy weeping because he was powerless to protect himself.
* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'':
** Apollo in ''Who Mourns for Adonais'' is a family-friendly version of the {{Jerkass}} he is in Myth/GreekMythology, and goes on a power trip. However, one's heart still aches for him in the end when resigns himself to going the way of the other Olympians.
* Pierce Hawthorne in the second half of season two of ''Series/{{Community}}''. He is shown to be insecure about how his age is creating a barrier between him and the rest of the group, and much of his attention seeking behavior is an outgrowth of his dysfunctional relationship with his father.
** Chang in season 2. All he wants is to be part of the group, but he keeps getting shot down. Especially when you consider that they were planning to let him in from the beginning. Though he did spend most of Season 1 tormenting them, so it's understandable.

* C.C. Babcock on ''Series/TheNanny''. She may be a horrible, greedy, selfish person and a massive RichBitch, but considering all the crap she takes, you can't help but have a tiny bit of sympathy for her.

* Ari Gold from ''Series/{{Entourage}}''. He becomes one in "The Beginning Of The End" - when Mrs. Gold tells him that she's started seeing someone else, he looks utterly crushed.
* Frasier Crane from ''Series/{{Frasier}}''. Sure, he's a pompous, arrogant, overbearing, snotty jackass a lot of the time, but deep down, he's a very insecure and sensitive man whose deepest desire is to be liked by everyone, whose controlling behavior towards his younger brother Niles and best friend Roz is often symptomatic of a fear that they might stop needing (and therefore stop liking) him, and who desperately wants a meaningful romantic relationship — but he keeps getting [[WeirdnessMagnet slapped in the face by luck over and over and over again.]]
* ''Series/TheInspectorLynleyMysteries'': DS Barbara Havers starts out as this in the pilot episode. The woman cannot take a compliment to save her life, nor can she comprehend the idea that someone might actually respect her for her abilities. As a result, she is bitchy, snappish, and defensive, and rather tends to make viewers (and Inspector Lynley himself) want to smack her across the face. But the storyline makes it ''very'' clear just what cause she has to be this way, and as a result, the aforementioned viewers are torn between wanting to slap her in the face and just giving her a goddamn hug already because she needs one ''so'' badly. By the end of the three-hour, two-part pilot, the mask has cracked, and she begins to open up to her partner instead of shoving him away. She becomes progressively less [[CharacterDevelopment bitchy and defensive]] as the series goes on; although she never loses it completely.
* Astronema from ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace''. Being kidnapped and raised by the "Master of all Evil", fighting your own brother and being brainwashed into becoming a ruthless warlord does not make a happy person.
** Frax from ''Series/PowerRangersTimeForce''. He was a kind scientist who saved [[BigBad Ransik]] from poisoning, who repaid his kindness by insulting and attempting to kill him. Fran rebuilt himself as a robot and joined Ransik with the intent to get his revenge. Near the end of the series, Frax gets a chance to talk with [[AntiVillain Nadira]], who has been conflicted about her father's hatred of humans. In the end, Frax is reprogrammed and destroyed.
** Camille from ''Series/PowerRangersJungleFury''. Camille has Undying Loyalty to Dai Shi, and is greatly attracted to his host's body. However, he doesn't return her affections and continuously treats her as nothing more than a pawn. While Jarrod grows to care for her, Dai Shi sees her as nothing more than a servant, breaking her heart despite how much she's willing to do for him.
** Deker from ''Series/PowerRangersSamurai. Once an ordinary human, he was nearly killed in a fire. His wife made a {{Deal with the Devil}} with [[TheChessmaster Serrator]] to save his life. But, Serrator tricked her into making Deker a BloodKnight human/Nighlok hybrid. For 200 years, Deker travelled the earth to find a WorthyOpponent to [[DeathSeeker end his life]] and [[MercyKIll end his suffering]].
* Tom Haverford of ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' is a [[CasanovaWannabe lecherous]], narcissistic prick. That said, one can't help but feel sorry for him when he discovers he truly loved his ex-wife Wendy (who only married him so [[CitizenshipMarriage she could stay in the US]]).
* George Costanza (Jason Alexander) from ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}''. He's a JerkAss, a moron and an amoral schemer, but man does his life suck. Also, Elaine Benes ([[Creator/JuliaLouisDreyfus Julia Louis-Dreyfus]]) as she's also a JerkAss but she's unlucky in love and BreakTheHaughty plots often happen to her.
** George's status as a Jerkass Woobie is brought home in the Season 8 episode, "The Andrea Doria." There, George is competing with a survivor of the sinking of the S.S. Andrea Doria (a 1956 maritime disaster) for a new apartment. After the survivor tells his story to the apartment board, George follows by telling the board the long list of misfortunes he's suffered over the course of the entire series (such as suffering "shrinkage", being tied up by a woman and robbed for eight dollars, being confused for a Nazi by an angry mob, getting caught holding a marble rye in front of his future in-laws, and his fiancée's death from licking poisonous wedding invitation envelopes). The board unanimously chooses to award him the apartment over the shipwreck survivor (until he himself loses out on the apartment to Elaine's former boyfriend whom she stabbed for making fun of the size of her head).
* Daniel from ''Series/FreaksAndGeeks'' is manipulative, lazy and seems set on doing as little as possible in life. But his father is sick, his mother obviously doesn't think much of him, his teachers seem set on making sure he never succeeds, he's thought of by everyone as a failure by default and even his closest friends can't see him with any type of future. He seems caught in a vicious cycle: Everyone assumes he's a screwup, he tries to prove them wrong but it doesn't work, he becomes indifferent and complacent, and everyone thinks he just doesn't care.
** Kim Kelly also qualifies. When We first meet her, She is rude, cold, and utterly horrible to almost everyone especially Lindsey who always tries to be nice. But her family and home life is so horrible you're just amazed She hasn't turned out a lot worse.
* Ingrid from ''Series/YoungDracula'' may be one of the evilest characters on the show, with several murder attempts to her name, but when you look at the way her father (and nearly everyone in her family) treats her it really makes you want to give her a hug.
* In spite of how hilariously misanthropic and needlessly cruel [[Series/BlackBooks Bernard Black]] is, he's bizarrely cute and his girlfriend faking her own death to get away from him or his friends casually turning on him tends to inspire more sympathy than Schadenfreude.
* Owen Harper from ''Series/{{Torchwood}}''. He's undeniably a jerkass, misanthropic and womanising, but just tell me you don't want to give him a hug in the flashback scenes after his fiancee dies, or in "Adam" finding out how his mother treated him. No wonder he's out to make the whole world hate him.
* Thomas Barrow from Downton Abbey. He's a sly, [[SmugSnake smug snake]] of a schemer, happily willing to throw anybody under the bus if it will help him further himself and be mean for the fun of it, yet, good lord.
** His plan of running off to valet for his lover is dashed, he's right in the thick of UsefulNotes/WW1, he goes back to Blighty with 1 person pleased that he's not dead, he connects with a wounded soldier who promptly commits suicide, he nearly doesn't get his old job back, his business venture ruins him, that friend of his hates him now, 1 of approximately 3 people who've been kind to him dies, he falls for someone whom he is told [[HoneyTrap fancies him back]], said person explodes when Thomas kisses him, that fellow then tries to ruin Thomas's life at the behest of said ex-friend, he's facing either prison or complete destitution, and who has to help him? The one person Thomas hates more than anyone.
** And now in Season 5, he's apparently [[spoiler: self-medicating to "cure" his homosexuality.]] Fans are speculating that he's [[spoiler: using Apomorphine, which is a powerful emetic (induces vomiting). Poor, poor baby. No wonder he's been looking like death (barely) warmed over for the last few episodes...]]
** And let's not forget his suicide attempt in Season 6.
* ''Series/ColdCase'': Katerina from Season 4 episode ''Cargo''. On one hand, she lied to a vulnerable girl about the girl being abandoned when she was not, murdered the victim and sold his boat to make money. On the other hand, she'd been raped for years, and was about to watch what may have been her only chance at freedom slip away.

* ''Series/{{Revenge}}'': Emily Throne. It's hard not to root for her after all the Graysons have done to her father, and her by extension. Their actions, however, have led to Emily becoming a Tragic Monster who's hellbent on making sure they suffer, and she cares very little for collateral damage. At first, anyway.
** Tyler Barrol has a bit of this, when you remember that he's genuinely mentally ill (and when you find out that he only got violent because Emily was deliberately pushing him into a breakdown to get rid of him).
* Troels Höxenhaven, the scheming, back-stabbing minister from Danish political drama ''Series/{{Borgen}}'', who among other things manipulates his own party leader into sabotaging his political career in order to position himself as a future prime minister. But not even a SmugSnake deserves to [[spoiler: be outed by a homophobic journalist after 16 years in a sham marriage and as a result be DrivenToSuicide]]. It helps that the actor is very good at pulling tragic faces which pull at the heartsrtings.
* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' often comes off as cold and unfeeling, but in "The Blind Banker" it's hard to watch him try not to show that hearing how everyone at school hated him upsets him without wanting to give the guy a hug.
* Charlie Harper from ''Series/TwoAndAHalfMen'' is this. Despite all of his JerkAss behavior (Womanizing and mistreatment of women, his treatment of his brother in later seasons, etc.) that makes you want to rip him a new one, his narcissist of a mother is an AbusiveParent who throughout the years abused and neglected him and shows up all the time to guilt trip him. His brother becomes a sponge who happily mooches off of him without remorse, he has a stalker who people try to pair him with. Said stalker ended up murdering him and even after death, he's still treated like crap by his mother.
** Charlie's brother Alan counts too. Sure, he's a pretty shameless sponge and very cheap moocher, and becomes more of a {{Jerkass}} in later seasons, but he hasn't had an easy life either. Aside from their aforementioned EvilMatriarch mother, Alan also has to deal with his incredibly bitchy and hypocritical ex-wife Judith wringing out every last drop of happiness from him for no reason other than her [[ItAmusedMe own personal amusement]], a DumbassTeenageSon who constantly tries his patience, a string of failed relationships, and the fact that Charlie tends to be a KarmaHoudini who coasts through life rather easily (the occasional HumiliationConga notwithstanding) while he's had to work tirelessly for anything resembling happiness and having next to nothing to show for it.
* Jesse Pinkman from ''Series/BreakingBad'': He's a meth dealer and starts out as the closest thing the show has to a bad guy, but as the show progresses, the only people he cares about end up dead or injured, and it becomes clear that he's a scared and fundamentally decent kid in over his head. Crosses into [[TheWoobie regular Woobie]] in season 5, [[spoiler:when Todd enslaves and tortures him]].
** Skyler White has cheated on Walt, had an on-again, off-again relationship with his meth business, and blackmailed him about it in the earlier seasons, but it's hard not to feel bad for her: In Season 2, she gets a lot of undeserved hate for kicking Walt out of the house, and has to just sit there and let Walt Jr. curse her out because she can't tell him that his father is a drug dealer. In Season 5 Walt's Heisenberg (read: pure evil) alter-ego begins to show up in their domestic life and she's forced to leave her kids with Hank and Marie for their own safety, again opening herself up to hate from her son with no way to defend herself.
** Marie is a KnowNothingKnowItAll, refused to apologize for accidentally getting Skyler arrested, never shuts up, and generally gets involved in things that are none of her business, but in Season 4 it becomes clear she really loves Hank and wants him to get better [[spoiler:after he's left paralyzed from a shootout with the Cousins]]. Her reward for all of this is constant verbal abuse from her husband.
** Hank himself. He's rude, obnoxious, could use a refresher course on the 4th Amendment, and not above making incredibly racist jokes around his Hispanic partner. But between his nervous breakdown in Season 2 and [[spoiler:getting paralyzed]] in 3 he becomes actually quite sympathetic, especially when it becomes clear that his obnoxiousness is an act to cover up the uncertainty he feels about whether he's doing the right thing and his fear of getting shot or killed on the job.
** This was the second stage of Walt's transformation. He started off as a regular {{Woobie}}, and then became this as his character darkened. After crossing what many consider his MoralEventHorizon at the end of Season 4, he left this territory behind as well. [[spoiler:He reverts to this in "Ozymandias": He has fled the state and done everything in his power to protect Skyler from prosecution, but Hank's death is his only regret. This continues in "Felina", where he reveals he's still a cold-blooded killer but tries to make everything right with his family before his death]].
* ''{{Series/Nashville}}'''s Juliette Barnes is this in spades - difficult and can be inconsiderate but a genuinely talented performer, and with a rough upbringing at the hands of her drug addicted mother [[spoiler: who ultimately sacrificed herself]] and a penchant for falling for/into bed with any man who gives her the slightest positive attention, not to mention how every time something good happens to her it's always tainted, it's hard to outright call her a beeyotch. [[BaseBreakingCharacter Although that hasn't stopped some people]]...[[spoiler: even after she married Avery and had his child.]]
* From ''Series/FreshMeat'', [[UpperClassTwit JP]] is ''such a dick'', being smug, completely self-absorbed, and unrepentantly looking down on ''everybody''. However, he also suffers incredibly throughout the show, with his father dying, his mother selling his house without telling him, and his so-called "friends" manipulating him all the time while he desperately struggles for their approval. And he has ''two'' [[ItMakesSenseInContext crying steps]].
* Miss Parker on ''Series/ThePretender'' is a tough as nails Action Bitch and SmugSnake rolled into one hot package, until you remember what happened to her mother.
** And of all people, Mr Raines breaking down in tears at the end of "Blue Moon" when [[spoiler: he receives his daughter's locket and finally learns her fate at the hands of a sadistic serial killer.]]
* Leonard from ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' often makes stupid and selfish decisions to get what he wants, and often tortures Sheldon, but he has ''an entire family'' that treats him like he doesn't exist, his mother Beverly has a better relationship with ''Sheldon'' than she does with Leonard, and has been treated like shit by Sheldon numoreous times, it's hard to believe the guy hasn't committed suicide by now.
** Wolowitz is also a prime example. He always thinks his decisions matter than his own friends', and has always done many relentless things, but he was always turned down by every woman he tried on until he met Bernadette, has an overbearing JewishMother who frequently treats him like a child, has a father who abandoned him when he was 11, and even has a good side, so it's really hard not to side with him sometimes.
** Sheldon also qualifies to some extent. He's always really hard to deal with, has a huge lack of patience, and is always saying and doing mean things to everyone, but nearly everyone he knows in Pasadena, even his girlfriend borderline hates him, his ''own mother'' has a better relationship with Leonard than she does with Sheldon, and he simply doesn't even know better when he does bad things, along with a somewhat JerkWithAHeartOfGold persona, it's hard to not feel at least tiny bit of sympathy for his whole character in general.
* ''Series/HouseOfAnubis'':
** Patricia, mostly in the first season. She's a DeadpanSnarker with jealousy and temper issues. However, she does care about her friends, and seems to have insecurities about a few things- which is probably the two things that are what cause her to act badly in the first place.
** Jerome is manipulative and has a tendency to be rather selfish. He was also a victim of ParentalAbandonment, unrequited love, and loneliness, as well as a target of Rufus Zeno for two seasons. He also has tried to get better, but has trouble shaking his bad habits and is an AntiHero at best.
** Joy. While she was relentless in getting Fabian to like her and also was a ControlFreak with an ItsAllAboutMe streak, she also went through a lot in her life. She genuinely felt ignored by all of her friends and replaced by Nina, as well as unfairly shut out of Sibuna despite everything that happened in the first season.
* ''Series/{{Friends}}'':
** Emily. She turned into a ControlFreak and ClingyJealousGirl only after Ross humiliated her in front of her family and friends ''at her wedding'', the most important day of her life.
** Ross can also be this sometimes.
** Phoebe. She already has a DarkAndTroubledPast (living on the street, a mother who killed herself) and apparently became more of a bitch by the end of the series because of the revelations about her family. Makes perfect sense when you realize that she found out she had a brother her father didn't bother telling her about, her grandmother didn't tell her how to get in touch with her father, she lost a year when she found out she's a year older than she thought, doesn't even know her full name because her sister sold her birth certificate, and found out her mom isn't her mom, but her mom's girlfriend. She probably started being such a bitch when she realized her entire family lied to her almost all of her life.
* Dr. Frederick Chilton in ''Series/{{Hannibal}}'' is a [[SmugSnake smug]], [[{{Slimeball}} slimy]] administrator who manipulates Gideon into believing he's the Chesapeake Ripper. Despite his many sins, it's difficult not to feel pity for him after all of his trials and tribulations. In season 1, Gideon kidnaps him and vivisects him. The ordeal costs him a kidney and leaves him with a limp, requiring him to walk with a cane. In season 2, when he [[spoiler:realizes that Hannibal is a serial killer]], Jack Crawford refuses to take him seriously when he [[spoiler:begs for FBI protection. Hannibal then frames him for three murders he didn't commit. Finally, a traumatized Miriam mistakes Chilton for her captor and shoots him in the head.]]

* ''Series/TheGeorgeLopezShow'': Benny was a horrible mother to George, no bones about it. But her parents were ''much'' worse, and she had to raise a kid on her own without help.
** Ricky was Max's delinquent friend who talked Max into a lot of stunts that damaged the Lopez house and drained their finances. But his childhood was pretty much the same as George's, maybe even worse, so George was willing to take him in and give him a better life.
** Veronica was a spoiled brat who tested George's patience more than once. But her father was a manipulative conman who stole her quinceanera money and abandoned her, and returned again just to steal her trust fund money, her mother died, and it's implied that her spoiled relatives were also poor role models, since her mother Claudia made George a the trustee to her inheritance, and one of them later sued Veronica for her money, forcing her to live with the Lopez family.
** Zack Powers is a subversion. He may have had a difficult childhood (a negligent father and an alcoholic mom), but his embezzlement of company money, trashing the factory just to spite his father, and his manipulation of Carmen into running away and having sex with him shreds all sympathy you can have for him.
* Lauren in ''Series/FakingIt''. In any other show she would be the AlphaBitch but in the pathologically liberal atmosphere of the school she attends she's the outsider. Throw in the fact that she's [[spoiler: intersex]] and a couple of PetTheDog moments and she easily fits into this trope.
* Ryan Harper and Rachel Culgrin from ''Series/NightAndDay''. Both seem to delight in being absolutely vile to everyone they know, but neither is deprived of moments of vulnerability or humanity. Ultimately, they have loneliness in common. In-universe, Josh Alexander recognises both of them as Jerkass Woobies and befriends both in an attempt to encourage them to be better people. That's until he himself goes nuts and gets [[DemonicPossession demon-eyes]].
* Harry Wells, introduced in season 2 of ''Series/TheFlash2014'', comes off as a rude, arrogant jerkass who has very little regard for the feelings of those around him. However, it turns out that [[spoiler: the BigBad has kidnapped his daughter]] and the resulting AdultFear and HeroicBSOD has done a number on his people skills. Add to that the fact that his wife died when their daughter was very young, and it's hard not to sympathise with the way he lashes out at people and pushes them away so he doesn't have to deal with losing anyone else.

* ''Series/CoronationStreet''
** Leanne Tilsley. Despite being a manipulative opportunist, [[YourCheatingHeart a cheat]], [[TheOtherWoman a homewrecker]] and usually a total bitch, things have really stunk for her in her life. Her mother abandoned her at birth, she's forced to abort the child she created with the husband she loves, she gets addicted to drugs and works as a prostitute to pay for said addiction, she suffers a miscarriage with her second husband, [[{{Irony}} who then cheats on her and eventually marries the other woman]], her next husband (who was also her first husband) cheats and slept with his sister-in-law ''on Christmas day'', possibly impregnating her, watches her one-time fiancé die in an explosion and her stepson, who used to love her like his own mother, verbally and physically abuses her.
** David Platt hovers between this and regular Woobie. For years on the show, he went from a nasty Troll who just tried to get a rise out of people for his own amusement, to a deranged, violent criminal who attacked his own mother and was sent to prison, until he got better (somewhat). Yet things have sucked for him pretty hard. His mother tried to abort him, and then as a child Richard Hillman tried to murder him and his family. He then spent years being [[TheUnfavourite The Unfavourite]] to his older brother and younger sister. His first girlfriend aborted his child behind his back (which his mother kept secret from him), and his brother sleeps with his wife on Christmas Day (which David's family also plots to keep a secret from him). He was then kicked out of his own house, denied access to his kids and treated like a complete monster in late 2013. All for 'trying to kill' his brother (which was a genuine accident). Just when he seems to be getting his life back on track, his family is terrorised by his wife's drug dealer and his wife is then murdered.

* ''{{Series/Vida}}'': Emma. She can be rude to most people, including her sister, but most of her frustrations stem from her mother sending her to live with her grandmother after finding out Emma is queer, and this only gets worse after Emma finds out Vidalia was married to another woman prior to her death.

* ''Series/HemlockGrove'': Roman is not a good person, not just snobbish and narcissistic but even raped one of his classmates before making her forget the whole event and by the end of the series starts murdering people to feed his blood addiction. His bizarre, abusive upbringing and his conniving mother Olivia's influence goes a long way towards explaining how screwed up he is, with Roman constantly seen wallowing in self-hatred. When he becomes friends with Peter, who later seems to betray him by packing up and moving out of town without warning, Roman seems to be genuinely hurt by it.

* ''Series/HemlockGrove''': Roman is not a good person, not just snobbish and narcissistic but even raped one of his classmates before making her forget the whole event and by the end of the series starts murdering people to feed his blood addiction. His bizarre, abusive upbringing and his conniving mother Olivia's influence goes a long way towards explaining how screwed up he is, with Roman constantly seen wallowing in self-hatred. When he becomes friends with Peter, who later seems to betray him by packing up and moving out of town without warning, Roman seems to be genuinely hurt by it.

** David Platt hovers between this and regular Woobie. For years on the show, he went from a nasty Troll who just tried to get a rise out of people for his own amusement, to a deranged, violent criminal who attacked his own mother and was sent to prison, until he got better (somewhat). Yet things have sucked for him pretty hard. His mother tried to abort him, and then as a child Richard Hillman tried to murder him and his family. He then spent years being [[TheUnfavourite The Unfavourite]] to his older brother and younger sister. His first girlfriend aborted his child behind his back (which his mother kept secret from him), and his brother sleeps with his wife on Christmas Day (which David's family also plots to keep a secret from him). He was then kicked out of his own house, denied access to his kids and treated like a complete monster in late 2013. All for 'trying to kill' his brother (which was a genuine accident). Just when he seems to be getting his life back on track, his family is terrorised by his wife's drug dealer and his wife is then murdered.

** David Platt hovers between this and regular Woobie. For years on the show, he went from a nasty Troll who just tried to get a rise out of people for his own amusement, to a deranged, violent criminal who attacked his own mother and was sent to prison, until he got better (somewhat). Yet things have sucked for him pretty hard. His mother tried to abort him, and then as a child Richard Hillman tried to murder him and his family. He then spent years being [[TheUnfavourite The Unfavourite]] to his older brother and younger sister. His first girlfriend aborted his child behind his back (which his mother kept secret from him), and his brother sleeps with his wife on Christmas Day (which David's family also plots to keep a secret from him). He was then kicked out of his own house, denied access to his kids and treated like a complete monster in late 2013. All for 'trying to kill' his brother (which was a genuine accident). Just when he seems to be getting his life back on track, his family is terrorised by his wife's drug dealer and his wife is then murdered.
* ''Series/CobraKai'': Pretty much everyone falls into this category at one time or another.
** Johnny Lawrence is a drunk, sexist, racist, verbally abusive misfit even when he's at his best. However, between his two abusive father figures, his mother's premature death and his emotional issues, he is... understandable. Most of his actions during the series, like trying to help bullied kids or reaching out to his estranged son, are pretty admirable too. Johnny's problem is less that he doesn't want to be a good person, and more that he doesn't know how.
** Johnny's son Robby is a delinquent, petty criminal and all-round asshole, but again, between his shitty parents, his lack of guidance and his messy emotional life, he comes across as more in need of some guidance and a chance to prove himself than a clip around the ear.
** Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz took to Cobra Kai's teachings a bit too well in order to escape his bullies, and in the process became [[HeWhoFightsMonsters a far bigger monster than his tormentors ever were.]] But still, when you see just how bad his situation was, you can't really blame him for clasping at anything resembling a way out with both hands.
** Tory. Dear Gods above, Tory. "Psychotic hellbeast" can seem like harsh words... but really, they aren't. But then again, when you hear about her poverty background and the things she's had to do to survive... you sympathise. You don't want to, but you do.

** Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz took to Cobra Kai's teachings a bit too well in order to escape his bullies, and in the process became [[HeWhoFightsMonsters a far bigger monster than his tormentors ever were.]] But still, when you see just how bad his situation was, you can't really blame him for clasping at anything resembling a way out with both hands.

** David Platt hovers between this and regular Woobie. For years on the show, he went from a nasty Troll who just tried to get a rise out of people for his own amusement, to a deranged, violent criminal who attacked his own mother and was sent to prison, until he got better (somewhat). Yet things have sucked for him pretty hard. His mother tried to abort him, and then as a child Richard Hillman tried to murder him and his family. He then spent years being [[TheUnfavourite The Unfavourite]] to his older brother and younger sister. His first girlfriend aborted his child behind his back (which his mother kept secret from him), and his brother sleeps with his wife on Christmas Day (which David's family also plots to keep a secret from him). He was then kicked out of his own house, denied access to his kids and treated like a complete monster in late 2013. All for 'trying to kill' his brother (which was a genuine accident). Just when he seems to be getting his life back on track, his family is terrorised by his wife's drug dealer and his wife is then murdered.

* ''Series/AshesToAshes'' has Gene Hunt. (Ray has his moments as well.)

** David Platt hovers between this and regular Woobie. For years on the show, he went from a nasty Troll who just tried to get a rise out of people for his own amusement, to a deranged, violent criminal who attacked his own mother and was sent to prison, until he got better (somewhat). Yet things have sucked for him pretty hard. His mother tried to abort him, and then as a child Richard Hillman tried to murder him and his family. He then spent years being [[TheUnfavourite The Unfavourite]] to his older brother and younger sister. His first girlfriend aborted his child behind his back (which his mother kept secret from him), and his brother sleeps with his wife on Christmas Day (which David's family also plots to keep a secret from him). He was then kicked out of his own house, denied access to his kids and treated like a complete monster in late 2013. All for 'trying to kill' his brother (which was a genuine accident). Just when he seems to be getting his life back on track, his family is terrorised by his wife's drug dealer and his wife is then murdered.
* Believe it or not, Malcolm Tucker from ''Series/TheThickOfIt'' is this by the end of the show. The entire show before the last few episodes of Series 4 has made him out to be a massive {{Jerkass}} with few redeeming qualities. Then everything unravels at the Goolding Inquiry - a man has committed suicide, and Malcolm is blamed, though if anyone had listened to him at the beginning of the situation it could have been avoided. He's forced to resign and arrested for perjury, but not before giving an epic TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Ollie wherein he reveals that his [[WellIntentionedExtremist loyalty to the party and its ideals]] have left him a bitter, MarriedToTheJob shell of his former self. As the show closes, his eloquence deserts him, he's publicly humiliated, and will likely wind up doing prison time.

** David Platt hovers between this and regular Woobie. For years on the show, he went from a nasty Troll who just tried to get a rise out of people for his own amusement, to a deranged, violent criminal who attacked his own mother and was sent to prison, until he got better (somewhat). Yet things have sucked for him pretty hard. His mother tried to abort him, and then as a child Richard Hillman tried to murder him and his family. He then spent years being [[TheUnfavourite The Unfavourite]] to his older brother and younger sister. His first girlfriend aborted his child behind his back (which his mother kept secret from him), and his brother sleeps with his wife on Christmas Day (which David's family also plots to keep a secret from him). He was then kicked out of his own house, denied access to his kids and treated like a complete monster in late 2013. All for 'trying to kill' his brother (which was a genuine accident). Just when he seems to be getting his life back on track, his family is terrorised by his wife's drug dealer and his wife is then murdered.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries:

** Holly J., when her JerkassFacade comes into play during Season 8, when we see both her Jerkass and Woobie side by side (it's there during late Season 7 and early Season 9 too.)

** Barney Stinson. Most of the time, he comes off as an unrepetant, petty, womanizing AttentionWhore, but not only is he [[JerkassFacade an actual person]], but he's a pretty pathetic and frail one. Especially in regards to his relationships with [[CannotSpitItOut Robin]] or [[ParentalAbandonment his father]].

* C.C. Babcock on ''Series/TheNanny''. She may be [[RichBitch a horrible, greedy, selfish person]], but considering all the crap she takes, you can't help but have a tiny bit of sympathy for her.

* ''Series/TheInspectorLynleyMysteries'': DS Barbara Havers starts out as this in the pilot episode. The woman cannot take a compliment to save her life, nor can she comprehend the idea that someone might actually respect her for her abilities. As a result, she is bitchy, snappish, and defensive, and rather tends to make viewers (and Inspector Lynley himself) want to smack her across the face. But the storyline makes it ''very'' clear just what cause she has to be this way, and as a result, the aforementioned viewers are torn between wanting to slap her in the face and just giving her a goddamn hug already because she needs one ''so'' badly. By the end of the three-hour, two-part pilot, the mask has cracked, and she begins to open up to her partner instead of shoving him away. She becomes progressively less [[CharacterDevelopment bitchy and defensive]] as the series goes on; although she never loses it completely, she goes from this trope to a {{Woobie}} with a JerkassFacade that isn't much of a facade at all.

%%* ''Series/TheWire'': [=McNulty=], Prop Joe, Bodie, Namond (before CharacterDevelopment), and, sometimes, Avon.

%%* Almost every murder in ''Series/{{Cracker}}'' fits this trope. Albie Kinsella (Robert Carlyle) and Janice (Elizabeth Estensen) being particularly strong examples. Jimmy Beck becomes this during the second series as well.

* Rodney [=McKay=] of ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' falls into this category occasionally.

* ''Series/OnceUponATime'': Both Regina/The Evil Queen and Gold/Rumpelstilstkin have signs of this, both being JerkWithAHeartOfJerk {{Magnificent Bastard}}s who have a tendency towards being cruel to the few people they actually care about. But seing their [[FreudianExcuse excuses]] for their behavior (Regina had a cruel, controlling mother who murdered Regina's fiance, while Rumple gained magic [[LoveMakesYouEvil to save his son]], was corrupted by the magic until his son left their world in disgust, and was manipulated by Regina into believing that his LoveInterest [[DrivenToSuicide killed herself]] after he made her leave under the suspicion that she was working for the Queen.) make them both [[CryForTheDevil sympathetic]] to varying degrees. (Note that Rumple seems to fit this trope the best, as Regina has so many KickTheDog moments with other characters, KickTheSonOfABitch / KickTheDog (depending on the day) moments with Rumple, and MoralEventHorizon moments that even [[TheChessmaster h]][[ManipulativeBastard e]] tends to come off as having the more sympathetic background.)

* Most characters on ''Series/MySoCalledLife'' have had been mean to each other but remain sympathetic in various different ways.

* ''Series/HellsKitchen'': Gordon Ramsay initially seems like a pompous, foul-tempered {{Jerkass}}, at least until you see what some of the contestants on his show put him through and you understand just ''why'' he's so cranky to begin with.