History JerkassWoobie / LiveActionTV

** Adar. He may be a MonsterProgenitor and his methods involve killing and enslaving innocent people, but his story is quite sad. He is a former Elf from the long-lost subcontinent of Beleriand, and was one of the many Elves kidnaped, enslaved and made painful experiments on by Morgoth. In present, he is something between Elves and Orcs. The orcs may be a ChaoticEvilRace in general, but he shows genuine affection for them. His goal to give the orcs a home is noble, is the means that are entirely amoral.

* ''TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'':

** 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 Hapakuka turns on her and sells her out to the Hispanic inmates 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. The next episode shows Piper crying in her bunk and when a now [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone extremely guilty]] Hapakuka asks her if she's okay, Piper responds brokenly "Not even a little bit."]] 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.

* Billy Hargrove from ''Series/StrangerThings'' is a violent, racist bully who abuses his stepsister. However, it is hinted in Season 2 that [[spoiler:his father [[AbusiveParents abusing him]] is the reason for his behavior]]. Season 3 [[spoiler:confirms it when Eleven sees into his past]]. Not to mention, in Season 3 Billy is [[spoiler:possessed by [[BigBad the Mind Flayer]] and [[RedemptionEqualsDeath sacrifices himself for the heroes in the end]]]]. Billy is a huge BaseBreakingCharacter for these reasons.

** Phoebe 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.

** While Nathan started off as a pretty straightforward jerk, there are 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 was exactly the IntendedAudienceReaction. 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.

* 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.

** 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).

* ''Series/KirbyBuckets'' has the title character's older sister Dawn. One one hand, Dawn is a massive JerkAss who's very selfish, rude, and vain, and seems to hate almost everyone on the show, including her own family and best friend Belinda. On the other hand, she's the show's biggest ButtMonkey, who rarely, if ever, has any happy moments on the show, with the few she gets [[YankTheDogsChain vanishing by the end of the episode]]. She's also clearly TheUnfavorite with her parents and virtually an outcast at her school, especially compared to Kirby, who is much more well-liked on both fronts. Not helping matters is the fact that Kirby can be as mean to Dawn as vice versa, the main difference being that Dawn is always punished while Kirby [[KarmaHoudini gets away scot-free]]. The writers seemed to have picked up on it midway through the series, and gave her a short but heart-wrenching speech addressing this in the episode "I, Gregory". The final season she does show a willingness to help Kirby in his quests, even if her underlying motivations are still self-centered, and she finally gets a boyfriend in the last episode (and perhaps the most unlikely one imaginable...).

** 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.

Felton, again a complete prick but given the way his crazy wife treated him you couldn't help feel sorry for him when he started drinking, turning up to work late (or not at all) and losing key pieces of evidence. And while you kind of agreed (Felton was nowhere near the best detective), Gee telling him that he wasn't good enough for the unit after he'd been shot must've hurt.

** 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 sympathetic. It also helps that he was redeemed in the episode "Dr. Linus".

** 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".

** [[spoiler:Cassidy,]] [[DracoInLeatherPants who]] has a good FreudianExcuse and massive PuppyDogEyes, so we pity him.

%%** Dino Ortolani, Donald Groves, Miguel Alvarez, Nino Schibetta, Peter Schibetta, Schillenger's son, Andrew (and occasionally Schillenger himself), Beecher, and James Robson.

** ComicBook/LexLuthor, thanks to his abusive childhood at the hands of his father, Lionel.

* ''Series/PsychopathDiary:''' Seo Ji-hoon. He's a thoroughly unpleasant person who has people beaten up for annoying him, but by the end of the series he's been kidnapped and almost murdered, held at gunpoint by his brother, seen his brother murder their father right in front of him, taken hostage by his brother (sensing a [[SiblingRivalry theme]] here?), locked up by his brother, and almost murdered ''again''.

** 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]].

%%Good Evening Editors, If you wish to add more woobies, please consult the cleanup thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=15391212720A38366900&page=1

* 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.

* ''Series/AshesToAshes2008'' has Gene Hunt. (Ray has his moments as well.)
* Londo Mollari of ''Series/BabylonFive'': He's an [[JerkAss abrasive]], [[FantasticRacism racist]], [[ManipulativeBastard manipulative]] [[LargeHam ham]]. He effectively condoned genocide against the Narns (rendering the Narn homeworld largely uninhabitable may not have been his idea, but he was certainly defending the invasion and occupation). Still, losing his first wife, and implied true love, because of his family's disapproval, losing Adira because his love for her made her a target, and then realising that the one thing he always truly served, the Cantauri republic, is under the control of a lunatic who's going to bring it down around all their ears...it's hard not to feel bad for him sometimes. Doubly so during his occasional PetTheDog moments.
** Also in the running is G'kar, Londo's personal nemesis, who seems more of an IronWoobie most of the time, but he has a nasty temper and, in the first few seasons, he appears to be one of the more ruthless of the ambassadors (not that he doesn't have reason). Then there's the part where he ''[[MindRape Mind Raped]] Londo'' to extract information. (After his prison sentence for that crime and the accompanying revalation from Kosh, he's pretty much straight IronWoobie.)
* ''Series/BadGirls'' has Denny Blood (before CharacterDevelopment), Zandra Plackett (ditto), Maxi Purvis, Snowball Merriman, and Shell Dockley.

** ''Battlestar'' has a lot of these, given the huge number of horrible things that happen to its characters. Gaius Baltar is another good example. He has an insufferably large ego, he is inadvertently responsible for enabling the Cylons' genocide of humanity, he is a serial womaniser, and the series seems to present him with a never-ending TraumaCongaLine. Felix Gaeta also qualifies. [[spoiler:By the time he is executed, his life had gotten so shitty that it almost comes as a relief]].
* 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.

* ''Series/BigTimeRush'' had Sandy, who had an obsessive crush on Kendall but did terrible things, including spreading lies claiming that she was his girlfriend, refusing to let him get a word in to Jo, and using him to lie to her real boyfriend. While she has an AlternativeCharacterInterpretation, she ''did'' just want Kendall to herself. Then again, if you were in a boy band, you'd probably run into at least one girl who would probably be like that to you, but still.

* 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.

* 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.
* 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]].

** 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/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''

** 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.

* ''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.
* ''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.

* 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.

* ''Series/CoronationStreet''

** 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.
* 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.

* 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]]
* 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.

* 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.

* 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.

** 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.
* ''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.

* ''Series/{{Glee}}''

* ''Series/GossipGirl'''s Chuck Bass may be a pseudo date rapist, MagnificentBastard, ChessMaster, and ruthless force who will crush anybody just because he feels like it and [[spoiler:sell his soulmate for a hotel]]...But he's also put through more heart-wrenching pain than all the other characters. He's the only male character that's been [[ManlyTears driven to tears]] and that's happend four times over the course of three seasons.

* 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.]]

** Superpowered SerialKiller Sylar had the seeds of sympathy sewn for him toward the end of the first season when we are introduced to his [[EvilMatriarch domineering mother]], probably the root of his [[FreudianExcuse obsession with being "special"]] that drove him to kill, going on to [[GunStruggle kill her accidentally]] when she attacks him with scissors. The season ends with him being run through with a sword, and though the second season, during which he recovered, had less in the way of Woobification, the third and fourth were ''rife'' with revelations of ParentalAbandonment by his [[TurnOutLikeHisFather mass-murderer father]], murdered birth mother, multiple [[GambitPileup twisted and improbable]] [[MindScrew mindscrews]] sending him through the HeelFaceRevolvingDoor; that his first murder [[DrivenToSuicide might have been his last]] if Elle's [[LoveMakesYouEvil betrayal]] hadn't driven him completely AxeCrazy, and being [[MindRape manipulated]] by Matt Parkman first into [[TomatoInTheMirror believing he was someone else]] and then by trapping him [[MentalWorld in a living nightmare]] after he realized that [[WhoWantsToLiveForever copying an ability that makes him immortal]] [[IronicHell might have been a ''bad'' idea]] does not help.

* [[Series/{{House}} Gregory House]]. Cuddy [[LampshadeHanging calls him out on it]] in the season 6 finale.

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

** 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.

* In ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'', [[spoiler:Warz openly admitted that he wants to prove himself to be more than [[RoyalBrat what people of his homeworld think of him]] and was just using his so-called "lack of competence" as a facade due to secretly listening to Akudos' conversation with Damaras over being his "babysitter".]]

* Malcolm from ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle''. He is an arrogant dick at times, but he is abused by his parents, bullied by his brothers, is an outcast at school and loses most of his friends in High School. When you realize all this, you want to just hug him and make him feel better.
** The fact that his increase in dickish behavior coincides with both mid-adolescence and the onset of a pileup of steadily worsening familial problems, combined with the finale strongly implying that his dickish phase was a prelude to an epiphany that inspires him to dedicate his life to working his ass off to use his intelligence to do good, qualifies as something of a FreudianExcuse in hindsight.

* 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.
* 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.
* 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/OnceUponATime'': Both Regina/The Evil Queen and Gold/Rumpelstilstkin have signs of this, both being [[JerkWithAHeartOfJerk jerk-hearted jerks]] 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.)

** 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 Hapakuka turns on her and sells her out to the Hispanic inmates 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. The next episode shows Piper crying in her bunk and when a now [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone extremely guilty]] Hapakuka asks her if she's okay, Piper responds brokenly "Not even a little bit."]]
*** 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.

* ''Series/{{Oz}}''

* 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.

** 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]].
* 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.]]

** 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/{{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.

* ''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.

* 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).
* 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/{{Smallville}}''

** [[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!"

** 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.

** 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.

* 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.]]

* In ''Series/ThatllTeachEm", Vikki Buxton is one of the naughtiest students in the school. She disobeyed the teachers, refused to listen and got the other kids in trouble. She was also in love with Scott Peters, the biggest troublemaker in the school. [[spoiler:Peters was eventually expelled]], and it's hard not to feel bad for Vikki when this happens.
* In ''Series/TheThundermans'', Max is an aspiring supervillain who often pulls pranks on his family and meddles with his twin sister Phoebe's life. But it's hard to hate him because he is often the ButtMonkey of the cast, is clearly TheUnfavorite of the family to Phoebe, rarely ever gets a win on the show, and often does help out his family when they need 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."]]
* 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.

* ''Series/VeronicaMars''

* ''Series/{{Victorious}}''

** 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 fased with other girls flirting with him, it's understandable.

* 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/KirbyBuckets'' has the title character's older sister Dawn. One one hand, Dawn is a massive JerkAss who's very selfish, rude, and vain, and seems to hate almost everyone on the show, including her own family and best friend Belinda. On the other hand, she's the show's biggest ButtMonkey, who rarely, if ever, has any happy moments on the show, with the few she gets [[YankTheDogsChain vanishing by the end of the episode]]. She's also clearly TheUnfavorite with her parents and virtually an outcast at her school, especially compared to Kirby, who is much more well-liked on both fronts. Not helping matters is the fact that Kirby can be as mean to Dawn as vice versa, the main difference being that Dawn is always punished while Kirby [[KarmaHoudini gets away scot-free]]. In the final season she does show a willingness to help Kirby in his quests, even if her underlying motivations are still self-centered, and she finally gets a boyfriend in the last episode.

* In ''Series/That'llTeachEm'', Vikki Buxton is one of the naughtiest students in the school. She disobeyed the teachers, refused to listen and got the other kids in trouble. She was also in love with Scott Peters, the biggest troublemaker in the school. [[spoiler:Peters was eventually expelled]], and it's hard not to feel bad for Vikki when this happens.

* In ''Series/That'llTeachEm'', Vikki Buxton is one of the naughtiest students in the school. She disobeyed the teachers, refused to listen and got the other kids in trouble. She was also in love with Scott Peters, the biggest troublemaker in the school. [spoiler:Peters was eventually expelled]], and it's hard not to feel bad for Vikki when this happens.