10 Step Foolproof Guide To Making An Awful TV Show

8. Add Some Cardboard Cut-Out Characters

Unlikeable characters and even unsympathetic ones can work in an ensemble cast: take Joffrey Baratheon of Game of Thrones, who is a profoundly awful person but not an awful character. Badly written characters are one-dimensional and only inspire irritation in the audience. An excellent actor can give these characters some layers, but it's difficult when they're working against the script. Some shows grow out of this after their first season, but others are always burdened by it, particularly if it's a supernatural show with a clichéd 'chosen one'. The Secret Circle and The Tomorrow People had Phoebe Tonkin and Mark Pellegrino respectively to deepen the basic templates of their characters, but others don't fare as well, particularly the two cookie-cutter protagonists. If the audience doesn't care about your characters, they're not going to tune in week after week. It's as simple as that.