8 Best Unsung Antiheroes Of TV's Golden Age

8. Richard Hendricks (Thomas Middleditch), Silicon Valley

If the general evolution of the anti-hero is from innocent to evil, Richard’s progression is more from naïve to adept.Silicon Valley is another classic of Mike Judge whose previous works (Idiocracy, Extract, Office Space) have been harsh on capitalism gone unchecked.

The show portrays a largely unchecked wild west where companies with the money and legal recourse will swallow their competitors whole. The Goliath of this world is CEO Galvin Benson (Matt Ross) who can afford to hire people to do nothing just so his competitors can’t use them. Enter the David who has to slay him to survive: A shy kid with a game-changing idea and no knowledge of the way the game is played.

Richard soon learns he has to develop a harder edge before people his subordinates take him seriously and his opponents learn not to pick a fight with him. The evolution to the new Richard is not pretty but Judge’s message is that in an unfair capitalistic system, someone like Richard has no other choice.