The good guys on TV always melt our hearts. They might be a bit nerdy or have some quirky interests, but the way they are in touch with their feelings and always trying to do the right thing wins us over every time. We’re looking at you, Seth Cohen and Carlton Banks. However, we also cannot resist the ~bad boys~.
They might be all aloof and totally ignore the people crushing on them, but deep down, we know that they have sensitive hearts. Yeah, they also break laws and do some not-so-great things, but we just understand that their personalities are ~complex~. TBH, they can sometimes be downright jerks. Does that stop us from crushing on them? Not exactly… But in our defense, it doesn’t help that they have cheeky grins and hot wardrobes.
1. Jaime Lannister – Game Of Thrones
Hotness is coming. Jaime Lannister cemented his reputation for being a bit of a you-know-what during the first thousand or so pages of Game of Thrones and in the first few seasons. The back story didn’t help matters. But, did we try to justify it? Absolutely. *Spoiler alert* As the series progressed, we could see that beneath the Kingslayer’s armor, there was a heart. And Brienne of Tarth saw it, too. Not to mention that only Jaime could make getting captured and trapped in a cage look so very, very hot.
2. Don Draper – Mad Men
Don Draper from Mad Men was pretty much a pig. He had some very questionable opinions about women. Some people might have tried to write them off as keeping with the time and being necessary for business but come on.
All of our angry thoughts seemed to disappear when we would see Don with that slicked hair, slim suit and cigarette dangling loosely from his mouth. Dude might have been a jerk, but dang was he handsome.
3. Chuck Bass – Gossip Girl
The way you probably think of Chuck Bass now is related to the later episodes of Gossip Girl when he and Blair Waldorf were #relationshipgoals. Try to think back to the beginning of the series (and the books) when Chuck was a complete and total D-bag. He always seemed to be slithering about some corner and digging up some dirt on someone.
In fact, you might have thought he was behind all the whole Gossip Girl thing. Did it make us hate him? Nope. We were down for almost anything he did thanks to that smoldering stare and the way he could mix and match a suit. Plus, he was Chuck Bass.
4. Jordan Catalano – My So-Called Life
Jordan Catalano was the bad boy we loved in the 1990s when My So-Called Life was on for the all-too-brief period from 1994 to 1995. However, Jordan made a lasting impression which is why he remains a favorite today. First, baby Jared Leto. Second, dude could somehow pull off being in a band called Frozen Embryos then Residue.
There was that issue about him selling fake ID’s and him sleeping around. But, we could see Jordan and Angela Chase had such potential. And if they weren’t going to end up together, we wanted to end up with Jordan ourselves.
5. Paul Spector – The Fall
If you started watching The Fall, it was probably because you found out that Jamie Dornan AKA Christian Grey was in it. Then you got into the show and bearded Paul Spector only to realize a little too late that he does some very, very terrible things.
If you ended up having some very complicated feelings while watching The Fall, you aren’t alone. His actions can’t be justified but we also cannot unsee the hot shots of him jogging or stop listening to that Irish accent.
6. Shawn Hunter – Boy Meets World
Move over Topanga Lawrence and Cory Matthews because we would like to talk about Shawn Hunter from Boy Meets World. Shawn earns a place on our TV bad boy list for being the rebellious friend to good-humored Cory. As much as we loved Cory, it was Shawn’s story that interested us more. He might have been the more popular one, but he was also sooooo misunderstood. We could look beyond the outbursts and the bad grades and see that good heart. And the poetry. Who can resist a bad boy who writes poetry? *Sighs*
7. Jackson “Jax” Teller – Sons Of Anarchy
Jackson “Jax” Teller from Sons Of Anarchy can make it onto the list just for his appearance alone. Hello, motorcycle, leather, tattoos and scars. Oh, and we can’t ignore that his nickname is Jax. Then there is the fact that despite being a motorcycle-riding tough guy, Jax wants to uphold the values of his dad, even though they are sometimes questionable. There are not too many presidents of outlaw motorcycle groups that have Jax’s commitment.
8. Damon Salvatore – The Vampire Diaries
The Vampire Diaries had some serious hotness thanks to Salvatore brothers Damon and Stefan. While it was hard to take our eyes off Stefan, thanks to that coiffed hair and square jaw, it was Damon who we not-so-secretly wished would bite us. Yes, he was cruel and he would sometimes not be able to resist the urge to drink people’s blood, unlike his good brother, but Damon wasn’t all bad, right? Right! Plus, we could have gone another ten seasons just enjoying that smize.
9. Niklaus “Klaus” Mikaelson – The Originals
Niklaus “Klaus” Mikaelson from The Originals is the definition of a bad boy. And we mean that as a compliment. He was that in The Vampire Diaries and he was in The Originals. Niklaus, or Klaus or Nik to those that love him, is a vampire-werewolf hybrid which basically just doubles-up on his badness. Yeah, he might have been a bloodsucker who murdered some people, and his loyalty (or lack thereof) leaves something to be desired, but I mean, look at him!
10. Captain Killian “Hook” Jones – Once Upon A Time
First of all, dude is a pirate who can work guyliner better than the lead singer of any emo band. Jack Sparrow will always have a special spot in our hearts but Captain Killian Jones‘s penchant for all-black clothes and slight hint of chest hair made us want to jump aboard his ship and sail around the world with him. Yeah, it’s difficult to completely forget Hook’s past and how he wants revenge, but other characters realized that he was just an understood guy who needed some love.
11. Jess Mariano – Gilmore Girls
As much as we loved the adorable Dean Forester with Rory Gilmore, it was Jess Mariano who we wished would show up at our school. He was the classic high school bad boy with a habit of skipping class and for being a bit of a smart ass. Did both characteristics make us fall for him more? Sort of, and we think Rory would agree with us there.
12. Eric Northman – True Blood
First of all, bro was a vampire. And we all know that vampires are super hot. Yeah, they have a tendency to bite humans and feast on their blood, but you can say that is part of the bad boy charm. Eric Northman earned extra credit because he was a viking turned vampire. We don’t get many of those. He could rock long hair as well as slicked-back short hair, and we were never going to complain about him topless or wearing a black tank. Plus, he had feelings… well… for some people at least.
13. Spike – Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Spike just might be the biggest bad boy name of them all. Additionally, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer character was formerly known as William the Bloody. You cannot get more bad boy (or hotter) than that. He somehow fell in love with the Slayer while he didn’t have a soul. He did a lot of effed up stuff, don’t get us wrong, but there’s something about Spike that always had us rooting for him.
Spike was also one of the very few people who could pull off bleached blonde hair without looking like a sad member of a boy band. So there’s that.
14. Professor James Moriarty – Sherlock
If Cumberbitches could have, they would have put Sherlock Holmes on this list just so they could talk about Benedict Cumberbatch some more. We were tempted, but we cannot call Sherlock a bad boy, especially when we have Professor James Moriarty to compare him to. It can be difficult watching Sherlock, because we obviously want to root for the complicated title character (and Watson), but we also cannot deny that Moriarty is a very hot criminal mastermind.
15. Khal Drogo – Game of Thrones
There are lots of characters in Game of Thrones that we heart, but we cannot forget about Khal Drogo. He didn’t win many favors given that he was a Dothraki and we all felt an alliance to Daernys Targaryen and people from King’s Landing, but it was hard to ignore Khal Drogo with that magnificent braid, intense eyeliner and lack of a shirt. We still have a hard time ignoring some of his and his people’s actions… which makes for a complicated relationship. That being said, you’re still our sun, our moon and all of our stars, Drogo.
16. Ryan Atwood – The O.C.
We’re not trying to discount our love for Seth Cohen, but like Marissa Cooper, we will never forget the moment when Ryan Atwood rolled into Orange Country sporting a white tank and a choker. There are very few guys in television history )and real life) who can work a combination like that. Ryan might have had issues with the law and he might have been from Chino, not the glitzy O.C., but we knew he was something special. How many other bros can respond to Marissa’s, “Who are you?” with “Whoever you want me to be” and actually pull it off? Not many.
17. Tate Langdon – American Horror Story
Finding a character in American Horror Story to give us nightmares? That’s simple. But, finding a character to have the hots for? That might have proved elusive had it not been for Tate Langdon. It’s too bad that he has a horrific mass-murderous backstory. He took being a bad boy to a reprehensible new level. He might have a cute face, but dude is evil.
18. Connor Walsh – How to Get Away With Murder
If you’re a character in a show called How to Get Away With Murder, you’re pretty much already considered a bad boy before you open your mouth. Connor Walsh definitely fit the bill the more we saw of him. He didn’t let anything get in the way of what he wanted which made him very bad, but also very hot. The fact that he was super smart and could pull of various stages of facial hair won him even more votes.
19. Tim Riggins – Friday Night Lights
Tim Riggins from Friday Night Lights would also make it onto the hottest TV athletes list given that he was the fullback/running back of the Dillon Panthers. He also makes it onto this list for his tendency to go down a dark path and not make decisions that were the best for him… or others. By the end of the series, he kind of got his $h*! together, but he’s a bad boy for life.
20. James “Sawyer” Ford – Lost
James Ford, or Sawyer as everyone basically knows him from Lost, had a lot of things to deal with. After all, he was trapped on an island. Rather than trying to help everyone out, Sawyer did some things in an effort to get all of the power. Many of the other survivors on the island might not have agreed with them, but it’s difficult to know how to react when you’re one of the few survivors from a plane crash and you’re trapped on an island. Besides, we saw other things that Sawyer did that made us love him and show that he had a heart underneath those chiseled abs.