The 10 Greatest Jerkasses in Television Sitcom History

A Jerkass is essentially a subset of asshole: An character so obnoxious that only on television would someone willingly interact with that person. A Jerkass has a certain element of sneering prickitude. He’s condescending and arrogant, and his air of superiority is reflected in the way in which he treats others around him. Two of the best ensembles of Jerkasses in television history return tonight on FX: “The League” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” which are populated almost exclusively with jerkasses. Inspired by their return, I’ve compiled a list of the 10 Greatest Jerkasses in Television history (for diversity’s sake, only one jerkass character per show).

10. Dennis Reynolds (“It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) — Obviously everyone on this show is a huge pr*ck, but no one more so than Dennis, who is both narcissistic and insecure, which provokes him to demean everyone around him, poking at their physical flaws in order to make himself feel better about his own shortcomings. His friends call Dennis a “piece of sh*t,” but Dennis is so delusional that he usually accepts it as a compliment.

9. Ruxin (“The League”) — Like a lot of jerkasses on both television and in real life, Ruxin is an attorney, and like most Jerkasses, he’s incredibly sarcastic (a characteristic he inherited from his father) and likewise is constantly demeaning to his friends. He’s also incredibly paranoid (rightly so, it turns out), which causes him to be suspicious of all of his friends, all of which he treats like sh*t while lording his hot wife over them.

8. Pierce Hawthorne (“Community”) — Pierce’s jerkass attitude is also a byproduct of his insecurity: He’s lonely, but he also feels that his wealth makes him better than everyone else, especially gays, blacks, and women. Notwithstanding his occasional moments of redemption, Pierce is intolerable to be around, so much so that he was once booted from the study group.