Top 10 TV Characters That Throw ALL the Shade

Top 10 TV Characters That Throw ALL the Shade

These television characters are straight up savage! Welcome to MsMojo and today we’ll be counting down our picks for the top 10 TV characters that throw ALL the shade.

For this list, we’ll be going over the on-screen characters most prone to firing off cutting and/or sly insults to those around them, with points for quality and quantity. However, we won’t be including any entries from animated series, just live action today.

#10: Dr. Gregory House
“House, MD” (2004-12)

An exceptionally brilliant diagnostician, Dr. Gregory House runs roughshod over nearly everyone he meets, due, not only to his intelligence, but also to his dark, biting sense of humor. House's emotional and physical pain lead him to lash out at those around him with insults and sarcasm that range from clever wordplay to deliberately offensive material and the simply juvenile. His lack of restraint leads to some truly brutal put-downs, both overt and cleverly disguised – though given the kinds of people he deals with in the clinic, he doesn’t really have to be clever about it.

#9: Sue Ann Nivens
“The Mary Tyler Moore Show” (1970-77)

The relentlessly perky star of a local home education program called “The Happy Homemaker,” Sue Ann Nivens may present herself as a prototypical housewife, but she’s actually highly promiscuous and callous. Sue Ann’s two-faced nature extends to her dialogue as well. Her propensity for delivering back-handed compliments and other snide insults, usually to Mary or Murray, all while wearing her signature smile makes her enormously entertaining and helped redefine actress Betty White’s career. After all, cutting remarks from unexpected sources cut all the deeper.

#8: David Rose
“Schitt’s Creek” (2015-)

Not many TV characters can take someone down with only the tweak of an eyebrow or a cheeky smirk, but David Rose has been perfecting his high-maintenance, standoffish shtick for years. David holds most people in contempt and isn’t afraid to let them know it – usually through some sharply pointed sarcasm. Given his love of high society, cleanliness and fashion, one of David’s favorite targets for verbal abuse is the titular town he and his family are forced to live in… which he technically owns. Okay, his shade-throwing is a cover he uses to protect himself, but even so we can’t help but love the sibling squabbles and other “Schitt” David’s sass gets him into.
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#7: Sue Sylvester
“Glee” (2009-15)

The domineering coach of the cheerleading squad and the personal nemesis of the eponymous lee club, Sue Sylvester is a thoroughly entertaining bully. While her physical bullying can include things as petty as throwing literal sticks at students, Sue’s verbal abuse is particularly potent. Sue's favored marks tend to be the glee club, especially its coach Will Schuester; giving particular attention to his hair style. Sue may be an antagonist, but her dry, caustic humor is absolutely hilarious and she often steals the show throughout “Glee”’s run.

#6: Benson DuBois
“Soap” (1977-81) & “Benson” (1979-86)

There have been several TV butlers fond of tossing shade at their employers – “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”'s Geoffrey Butler for example – but the one who best embodied the archetype was Benson DuBois. Possessing a sharp wit and an even sharper tongue, Benson was fond of putting down his bosses through sidelong remarks, as well as mocking those who were pompous or lacking in intelligence, which usually meant everyone around him. Benson’s shade tossing proved so popular on “Soap” that he received his own spin-off that brought his talent front and center.

#5: Chandler Bing
“Friends” (1994-2004)

Every group of friends has “the funny one,” and Chandler Bing fits the bill for his. Witty, sarcastic and neurotic, Chandler’s numerous one-liners are easily some of the highlights of an already legendarily funny show and they’re often the result of mocking his friends. The pastime is such a fixture for him that when dared/betted to not make fun of them for a week, Chandler finds it physically painful because he’s given so much material that he’s unable to use. Chandler’s shade-throwing is usually in good fun though, as he and the rest of the characters are always “there for” each other.

#4: Karen Walker
“Will & Grace” (1998-2006; 2017-)

The rich, self-absorbed socialite assistant of Grace, Karen Walker may call everyone “honey,” but she’s rarely sweet. Karen takes joy in alcohol, money, and making other people feel bad, and she’s rather talented at the last of these, frequently putting down everyone she comes across. Due to their friendship, Grace is the one most often on the receiving end of Karen’s wicked remarks, with the squeaky voiced gold-digger insulting her “boss”’ clothes and body quite regularly. Though we wouldn’t want to be the subject of her shade, Karen is an absolute delight to watch in action.

#3: Lucille Bluth
“Arrested Development” (2003-06; 2013-)

And you thought your mother was critical! The matriarch of the Bluth family, Lucille Bluth is rarely without a drink in her hand or very far from doling out a mean comment. Lucille’s spitefulness and perpetually buzzed attitude give her virtually no filter, so her family and everyone else in her vicinity usually know exactly how much, or how little, she thinks of them. This leads to some truly hilarious put-downs and backhanded attempts at compliments. With a mom like her, it’s amazing the Bluth kids turned out anything approaching normal… besides Buster, obviously.

#2: Violet Crawley
“Downton Abbey” (2010-15)

While it was tempting to choose Lady Olenna from “Game of Thrones,” another grandmother whose “thorny” comments pricked many, ultimately we had to go with the famed dowager countess, Violet Crawley, for our penultimate choice. The countess’ skill in throwing shade is superlative; dishing out sarcastic or cutting remarks nearly every time she appears on-screen. Whether her target is modern society and technology, a relative, or a servant, Violet Crawley always hits her mark with biting accuracy. In terms of individual quality and output, the dowager countess might be number one, but our next entry has an advantage over her.

Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions:
Lily Tucker-Pritchett
“Modern Family” (2009-)

Carla Tortelli
“Cheers” (1982-93)

Miranda Hobbes
“Sex and the City” (1998-2004)

#1: ALL the Golden Girls
“The Golden Girls” (1985-92)

Individually, this quartet may be exceeded by or are merely equal to some of our previous entries, but together, the Golden Girls are the queens of shade. These women can hardly go a scene, let alone an episode without throwing shade at one another, with Sophia and her daughter Dorothy being the primary ones dishing up savage remarks. However, Blanche and even Rose on occasion can get in on it too. Still, it should come as no surprise that these ladies are our number one; after all, you can’t have good shade without something “golden” to cast it.