Usually, TV shows are meant to make a viewer think, cry, laugh, or otherwise immerse themselves in a story. In other cases, the point is to bring audiences together in a shared viewing experience or to simply offer something relaxing to help them unwind. However, every once in a while, a show pops up that seems to have a different goal entirely: to make us angry.
Rage bait shows are often associated with strange plot choices, infuriating characters, or real-life controversies. Sure, some people enjoy these shows and their bizarre, anger-inducing nature. But in the case of many, many viewers, it’s difficult to understand why or how these shows became a thing in the first place.
When it comes to some of the shows on this list, the rage-baiting nature might have been unintentional, or perhaps we’re just the wrong audience. But regardless of the reasons, one thing’s for sure: we’re still angry just thinking about them.
8
‘Caillou’ (1997 – 2011)
Most viewers will recognize the yellow-shirted, bald Caillou, even if they haven’t seen the eponymous series. Each episode, Caillou “learns” about family, friends, school, and so many other things that are important for a child to understand. The only issue is, he never seems to gain that understanding. Instead, he constantly whines, throws tantrums, and just generally misbehaves, all while the adults around him do little to intervene.
A Bad Influence
We know he’s just a kid who’s four, but you’d think Caillou’s parents would try to reign in some of his worse behaviors. Instead, Caillou became a source of not just anger, but also worry for parents, who feared that he might negatively influence their own children. In fact, parents celebrated when Caillou was canceled in 2021 (…at least, until the CGI reboot was announced in 2022).
7
‘Drawn Together’ (2004 – 2007)
Originally advertised as an animated series about a reality TV show, Drawn Together had a fun premise, but it quickly turned into something strange. Throughout its three seasons, Drawn Together tried to subvert established character archetypes, but rather than deliver an interesting message about tropes, the characters simply felt sociopathic. At times, it seemed like the show was simply trying to “go there” for the sake of going there, making the episodes feel as grotesque as they were pointless.
Didn’t Draw Us In
Many fans of Drawn Together viewed its comedy as being similar to other adult cartoons like South Park. To us, however, the difference is that these other cartoons used shock value or stereotypes to draw attention to or critique some social issue. On the opposite end, Drawn Together seemingly brought up stereotypes simply to point and laugh at them.
6
‘Q-Force’ (2021)
Described as a “gay James Bond,” Q-Force quickly became a source of confusion and criticism after its trailer was released. Although the show wound up being better than the trailer suggested, the characters were still over-the-top and stereotypical, and the jokes themselves just weren’t that funny. Viewers and critics alike were uncertain whether Q-Force was trying to embrace queer culture or mock it. While it appears that Q-Force was an earnest attempt at the former, it ultimately missed the mark.
Questionable Content
What makes Q-Force so infuriating is that it could have been something great. Even now, some viewers still praise the show for what it was attempting to do, although it failed in the attempt. Perhaps this is why many think the show could prove itself with more episodes. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Q-Force was canceled after Season 1.
5
‘The Swan’ (2004)
Often considered the worst reality TV show ever created, each episode of The Swan focused on two women who underwent a beauty “transformation.” They’d work with a personal trainer and receive cosmetic surgery, all with the goal of becoming more “beautiful” than their competitor. The winner of that episode would then go on to compete with other winners to become “The Swan,” a title that, in hindsight, carried some pretty ugly implications.
An Ugly Premise
Sexist, shallow, and shockingly exploitative, The Swan was demeaning to both its competitors and its audience. In the years since it premiered, many have critiqued the show for its problematic beauty standards. Even more rage-inducing, some of the contestants have since come out and accused the show of exacerbating their body and mental health issues.
4
‘Big Mouth’ (2017 – 2025)
Big Mouth can succinctly be summed up as “cartoon children discover puberty.” Now assigned Hormone Monsters, the kids must deal with the awkwardness of crushes, erections, acne, and various other teenage issues. As the series progressed, the stories became even more outlandish, focusing on sexy pillows, Shame Wizards, and randomly, the ghost of Duke Ellington. Sure, there were some heartwarming moments, too, but overall, the show was gross and excessively focused on shock humor, attempting to push boundaries that no one needed (nor wanted) it to push.
The Main Source of Rage
Something unique about Big Mouth that angered viewers was how often Netflix renewed the show. Other popular Netflix series got the axe, yet Big Mouth continued on for 8 whole seasons, even getting a spin-off show, Human Resources. Again, there are some things to enjoy about Big Mouth, but that just makes the things that don’t work even more rage-inducing.
3
’13 Reasons Why’ (2017 – 2020)
Following the suicide of Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford), Clay Jensen (Dylan Minnette) discovered a series of cassette tapes detailing the events that led up to her death. He soon became obsessed with understanding what led to her decision and punishing those responsible. As the series progressed, even more shocking events occurred, including an attempted school shooting and several murders. Through it all, many viewers struggled to find the reason why the show remained on the air.
Controversial and Uncomfortable
To be fair, some viewers praised 13 Reasons Why for tackling sensitive topics that its teenaged viewers might be dealing with. However, multiple mental health professionals viewed the show’s depiction of suicide as overly glamorized and its handling of sexual assault as insensitive.
2
‘Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story’ (2022)
A true-crime show about the murderous Jeffrey Dahmer (Evan Peters), Dahmer achieved widespread fame and success when it premiered in 2022. Peters’ portrayal was especially lauded, as was the creative direction the series took with its real-life premise. However, none of that makes up for the blood-boiling discussions that were taking place behind the scenes.
A Monstrous Move
Even before Dahmer came to Netflix, it became clear that the victims’ relatives didn’t want the show to be made. Later, several would express despair over Peters’ Golden Globe win, adding that various parts of the show were either inaccurate or re-traumatizing. Knowing that history, it’s hard to watch the show and not get angry, since there were plenty of ways that the show could have been made without harming those who were already hurting (or maybe it just didn’t need to be made at all).
1
‘Velma’ (2023 – 2024)
The Scooby-Doo spin-off that nobody asked for, Velma was meant as an origin story for a meaner version of Velma. Besides being unlikable, Velma lacked the intelligence she was known for in other series, but she was by no means the only character to suffer from a character shift: Daphne, Shaggy, and Fred were also all unrecognizable. To make matters worse, Scooby-Doo wasn’t even a character, which makes it easy to understand why fans of the original series were so incensed.
The Biggest Mystery
To be fair, like other shows on this list, Velma did have a few good moments and actual jokes, but it was impossible to understand who it was trying to entertain. Was its commentary on woke culture supposed to anger liberals or conservatives? Were the characters supposed to be funny, insightful, or something else entirely? These questions are far more interesting than any of the mysteries that Velma solved, which is why it’s unsurprising that the series was canned after Season 2.
Release Date
2023 – 2023
Network
HBO Max
Showrunner
Charlie Grandy
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