6 TV Villains Who Deserve Their Own Show

There was a time when imagining a villain as a lead on a TV show was unheard of. Shows just did not do that. Sure, there were always bad guys, but they were usually in the background, behind the protagonist. Then, The Sopranos changed that with a lead who could very well be called a bad guy. Those lines only blurred even further with shows like Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy, where it seemed that even the good guys we were were tuning in to watch were becoming the bad guys. And then Hannibal happened, and all bets were off. Now, you can have a show with a straight up bad guy as your lead, and it can make for some incredibly compelling television. Being one who always found the Darth Vaders way cooler than the Luke Skywalkers, this is a wonderful time for me to be living in. A time when the bad guys who normally have to wear masks and hide in the background can step up and let their awful deeds and amoral souls shine. On that note, here are 6 TV bad guys that honestly deserve their own shows. I know spinoffs always end up sucking, but for a moment, let's imagine a hypothetical world where they can be violent and awesome. Dare to dream with me for a moment, kids. Dare to dream with me. Gustavo Fring - Breaking Bad Breaking Bad is a show that was filled with amazing bad guys, and sometimes I wish more of them were given a time to shine. From the batshit insanity of Tuco to the silent violence of the twins, this series was as memorable for its bad guys as it was for its anti-heroes. So, you would think that trying to pick just one to lead their own show would be tough. Well, it wasn't, actually. Everybody who ever brings up Breaking Bad tends to talk about Gus, as he was really the Hannibal of that world. An emotionless killer who was well-spoken and always seemed professional, but was willing to do whatever it takes to ensure his business thrived. Though we did get glimpses into his backstory during the actual show, Gus was such an intriguing character that viewers were left begging for more of him. I mean, how awesome would it be if he were to get his own spinoff? It could start with a younger version of him and show how he went from sweet to corrupt. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about Better Call Saul, but a Gus series would have been unreal. The Smoking Man - The X-Files The X-Files universe is another one that would be ripe for the picking. Though they had a spinoff that did quite poorly (even though it was actually pretty entertaining), titled The Lone Gunmen, the fail in that show was not focusing on the person who would have had the most interesting stories to tell. Which was clearly the Cigarette Smoking Man. Again, for it to work, we have to make sure the story would be told as a prequel, showing us the hundreds and hundreds of cover-ups he may have been associated with. It would also have to explore the conspiracies and how he was involved throughout history. It could have been an insane little side chapter in the X-Files universe that really helped to expand the lore created so wonderfully by the show. Unfortunately, the showrunners kept The Smoking Man confined to the shadows and we will never truly know all the interstellar wisdom this man may have had or all the wonderful secrets he could have exposed across several hypothetical seasons that will forever only exist in my mind. Or WILL THEY? *Cues creepy X-Fil]es theme as I back out of room* Al Swearengen - Deadwood I have said it many times before, and will declare it many times again. Deadwood is the best show that not enough of you watched. It was the old west meets Gangs of New York, and it was a show that was somehow either too edgy or too ahead of its time, even on a network like HBO. Though it was filled with eccentric folks you would be curious about, the show was canned way too soon, and left me thinking about the Al Swearengen character far too often for it to be healthy. Loosely based on a real man and played by the ever-awesome and imposing Ian McShane, Al deserved his own damn series. Imagine if Bill the Butcher from Gangs of New York was also a pimp, and you have a solid idea of how this character worked. Oh, and "swear" is in his last name per fate. The man was so fouled mouthed that even pirates blush around him. Just check out the video above to see what I mean. Sure, I speak of him like he is some legend, but that's because he really is. The Governor - The Walking Dead I will start this off like I start all my Governor rants. This dude was way scarier and way more fucked up in the comics. But with that elitist shit out of the way, I can honestly admit that he was well-written on the show and brought something very interesting to The Walking Dead. As much as we have seen the characters on that show get stripped of their morals and humanity, The Governor is someone who lost everything, and his mind, in the process. There is even a book called The Rise of the Governor that does a great job at explaining his backstory WELL before we see him in the comic or show, and if they just adapted that and stretched it out, they would have an opus. It would be a good guy who made promises and had hope, and over the course of many seasons and many losses, he would end up sort of being like a far more psychotic version of Heisenberg from Breaking Bad. A man at the end of his wits, with little left to lose. Keep in mind, I know we are getting a Walking Dead spinoff. But the fact is, we just know very little about it right now, so speculation will do us no good. As a quick side note, though, I think that the new spinoff should be told from the viewpoint of the walkers (as if they still had fully cognizant minds). That would be amazing. Seriously, someone hire me to write your f*cking zombie show. We will change lives together. Boyd Crowder - Justified Evil people who are also highly religious are the best. I don't know why, but they just are. That odd balance of super good against the idea of someone who is actually bad just always strikes the perfect chord for me. And you can't talk about evil doers who speak of God without bringing up Boyd Crowder. First of all, spellcheck keeps trying to make me call him Boyd Chowder, which is really pissing me off. Second, you might already have some feelings ingrained for this character that are actually residual feelings from actor Walton Goggins' past role on The Shield. That seems to only work in his favor though as career criminal Boyd Crowder on Justified. The best part about this character is that Boyd was actually only supposed to be a one-off villain who died, but he had great chemistry on set with the other actors and had such an intense presence that they kept him on, and he ended up being one of the best things about this show. But let's (once again) flashback. Show me how fucked up he was as a kid. Show me how much darker and darker he got as he grew into a teenager. Show me all of it. Yes, he is a twisted bastard, but let's see what it took to get him there. Arthur Mitchell - Dexter Okay, let us take a moment and be honest here. We have all said it and heard it many times, but the ending of Dexter sucked, a lot. It just did not go where it should have. But this was Showtime being aware they had a damn fine character on their hands and wanting to leave the door open for a sequel or a prequel. They have pretty much gone on record and admitted that is NOT the ending the creators wanted, it was the ending the network demanded. But let's go back even further in the show's history. Let's go back in time to when The Trinity Killer was still an issue for good ol' Dex. All I need to say is John Lithgow played Arthur Mitchell SO creepily and we just did not get enough time with him. We got some real insight into his fucked up childhood on the show, but how about a series that actually tells us that whole story? It may be bleak and dark and a bit fucked up, but so is life.

6 TV Villains Who Deserve Their Own Show

The Smoking Man – The X-Files