Is Evil Necessary on TV?

I came across a very interesting blog post recently while looking for information on reality TV.

In a blog called Reality Blurred, Andy Dehnart posted about a recent interview with Jeff Probst, the SURVIVOR host and executive producer, during which he claimed that only "evil" and "immoral" people are fun to watch on TV.

The post explained Mr. Probst's opinion that it is only the villainous characters that we like seeing on TV. While, in real life, we want to be friends with the good guys and have them around us, it is different when it comes to our entertainment. He brought up the example of shows like WEEDS, THE SHIELD and DEXTER  to support his argument.

The blogger then went on to explain how he could definitely see Mr. Probst's point of view, with which I agree. It is true that a very large part of our entertainment consists of villains and characters with a lot of grey shades and they have most definitely proven to be ratings-grabbers. In fact, if we take a look at some of the most popular shows of our time (and, in general) we see that characters you love-to-hate were extremely prominent in airtime and storylines, if not outright the stars.

In reality, we do want the nice people around us. The people who are kind, considerate, thoughtful. But that can equate to some very boring TV if that's all that there is offered. A "nice" character can be very appealing and interesting (if well-played and written) but there always needs to be an antagonist, who moves the plot along and creates the drama that we are expecting to see.

That's not to say that a show that consists of nice, everyday people cannot be appealing (which is also a point Dehnart makes). He brings up shows like MODERN FAMILY and THE COSBY SHOW as examples. There is a point to be made about TV that showcases situations and realities closer to what we experience, as long as the characters are rich enough to support that.

Still, there is no denying that a great villain can really be the centerpiece of a show. Characters like J.R. Ewing, Amanda Woodward and Jack Bauer proved how popular such characters can be and how they can really drive the story in ways that would be unimaginable if they did not exist. I think, in the end, that it is very important to just remember that both "nice" and "evil" characters can be of great service to shows and that you can achieve great entertainment with either side, but especially with both.