There's so much good TV out there these days. Between catching episodes of "Game of Thrones" and getting our Netflix binges in, there never seems to be enough time to fit it all in. Luckily, we at HuffPost TV think there are a few shows you can skip. In our opinions -- and yes, we know they're probably unpopular -- these are the most overrated shows from the past 20 years:
"Girls," HBO
“Girls” is often praised for being relatable and real, but damn, what a bleak world we must live in if this show is supposed to resemble reality. Not one character on the show is remotely likable: even Shoshanna’s ramblings went stale after one season. More often than not, I find myself cringing at their selfish behavior (and every time Marnie sings) than I ever find myself rooting for them, mainly because they are so ridiculously self-absorbed it’s almost like you don’t want things to work out for them so they can finally wake up. Identifying with this show is like readily accepting that friends are essentially horrible to each other. Help us if this is what people think 20-somethings are actually like. -- Lauren Zupkus
"Seinfeld"
I know it's an unpopular opinion to think that "Seinfeld" is anything less than comedy gold, but whatever. Sure, it's amusing, but it's not the be-all and end-all of sitcoms that people make it out to be.
It's a show about nothing, and the characters range from being mildly annoying to outright terrible people. I'm not saying it's a bad show, but it's way overblown for a sitcom that just gave us a bunch of catchphrases. -- Stephanie Marcus
"Scandal," ABC
Olivia Pope has a great wardrobe. I’ll give her that. But I gave “Scandal” a fair shot -- a season and a half! -- and I just never got into it. I was bored by nearly every problem Olivia was fixing, and watching her eyes fill with tears as she told the president that she was done with him while violins played in the background was unbearable. I mean, really? This is the show everyone’s whispering about on Friday mornings? I just don’t get it. -- Leigh Weingus
"Wilfred," FX
In “Harry Potter,” they say a Dementor’s kiss is the worst fate possible. Those people have probably never seen “Wilfred.” The premise of the show seems hilarious: Elijah Wood sees his neighbor’s pet as a man in a dog costume with an Australian accent. Put another episode of that on the barbie, mate! But the storylines and jokes are so perverted and unfunny that if Samwise Gamgee knew this would happen to Frodo, he would’ve gladly just pushed him into Mount Doom and chucked up the deuces. Bottom line, a full episode of “Wilfred” will have you booty calling every Dementor in your contacts for a hardcore make-out sesh, because anything has to be better than this. -- Bill Bradley
"Boardwalk Empire," HBO
Sure, this lavish HBO drama looks good: The costumes are perfect, the sets clearly cost a fortune and every period detail is just right. Not only that, the cast is packed with terrific actors. So why is this drama so deadly dull so much of the time? Because it has all the passion and energy of a droning PowerPoint presentation. Structurally and visually, "Boardwalk Empire" is competently designed, but during those long stretches between scenes that actually crackle with life, we call it by its true name: "Boredwalk Empire." -- Maureen Ryan
“Orphan Black," BBC America
After hearing the buzz surrounding “Orphan Black" -- that BBC America show about clones not to be confused with the Netflix show "Orange Is the New Black" about prison inmates -- I decided to give it a shot. I’m not going to lie, the first episode sucked me in a little bit, but as I continued to watch the next few episodes, I got … well … bored. Clones are cool and all, but too many can get your head spinning. Now, let me just say that Tatiana Maslany is incredible in this series, playing multiple "versions" of her character Sarah Manning. Still, the other supporting stars fail to live up to her acting chops, which made the show fall flat for me. (Oddly enough, Maslany has better onscreen chemistry with herself than anyone else.)
Maybe I should give it another go? Who knows. But with all the amazing series on TV today, it’s hard to invest that much time in something that didn’t impress me as much as I expected to. I'll stick with "Downtown Abbey." -- Leigh Blickley
“The Real Housewives,” Bravo
We all get sucked into inane reality shows since drama that’s not our own apparently gives us a twisted and addictive sense of pleasure. The appeal of Bravo’s “Real Housewives” franchise lies in the unending outrageous table-throwing, wig-pulling and bitch-festing of rich female socialites that is so overblown it’s hard to look away. But wasn’t just one or two city spinoff series enough? Do we really need nine separate series and four international version (which currently total 30 seasons) of wealthy women bickering about their "problems"? At what point does it stop being fun and start becoming a pure and embarrassing waste of our time and dilution of our intelligence? Oh wait, it already has. Quit it, Bravo. -- Erin Whitney
"Mad Men," AMC
I understand why everyone loves to drink on “Mad Men.” Honestly, I’d have knock a few back just to get through an episode of this snooze-fest. Congratulations, you added some excitement when a character decided to do away with one of his nipples, but since this is the final season, the only thing it did is wake people up to how boring this show has been the past few years. We get it. Don Draper is meant to be the sex-obsessed ladies man who uses his countless illicit affairs to mask his more serious life problems and really, underneath the booze and the sleeze-ball behavior, he’s just looking for redemption, blah, blah, blah … but since this trope has been more than played out on screen, I don’t feel bad for his smarmy, tacky fedora-wearing self. -- Jessica Toomer
"Orange Is The New Black," Netflix
Hang on, let me put on this helmet before getting into why I think "Orange Is the New Black" is the new overrated show of the moment. Which isn't to say that it's bad: "OITNB" is a fine show, one blessed with a strong cast (Danielle Brooks, Samira Wiley and Nick Sandlow are particular highlights) and the ability to represent the kinds of characters who are permanently under-represented on television. Yet does it all have to be so derivative? The flashback structure was done better by "Lost," the picayune bureaucracy was explored to more satisfying ends on "Parks and Recreation" and the gallows humor was stronger on everything from "The Sopranos" to "Mad Men."
For every fully developed character, meanwhile, there are cartoons. Taylor Schilling's Piper has grown into a messed-up anti-hero along the lines of Nancy Botwin or Hannah Horvath, but Kate Mulgrew's Red feels better suited for "Rocky and Bullwinkle." Then there's Vee (Lorraine Toussaint), Season 2's big bad, a caricature of frustrating evil. Vee started as a seductive Cheshire Cat, but wound up one step away from twirling her proverbial mustache while tying kittens to railroad tracks. Every scene she appeared in as Season 2 drew to its close grew more and more grating and unbelievable, much like "OITNB" itself. -- Christopher Rosen
"South Park," Comedy Central
"South Park" has made an undeniable impact on popular culture, but in my mind, the only great thing it's given us is the time Trey Parker and Matt Stone dropped acid before being interviewed on the Oscar red carpet. Shows written solely to push buttons strike many a chord, but in most regards, "South Park" is a lame attempt at humor that's timely but not clever or resilient. Mixed with crude animation (yes, I know "South Park" advocates love that aspect of the show) and an ADD approach to prime-time sex and violence, the show veers into overly crude territory way too often. For every philosophical synthesis of how existential the show is and why its lewd approach is smart, there's a list of overrated series calling "South Park's" name. -- Matthew Jacobs
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