Acting is a tough business. And success in that business can be a double-edged sword. If you are one of the lucky few who lands a gig on a television show, then you are inextricably linked with that show for years. And you, as the actor, are only in control of your performance. If the show goes downhill, loses its creator to another project, begins to focus on another member of the cast who was supposed to just have a lone guest appearance as the huge nerd next door, you are ... still there. And you are expected to keep showing up and doing your job, week after week after week.

For some actors, that grind can become unbearable. Occasionally that has led to rare situations where stars have openly criticized the shows that made them household names. In some cases, they held their tongues until after the show ended. In others, they publicly denounced their TV series while they were still actively appearing on them. In many of those cases, as you might imagine, they didn’t keep appearing on them for much longer after that.

Consider, if you will, the 15 men and women below, who all were brave and honest enough to share their unvarnished opinions about their TV shows with the world. Their bosses probably didn’t like that they did this. (Their publicists definitely were not fans.) But you kind of have to admire an artist with integrity and the courage to speak their minds, even though that might mean missing out on some very lucrative paychecks as a result. We should all aspire to that level of boldness.

15 Actors Who Criticized Their Own TV Shows

These actors were not shy with their criticisms of their own popular TV series — sometimes while they were still actively appearing on the shows.
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