The 10 Most Terrifying Bosses from TV and Film

Posted on March 29th, 2011

Many people have experienced the unfortunate situation of having a bad boss. Fictional characters in particular seem to have the worst of them. Self-serving, sleazy, and even downright evil bosses have been portrayed on TV and film. Here, we'll take a look at the worst of the bunch.

1. Miranda Priestly, The Devil Wears Prada: The Devil Wears Prada seems to revolve around the idea that Miranda Priestly (a fictional Anna Wintour) in an amazingly terrible boss. She's self serving, chilly, manipulative, and impossibly demanding.
2. Michael Corleone, The Godfather: In a family business (even if the family's business is organized crime), there's bound to be a few disagreements and even some layoffs. But Michael Corleone kills his own brother, making it clear he's taking management too far.
3. Bill Lumbergh, Office Space: This jerkwad is not only incompetent, but also cruel. Having employees come in on a Saturday and nagging about ridiculous reports make Bill Lumbergh a terrible boss.
4. Katharine Parker, Working Girl: In Working Girl, Katharine Parker seems like a great boss, at first. And then she steals ideas and seduces Harrison Ford. Not cool.
5. Nigel Wick, Drew Carey: Mr. Wick from the Drew Carey Show is an abusive, impatient boss who was once in rehab for cocaine. Poor Drew once had to marry Mr. Wick so that he could get his green card and keep his job as an evil overlord.
6. Paula, 40 Year Old Virgin: Jane Lynch's role as electronics store manager Paula channels over the top arrogance and confidence. She was overly willing to devirginize poor Andy, and she was a jerk to pretty much everyone else.
7. Mr. Burns, The Simpsons: The diabolical Mr. Burns has a long list of offenses that make him a bad boss. He can't remember the names of any of his employees, even though he monitors them on closed circuit TV. Burns is a great example of an uncaring, money hungry boss.
8. Michael Scott, The Office: As the Branch Manager of Dunder Mifflin Scranton, Michael Scott often requires more management than he actually does. He doesn't quite understand social graces, and has abused employees by running them over and dating their moms.
9. Franklin Hart, Nine to Five: Franklin Hart is such a bad boss, his employees have to kidnap him to be heard. He's sleazy, chauvinistic, and makes unwanted advances, but the ladies of the office eventually prevail.
10. Bob Kelso Scrubs: This Chief of Medicine at Sacred Heart Hospital in unpredictable and uncaring. He can often be found putting his own needs before others, including letting poor patients die so that wealthier ones will live to donate to the hospital.

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