What's a good show where the lead actor is the worst actor in the cast?

[TMC]

This is a follow up of sorts to a thread that I did about the worst sitcom casts. Basically, this is concerning the nominal lead character/"star" actually being the show's weak link and in essence, "Scrappy".

[icecream]

Everybody Loves Raymond

[Charley Knox]

Alice

[Sal]

Family Ties

[Charley Knox]

Originally Posted by Sal

Family Ties

Michael J Fox?

[PracTz]

' A Different World'- Lisa Bonet was supposed to be the protagonist but she did nothing to make Denise interesting and just sleepwalked through the entire year she 'starred' in this- and all the other cast members did the heavy lifting. Was it any surprise it actually improved (until the lame last season) once she left?

[Reinhold_Weege]

Seinfeld - I'd rank Jerry 3rd of the 4 main characters.

[Wawwie]

Originally Posted by Sal

Family Ties

I don't like the "Alex P. Keaton" character either, but Michael J. Fox is a terrific actor.

[icecream]

Originally Posted by Charley Knox

Michael J Fox?

Meredith Baxter was technically the lead actor, being billed first the whole show.

[favoriteshow]

In the Saved by the Bell reboot on Peacock streaming, I don't care for the lead Latina actress who plays Daisy. I get that the writers want to do the opposite of the original series which had a white male lead, but she just isn't that interesting.

I prefer the original characters (Slater, Jessie, and guest Zack, Kelly and Lisa) that are more supporting in the new series, and the kids- Mac, Lexi and Jamie. The series is a little too woke with the main character, Daisy, and the two other kids of color who transferred into Bayside, but the supporting characters make it funny.

[favoriteshow]

Wonder Years.

Kevin (Fred Savage) was kind of annoying and often not likeable.

But I liked Daniel Stern's narration, the musical score of each episode, Kevin's parents, Kevin's teachers and most of the environment around Kevin, over the character of Kevin or Fred Savage's portrayal as Kevin.

I recently watched the entire series again on Hulu. I couldn't watch the full last season, but most seasons had a mix of solid episodes and other episodes that were less desirable. The less desirable episodes were often solely focused on Kevin and Winnie, or worse Kevin and Becky Slater.

I heard the show was canceled because of allegations on Fred Savage and Jason Hervey. These allegations were later proved false, but I kind of wondered if they could have pivoted to make Winnie the focus of the show in her college years, although it'd likely end up being a spinoff at that point.

[merlinjones]

Dennis the Menace?

[TMC]

This is debatable, especially with a post-puberty Danny Pinaturo, but Who's the Boss? Or so says, AV Club, who argued that Tony Danza kept the show from aspiring to be greater simply because he was unable to play his central character as anything other than a lummox.

[TMC]

Bonnie Franklin on One Day at a Time. It's very hard for me to fully explain unless you've actually seen the show but she could be a very hammy, shrill, and strident performer.

[TSMIV]

Kevin (Fred Savage) was kind of annoying and often not likeable.

But I liked Daniel Stern's narration, the musical score of each episode, Kevin's parents, Kevin's teachers and most of the environment around Kevin, over the character of Kevin or Fred Savage's portrayal as Kevin.

I recently watched the entire series again on Hulu. I couldn't watch the full last season, but most seasons had a mix of solid episodes and other episodes that were less desirable. The less desirable episodes were often solely focused on Kevin and Winnie, or worse Kevin and Becky Slater.

I rewatched all of it last year and found the narration to be completely obnoxious. Young Kevin was fine, but adult Kevin was full of ****.