Writerly Ways

This is less a writerly way and more a question for the peanut gallery. It's also a Your Mileage May Vary sort of thing. Question brought to you by Jack Taylor.

I always get excited for new mysteries/cop shows and Ovation has brought me Jack Taylor, set in Ireland. And once I find out what happens to one side character I'm done.

The question is, what is your breaking point for unlikeable characters? They can be compelling watching/reading but what is too much for you? Is there something that will make you say nope, too much.

The above mentioned Jack was a cop now a sort of PI and a bit of an alcoholic. He has/had a hypercritical, castrating super Catholic mother leaving her mark but does any of that entitle you to shit on every friend. About the only person Jack is nice to is his landlady. The few other main characters, a former partner on the force, a young police woman, a young man who wants to be Jack's business partner and his bartender are constantly being used and crapped on. Jack gets attacked (badly) every episode which is eye rolling enough but what's ending it for me is the way he uses and abuses all his would-be friends.

There are other ways to get on my bad side. I can handle whiney characters, even mean ones. I can even go the John Constantine level of bad friend. And there are others I can't, like outright misogyny. Having your protagonist be a rapist (looking straight at you Thomas the covenant who is making the rounds right now as all that 80s era fantasy is being put on streamers and there are Bros asking why not him? So thankful for the redditors going even the blame the victim 80s Thomas raping a young woman left a bad taste)

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