There is no shortage of TV characters who lack motivation, and many of us can probably relate.
Whether you’re an expert at putting off your alarm every morning or just don’t have the energy to clean out that attic you’ve always wanted to do, you know motivation can be hard to come by.
The comforting news is that you are not alone.
Some of our favorite characters have a hard time getting motivated, and honestly, we’re grateful for their performance.
We’re working on some characters that make us feel better when we get five extra minutes of sleep.
Al Bundy — Married…with kids
Al in “Married… With Children” works in a shoe store, but is otherwise the epitome of laziness and lack of motivation.
He would live on the couch if he wanted to, and let’s be honest, he did that in many episodes of the show.
It’s like pulling teeth for his wife or anyone else to make him do anything that requires effort.
When he did anything, it was usually done with a minimum of effort.
Steven Hyde — 1970s show
Hyde is smart, but he doesn’t want to do much.
He spends most of his time on That ’70s Show judging others and criticizing the world at large.
With a little effort, he could have done a lot more.
Instead, he spent his time working in dead-end jobs like Fotohut.
Joey Tribbiani – Friends
No one can question Joey’s loyalty.
He was kind and generous, and his presence on Friends made the show what it was.
There are no issues with his energy level either, as he always seems upbeat and willing to do things together with the rest of the team.
However, most people want a hobby or something else.
Joey?
He usually just wants a girl or a snack, making him one of our favorite unmotivated characters.
Todd Chavez – Bojack Horseman
Todd is a professional couch surfer. He doesn’t fail upward, he fails horizontally, moving from BoJack Horseman’s couch to Diane and Mr. Peanutbutter’s house. He even ended up living in Princess Caroline’s apartment.
He is depicted as a typical slacker from a decade ago, sporting stubble and wearing a hoodie, knit hat, sweatpants and flip-flops.
He has a gentle and nonjudgmental personality, and despite being effectively unemployed, he still tries to take care of those around him.
He had a variety of unusual jobs and was also very creative. If he’s interested in something (like making Henry Fondle, a sex robot out of household appliances, and “talking and spelling”), he works tirelessly, but otherwise he’s almost mired in catatonia.
BoJack often uses Todd as a punching bag and is quite mean to him, but Todd somehow remains happy, which makes BoJack’s self-loathing even more intense and potentially perpetuates this cycle of behavior.
Oddly enough, Todd is as much the moral center of the show as Diane, serving as both comic foil and vulnerable dramatic character.
Mindy St. Clair — Great Place
Mindy was a late corporate lawyer and drug addict who died while planning to start a charity while high on cocaine.
After her death, the charity generated enough points to bring her total to more than needed to enter The Good Place.
As a compromise, the judge ruled that she would get her own private Medium Place, where everything was banal and rooted in the 1980s.
Although Mindy accomplished nothing after her death, she was content to just go with the flow and not care about the idea of moving up in the world.
Jeff is the hero of the community and always focuses on the wrong things.
He was known to always look for the simplest solution, such as when he skipped school and got a fake college degree.
He also tried to cheat his way through community college.
Jeff relied on his more motivated classmates, such as Anne and Shirley, to do much of the work on the group project.
The only time Jeff puts effort into anything is when he’s trying to annoy someone.
He is a very bad friend and those close to him often pay the price for his laziness.
April Ludgate – Parks and Recreation
Don’t get me wrong, April is one of my favorite characters in Parks and Recreation.
Later in the series, once she finds something she truly cares about, she displays serious passion and work ethic.
But when we first meet April, she’s very unmotivated and indifferent to her work.
She shows up every day but does the bare minimum to make ends meet.
While her boss, Ron, is happy that she’s doing nothing in the office because of her anti-government beliefs, April’s lack of interest in doing anything doesn’t impress the others too much.
To be fair, most of us are probably a little lost at 19!
Peter Griffin – Family Guy
Peter is the quintessential trashy TV husband.
On Family Guy, he expects his wife to take on everything in the house, including most of the parenting.
He rarely spent time with the children and usually bullied them.
Peter is the kind of guy who wants everything done for him.
Luckily for him, his wife Lois is a superhero, as she manages to make up for his shortcomings.
However, her father saw through Peter’s zany personality and took no opportunity to accuse him of being an unmotivated character.
Hitchcock and Scully – Brooklyn Nine-Nine
On Brooklyn Nine-Nine , these two are always seen as a pair.
They’ve been partners for decades, and the only thing that motivates them is finding a way out of doing things.
You’ll usually find them pulling some ridiculous pranks on their food.
Both Hitchcock and Scully embody the stereotype of the lazy, donut-eating cop.
Kevin Malone — The Office
Kevin is a lovable goofball.
He managed to get an accounting job at Dunder Mifflin, but no one really knew how to do it.
He didn’t look like he knew what he was doing.
Kevin is more likely to feel energized by a work dinner than by work.
Still, he’s the star of some of The Office’s funniest scenes.
Jackson Stewart – Hannah Montana
Miley Stewart leads a double life, as an ordinary teenager by day and a global pop star by night.
Her older brother, Jackson, was a completely different story.
He is resourceful and constantly looking for ways to evade his responsibilities.
His father tried about a hundred ways to motivate him, but nothing seemed to work.
His job at Rico’s Surf Shop may keep his wallet fat, but like most of our unmotivated characters, Jackson almost never puts in more effort than he has to.
Still, his goofy antics are a treat for fans of this Disney classic.
Who did we miss?
What unmotivated characters made you feel seen?
Don’t be shy. We won’t judge. At least, we try not to!
Hit the comments and tell us who we missed.
