The Most Uncomfortable Scenes In TV

Honestly, what would the world do without television? Want to feel all the emotions? Turn on This Is Us. Want to watch the drama unfold in a hospital? Grey's Anatomy is for you. And when you want a laugh, there are certain shows that can get the job done, with plenty of uncomfortable scenes to make you cringe and giggle all at the same time. Usually, that bumbling embarrassment is on purpose, but that's not always the case.

The thing is, sometimes there are scenes that aren't meant to be funny, but totally are. Whether it's a flimsy plot point or just awkward acting, some of the most uncomfortable scenes in TV really weren't actually meant to be uncomfortable. But that's kind of what makes them so great. And as for the ones that were meant to be uncomfortable, well, they're still something to see, too. So, if you want to tense up your entire body from second-hand embarrassment, read on for the most uncomfortable scenes in TV, and be prepared to laugh or cringe or both.

The U.S. version of The Office cemented Steve Carell's position in the comedy hall of fame with his hilarious and cringe-worthy performance as Michael Scott, especially in Season 6's "Scott's Tots." The episode centers on Scott's promise from ten years ago to provide free college tuition to a group of third graders.

As he is soon reminded, ten years have gone by and Scott is nowhere near as rich as he assumed he would be. So, Scott goes to the class who are all grown up and about to graduate high school where he is praised and hailed as a hero for helping them pay for college. The teens even perform a song they wrote for him with the line, "Hey, Mr. Scott! Whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do? Make our dreams come true!" all the while Scott knows he cannot, in fact, make their dreams come true. He eventually breaks the news, and it's every bit as hard to watch as you would imagine. In fact, "Scott's Tots" has such a reputation for being awkward that psychologists have unpacked the episode, as Bustle reported, and acknowledged that the intense discomfort in the episode makes some people skip it entirely. Yikes.

It's no secret that Gossip Girl was known for being a pretty controversial series. From affairs to overdoses to royal scandals, the show had everything going for it. But when Dan and Blair, who were polar opposites, got together, it was seriously cringe-worthy. Not only was the coupling completely awkward and just not well thought out by the show's writers, but one scene, in particular, made it clear that Blair and Dan had no chemistry.

When Dan and Blair share their first kiss in Season 4, there is seriously no spark. It feels like two friends who were dared to lock lips, and it's hard to watch. Really, the only thing Blair and Dan had in common was that they were both pretentious. In fact, they literally had their "coming out" as a couple with a fancy, unentertaining Salon party, which just further proved that the two were so not meant to be. At the end of the day, the two appeared as though they were only together to prove some kind of the point, which they failed at. Miserably.

As socially awkward as Sheldon Cooper was on The Big Bang Theory, he was also adorably lovable. For all of Sheldon's quirks, nothing was quite as cute as his affection towards Amy Farrah Fowler, his first real girlfriend and eventual wife. The two had some ups and downs throughout their relationship, but their biggest roadblock definitely seemed to be that Sheldon was not fond of displays of affection, especially public displays of affection, while Amy was constantly looking for some intimacy.

So, when the two finally shared a passionate lip lock on a train on Valentine's Day, it was sweet, yes. But this was also Sheldon's first real kiss, so it was also a bit uncomfortable. The way he leaned into her, the way they didn't really move much beyond a long peck, how shocked Amy was to be on the receiving end of such an intimate moment — it was all pretty cringe-worthy. But, like most things on The Big Bang Theory, it was also ridiculously charming.

Amy Poehler truly made her mark starring as Leslie Knope in Parks and Recreation. Leslie was an overachiever and a government fanatic who never gave up. But in the Season 2 episode "Sister City," viewers saw Leslie arrange a visit from the Parks Department officials in Pawnee's sister city, Baragua, Venezuela, and it was a total cringe-fest. Like all Parks and Recreation episodes, there is plenty of laughter, but, due to the Venezuelan officials' blatant disgust for Pawnee, it's also pretty awkward.

The entire episode is obviously hilarious, but perhaps no scene was quite as uncomfortable as when Leslie is driving the three Venezuelan officials to their hotel in her car. They are all jammed together in the back seat, and they make it clear that they aren't happy there in Pawnee. Raul even tells Leslie he has much more comfort in Venezuela, including 14,000 television channels. Then, he makes it clear that he has no interest in her, but in the "large Black woman," otherwise known as Donna. Yep, it's about as awkward as you can get.

Even though How I Met Your Mother was full of practical jokes, long-winded stories, and plenty of misadventures, when the series started winding down towards the second-half, the stakes got even higher. In particular, in one scene, there are on-screen kisses that seriously are so uncomfortable to watch.

In the Season 7 episode "The Broath," Barney tricks all of his friends into taking a bro oath, or a broath in order to understand why he is moving so quickly with his new girlfriend, Quinn. During his trick, he forces Robin and Lily to lock lips, and things get off to a weird start when Lily is way more into the smooch than Robin is. Then Barney turns to Ted and Marshall to presumably ask them to do the same. They immediately refuse, but soon give in. The result is uncomfortable to watch, as the two friends are so not into it, with Ted telling Marshall not to touch him, and their kiss is seriously awkward. And then Barney admits he only wanted them to "bump fists," so the weird kiss was unnecessary anyway.

As if The Office didn't provide enough laughs as it was, the relationship between Michael Scott and Jan Levinson was seriously laughable. The two started out as forbidden lovers, but quickly escalated into a hot mess of an unhealthy relationship. And the Season 4 episode "Dinner Party” really came through with a new kind of second-hand embarrassment for viewers at home. Specifically, the scene where Michael proudly shows off his plasma-screen television, which is about the size of a laptop.

The entire episode is infamous for being cringe-worthy, but that particular moment showcased just how truly unhappy Michael and Jan were as a couple, and it was pretty freaking uncomfortable. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Jenna Fischer, who played Pam Beesly, explained how hard it was to film. "We couldn't get through it," she said of the scene. "The biggest one was when he's showing us his flatscreen television. And it's so tiny. We laughed so hard, like, tears were streaming down our faces." Yes, the scene was so awkward that even the actors filming it couldn't help but crack up at the ridiculousness of it all.