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12 TV Moments That Crossed The Line

Source: E! OnlineView Original
entertainmentMay 6, 2026

by Jenna GuillaumeBuzzFeed Contributor

Content warning: This post mentions drugs, violence, murder, racism, incest, sexual exploitation, sexual assault, and suicide. Please read at your own discretion.

It's okay for TV shows to make viewers uncomfortable sometimes — it can even be a good thing. But some shows end up going way, way too far, to the point of being almost unwatchable. Here are some TV moments that even fans thought should probably never have been broadcast...

1.

First up is basically everything in the currently-airing season of Euphoria, which people have slammed for being "fetish porn" and utterly degrading to women. An example is Rue's drug mule storyline, which focuses in alarmingly graphic detail on the drugs going into — and out of — her and Faye's bodies.

HBO Max

2.

And then there's Cassie's plot, which is about her quest to be a successful OnlyFans model, placing her in some extremely objectifying and questionable scenarios, like doing dog and "adult baby" roleplay.

HBO Max

3.

Of course, Euphoria is far from the only show that has gone too far in its treatment of its female characters. Game of Thrones is another notorious example. While there were many brutal moments on the show, a particular low point was in Season 5, when Ramsay Bolton sexual assaulted Sansa (and forced Theon — and all of us — to watch). It wasn't a plot that was in George R. R. Martin's books, and it felt gross in the way it piled on to the suffering and degradation of Sansa.

HBO

4.

In another instance of Game of Thrones adding more sexual assault than was present in the books, Jaime Lannister rapes his twin sister (and lover), Cersei, next to the body of their dead son. This was another scene that felt unnecessary and disturbing — and it also completely undermined Jaime's character growth.

HBO

5.

Many viewers were already fatigued by the relentless misery and death on The Walking Dead by the time Season 7 rolled around, but there was an absolute uproar when the show not only killed off Glenn — the heart of ensemble, and one of the few surviving characters from Season 1 — but did so in an extremely violent way, with his wife and friends being forced to watch, and the camera lingering on all the gory details. The ratings dropped by the millions after this moment.

AMC

6.

Poussey was one of the most beloved characters on Orange is the New Black, so her horrific murder by one of the prison guards in Season 4 really hit viewers hard. While its intention was ostensibly to explore a #BlackLivesMatter plot, its execution was widely criticized, especially in the way the show humanized Poussey's murder, Bayley.

Netflix

7.

Dexter went really far many times over the course of its run, but towards the end of the show it often felt like it was going too far. A key case in point is the plot in which Dexter's sister Deb — one of the most important people in his life — suddenly and bizarrely realizes she's in love with him. Sure, they're not blood related, but they were raised with a sibling bond, and it didn't make any sense, plus was a total ick.

Showtime

8.

Bridgerton is beloved for its feel-good romance and steamy scenes, but there's one moment in Season 1 that goes way too far and is not okay. Daphne and Simon — the main couple of the season — are having consensual sex, which turns non-consensual when Daphne refuses to stop when Simon tells her to. Even worse, the framing of the scene paints Daphne's assault as justified, and Simon as in the wrong. It's bad.

Netflix

9.

Outlander is controversial for its repeated onscreen depictions of rape, which the show's creators argue is about historical accuracy (as well as faithfulness to Diana Gabaldon's books), but which, for many, come across as too graphic and relentless. One significant example is the long, drawn-out, explicit torture and sexual assault scenes Jamie is put through towards the end of Season 1, which even actor Sam Heughan felt went too far, saying the nudity and sexualization of the scenes betrayed his trust.

Starz

10.

13 Reasons Why is a show that, generally, did too much. But it really, really did too much when it included an extended depiction of Hannah's death by suicide at the end of Season 1. It was criticized by viewers and mental health advocates, and Netflix subsequently removed the scene from the show.

Netflix

11.

Another13 Reasons Why scene that received a lot of backlash was the violent sexual assault of Tyler in Season 2, which many felt was excessively brutal and included for shock value above all else.

Netflix

12.

Veronica Mars fans were so enthusiastic about the show's story continuing after it ended that they crowdfunded a movie, which then led to a new season of the series. It's no wonder many fans then felt totally betrayed and furious when one of the main reasons they kept coming back — to see Veronica and Logan's relationship — was destroyed at the end of the new season, when Logan was dramatically killed off, ri