Clockwise from left: Damian Lewis in Homeland, Steve Buscemi in Boardwalk Empire, Andrew Lincoln in The Walking Dead, Jon Hamm in Mad Men, and Bryan Cranston on Breaking Bad. (Ed Johnson)

On Sunday night, as Tina Fey and Amy Poehler were making history as the first two women to successfully elbow out a male host for the Golden Globes, audiences took in an unprecedented display of girl power. With Lena Dunham winning for Best Actress in a Comedy, Girls taking Best Comedy, and Julianne Moore winning for Game Change, we trumpeted a new era ... one in which women could not only captivate an audience but do so with an unlikable protagonist. (Hannah Horvath is no Tony Soprano, but she can be plenty unappealing at times.)

Many of the night’s other nominees, including the stars of Veep and Nashville, fit into the same category, as did the un-nominated (but still there in spirit) Edie Falco in Nurse Jackie, Laura Linney in The Big C and Laura Dern in the criminally under-watched Enlightened, which premiered its second season this week. This last is perhaps the best example of these hard-to-watch heroines, with Ms. Dern playing the most delusional, self-righteous and self-martyring female antihero ever to traipse through premium cable.

It was a great night for rude, crude, progressive women. Unfortunately, it was an even better night for Bad Men.

In 2007, when Mad Men won the Globes for both Best Drama and Best Actor, AMC’s new prime-time show featuring gin-swilling 1960s philanderer Don Draper as its protagonist was still considered edgy for a non-premium cable show. Today, networks feature increasingly despicable, morally complex and utterly doomed characters, and the awards tend to follow. In the last several years, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association has seen fit to nominate a serial killer (Dexter), a U.S. Marine-turned-Islamic terrorist (Sgt. Nicholas Brody in Homeland), several corrupt politicians (Enoch “Nucky” Thompson from Boardwalk Empire and Boss’s Tom Kane) and the world’s most dangerous high school science teacher (Breaking Bad’s Walter White) in its Best Drama and Best Actor categories.

This year, four of these ne’er-do-wells crowded the Best Actor box, with accolades for Homeland’s Damian Lewis, Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston, Mad Men’s Jon Hamm and Boardwalk’s Steve Buscemi. The only exception to the rule: the disgruntled-but-ultimately righteous Will McAvoy from The Newsroom. God save us when an Aaron Sorkin antihero is the closest we get to a good guy.

The rest are endemic of a new trend in millennial TV protagonists—men who are, if not quite villains, then at least Bad Men. At best, our guy is an immoral misanthrope and a latent misogynist. At worst, he’s a sociopath, one who may or may not be running an international drug cartel. Or a terrorist ring. If you’re lucky, he’s merely a serial killer who kills other killers. And the scary thing is: we relate to them. We empathize. And if they don’t already hate their wives and children, not to worry—we do. How can we not, what with the missus harping about domestic nonsense when there is a meth empire to run or a presidential front-runner to assassinate?

It’s not just awards-season accolades that reflect the shift away from shows about good guys: Homeland, Breaking Bad and Dexter beat their top ratings last season. The Walking Dead surprised even its biggest fans by shattering basic cable numbers with its season-three premiere, which saw an audience of 10.9 million total viewers, the “biggest telecast for any drama series in basic cable history,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

It’s not hard to see what attracts today’s audience to these characters. For the first time in our history, the majority of men will not be able to surpass their fathers in wealth or status. With the recession, record job losses and lack of affordable health care, the Great Emasculation is well underway. Thus our need for men who at least take a stand, for good or ill, men whose nihilism often stems from psychic trauma. Men who, if not kind or ethical, survive and even flourish under dismal conditions. They might not be heroes, but we respect them.

Unlike, say, their horrible wives.

Take, for instance, Jessica Brody, the wife on Homeland played by Morena Baccarin. Not only did she cheat on Sgt. Brody during his eight years in captivity and after he returned, she pestered him for “the truth” throughout season one, only to freak out about his embrace of Islam and finally kick him to the curb. Meanwhile, Brody tried—he really did—to be a good husband and father even as he plotted his terror attack. If only Jessica hadn’t been so nosy, if only his daughter Dana had shown him a little bit more respect, maybe he wouldn’t have felt the need to run off with a bipolar C.I.A. agent.

Which isn’t to say that the protagonists of these shows ever voice any misogynistic tendencies. They don’t have to. It’s the programs themselves that turn the viewers against long-suffering wives, female colleagues and blameless children. A recent Huffington Post article on the 21 Worst Characters on television included the love interests on The Walking Dead, Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire. These shows, along with Breaking Bad and Homeland, all portray nosy, ineffectual matriarchs who are simultaneously ice-cold bitches, helpless victims and puritanical enforcers. We resent these women for the usual reasons women are often resented: because they are nosy, because they aren’t affectionate enough, because can’t keep their husbands from straying, because they are not always perfect mothers. Of course, they are driven to the brink by their husbands’ actions. But in a world that glorifies amorality, women are the spoilsports. They might be “good” (at least in relation to their husbands), but that makes them worse than bad. It makes them sneaky, shrewish and thoroughly unsympathetic victims.

Walter White is a Bad Men:

But Skylar is kind of worse:

Even worse, they are whores.

For instance, even though both Jessica Brody and Lori Grimes had the moral loophole of thinking their husbands were dead, we can’t help but resent them for carrying on with their husbands’ best friends. Betty Draper and Skyler White are also guilty of the cardinal female sin of infidelity, which is much harder to swallow, somehow, then when their fellows stray. (Poor Walter White has been at least sexually faithful to his wife, only to have her retaliate for his drug dealing by having an affair with her boss.)

Despite the flagrant violence of these shows, the Bad Men still tend to put “family first,” long after they give up every other social convention. And if they lash out occasionally (Draper’s constant bordering-on-abusive-relationships with his paramours, including both his current and former wives) or engage in stalker-level harassment (Walter White breaking into the house of his separated wife and refusing to leave), we sympathize.

In December, a 26-year-old Long Island man named Jared Gurman got into a fight with his girlfriend of three and a half years. They were arguing about The Walking Dead. Mr. Gurman—who described himself on Facebook as “an underappreciated person,” who felt that he should be “making more money at work”—took out a .22-caliber semi-automatic rifle and shot his girlfriend in the back. She ended up with fractured ribs and a punctured lung and diaphragm, all for calling Mr. Gurman’s theory about the zombie apocalypse “ridiculous.” Fans of the show might recognize a certain irony: despite a plethora of semi-automatics and reasons to put one to his wife’s head, Rick Grimes never took a shot at his wife.

What a mensch!

The Human Spark

Oh, Alan Alda, what can’t you do? Mr. Alda (a man that, through an entirely un-scientifically conducted poll, we’ve concluded reminds most people of their dad) hosts the three-part PBS series devoted to what makes humans unique. Tonight’s installment, “So Human, So Chimp,” is devoted to—you guessed it!—chimpanzees! But don’t get your hopes up for giant diapers, bicycles and funny hats: This is PBS, and Mr. Alda will examine just how closely chimps resemble we the people, through concepts of empathy, tools and language. This involves a field trip to a small Caribbean island, where Yale University’s Laurie Santos is “studying rhesus monkeys’ ability to steal grapes … and read minds.” Um, say what, now?  Monkeys … just a little less scary than robots. [PBS, 8 p.m.]

Thursday, Jan. 14:

Grey’s Anatomy/Private Practice 

Hey, remember when Grey’s Anatomy was airing new episodes? Us neither! But tonight, the soapy favorite one can’t help but still watch returns for a big ol’ crossover “special event” with spin-off Private Practice. What does this mean? Addison is back in Seattle! And, judging by the previews, people are running around the halls while doctors yell things like “shut it down!” Exciting! It’s also nice to see that McSteamy (Eric Dane) is going to get a little extra screen time (two whole hours’ worth), even it means
he has to hook up with the female staffs of both shows (read: McSlut). [ABC, 8 p.m.]

Friday, Jan. 15:

The Squid and the Whale

Beware to all of you who have parental divorce in your background: This 2006 film from writer-director Noah Baumbach is as heartbreaking as it is (painfully) funny. Set in ’80s era Park Slope (no Food Co-op or Bugaboos!), The Squid and the Whale follows Laura Linney and Jeff Daniels as they try to navigate their separation and the raising of their two sons, played by Jesse Eisenberg and Owen Kline (fun fact: son of Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates). Mr. Daniels seems to get the choicest of lines, including our favorite, the oft-repeated “filet of the neighborhood.” But trust us, everyone is good in this, including William Baldwin and Anna Paquin. [Sundance, 3 a.m.]

Saturday, Jan. 16:

The Abyss

Already seen Avatar at least twice? Take a look at James Cameron’s earlier foray into the great unknown with the underappreciated The Abyss from 1989. With Avatar-hindsight, you can totally see what was starting to brew in and occupy Mr. Cameron’s brain for the next 20 years! Instead of Pandora, we get the ocean. (Which is really just outer space with water. Think about it.) And instead of Sigourney smoking a cigarette, we get Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, who is excellent, plus, do we even need to mention that Ed Harris also stars? Oh, and weird, watery aliens? The best thing about this movie is to remember that, reportedly, the crew liked to wear T-shirts that read, “Life’s Abyss, Then You Dive.” [HBO, 10 a.m.]

Sunday, Jan. 17:

The Golden Globes

Yes, we know there are some very important football games on today (go Jets!), but let’s get our priorities in order: Awards show fever officially kicks off tonight with the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards. Sure, people can say that these Hollywood Foreign Press Awards don’t matter, but you know what? They do! The stars come out in all their feathery frocked finery (and seem to drink rather freely, judging from shows past), and one gets to watch the weird, awkward high-school hierarchy of television actors mixing it up with big movie stars. Still not convinced? Ricky Gervais is hosting, which we’re pretty sure means good times indeed. [NBC, 8 p.m.]

Monday, Jan. 18:

Life Unexpected

New show alert! And this one looks fine-tuned to entice all those Gilmore Girls/Felicity/My So-Called-Life fans to the CW. The premise: A 15-year-old who has spent most of her time in foster care decides to become an emancipated minor, which leads her to her biological parents—a “30-something” (shriek!) aging frat boy and a local radio celebrity (snicker), played by Rosewell’s Shiri Appleby. And then a judge awards joint custody! And get this—the biological mother’s boyfriend, her on-air partner, is played by Dawson’s Creek vet Kerr Smith. Which means, truly, that we are old. Prepare for a lot of Juno–meets–something-else talk, pretty Portland, Ore., scenery and, natch, tears. [CW, 9 p.m.]

Tuesday, Jan. 19:

The Biggest Loser

For those unsure of whether they want to get with the whole Biggest Loser machine, might we suggest that this is the time to check in? It’s only the third episode in this cycle, which is usually when these very hungry and stressed-out people start becoming unglued (plus, they’ll still outweigh you by at least 100 pounds, which is reassuring). Tonight’s drama-fest will include one player threatening to leave after some sort of disagreement with one of the trainers (we’re guessing it’s tough-love Jillian), and accusations fly at the weigh-in. Oh boy. We can’t wait until the Olympics makes weight loss an official event. [NBC, 8 p.m.]

Regardless of the lack of respect the Golden Globes get as a whole in some circles—as New Jersey Star-Ledger television critic Alan Sepinwall condescendingly tweeted after the announcements: "Trying to parse any kind of meaning out of Golden Globe noms or awards is pointless. It amazes me we take them as seriously as we do"—the nominations still mean something to... someone. Like, the rest of us! Putting the film selections aside for the moment (Julia Roberts for Duplicity, really?), here's a peak at three of the biggest stories from the world of television.

Come on! Entourage again!?

It's official: Doug Ellin must have pictures of the Hollywood Foreign Press in compromising positions. For the sixth year in a row, the maligned HBO comedy series was nominated in the Best Comedy Series category (along with 30 Rock, Modern Family, The Office and Glee). For those keeping score at home, that means Entourage beat out such favorites as (deep breath!): Parks & Recreation, Party Down, Community, How I Met Your Mother, Cougar Town, Better Off Ted, Nurse Jackie, The United States of Tara, Bored to Death and Curb Your Enthusiasm. Phew! While we're pretty sure a nomination for any one of those series would have been greeted with more acceptance than Entourage, the inclusion of the HBO series does make you realize how many great comedies currently air on television. Hey, what do you want from us? We're looking for a bright side here!

New Show Showdown: Glee vs. Modern Family!

Historically, the Globes love picking the new kid on the block—America Ferrera, Jon Hamm, Mad Men—but this year that decision will be harder than usual since both new kids are in the same category. Glee and Modern Family have been the two most-revered new series of the fall and both scored nominations for Best Comedy Series. Which will wind up winning? Give us Glee, if only because of its multiple acting nominations (Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele and probable Best Supporting Actress-winner Jane Lynch). Of course, whether or not NBC will let Glee accept an award on their network is a different story altogether.

No More Drama... for the networks!

Who knew Mary J. Blige was so prescient! With the exception of House, no network series found its way into the Best Drama category (the other nominees are Mad Men, True Blood, Dexter and Big Love). Worse, however, is that it's hard for us to find any network shows more deserving—our inner fanboy would have loved to see Lost in this category, but even we would acknowledge that its fifth season was slightly disappointing. Not that the nominees here matter, of course: we figure they'll all run a distant second to Mad Men.