The Most Annoying New Kids in TV History

List of the most annoying new kids in TV history. These kids, from infants to teenagers, might have been cute, but they did little to improve the quality of their respective TV shows. Many, in fact, were so annoying that they signaled a marked decline in a show’s quality, earning them a place on this list of the most obnoxious new kids added to a show’s cast. This list only includes recurring kid characters who joined the cast during or after the show's second season.

Why do shows’ producers decide to add new kids to a cast, knowing that these kids could become annoying TV children? Often it’s done when a favorite child star grows up and leaves the show; wanting to maintain appeal, the show will introduce a substitute. Unfortunately, these subs often turn out annoying -- viewers usually sense that these irritating newcomer TV kids are a ploy to maintain ratings. Many times, the addition of an annoying TV kid signals the moment when a show jumped the shark, or fell off so rapidly in terms of quality that it became almost unwatchable.

Introducing an obnoxious new kid to a TV cast has been done so many times that there’s even a name for it: Cousin Oliver Syndrome. The name comes from the introduction of Cousin Oliver to the cast of “The Brady Bunch” -- a last-gasp effort to remain popular. Cousin Oliver, however, wasn’t well-received; his obnoxiousness has definitely earned him a place on the list of most annoying new kids in TV history.

This list includes the most annoying new kids added to TV casts. In a few cases, the annoying TV kid was removed (for example, Seven from “Married...with Children”), but most of them stayed with the show to the bitter end. Only include annoying TV children who weren’t in the original cast, but joined in the second season or later.