The Worst TV Theme Songs

List of worst TV theme songs ever, ranked by the people who had to listen to them before every episode. One of the most defining aspects of a TV show is its theme song played over the opening credits. These catchy, memorable tunes symbolize the start of your viewing pleasure. Even the worst TV themes act as a transportation vessel that takes you into a world of your favorite characters. These songs allow us to slowly sink out of our reality and become affixed to what is on the screen. However, sometimes this vessel takes you on a bumpy ride. Not all television theme songs are gems. In fact some are just plain bad TV music. They make you question how much is it worth it to watch a television episode, if you must endure an odd, occasionally annoying tune for the first 30 seconds.

So let’s try to figure which one of these TV show theme songs is the worst. Is it the Eight Is Enough theme song, or something else? Television’s extensive history gives us a wide selection to look at. Of course, there are several great, classic theme songs. Tunes that perfectly introduce a well-made television series, whose music provides warmth and comfort to the viewing audience. But instead we will be exploring the ones that could be used to torture prisoners at Guantanamo Bay. So let us check out the most tone-deaf, lyrically-confusing, and just plain bad theme songs of television’s history. Which one will be deemed the absolute worst?

1 430 VOTES

ChloeFletcher added Barney

Barney is a short-lived British Children's BBC television programme centered on the main characters Barney and Roger. Despite attracting a cult following in the UK, it was considered a relative commercial failure and the show only lasted one series. ...more on Wikipedia

Actors: Harry Enfield, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Enn Reitel, Jan Ravens

Premiered: 1988

310 120

Is this the worst?

see more on Barney

The Greatest Sitcoms in Television History

2 456 VOTES

Joanie Loves Chachi

Joanie Loves Chachi is an American television spin-off of the American sitcom Happy Days that was originally broadcast on ABC from March 23, 1982 to May 24, 1983. It stars Erin Moran and Scott Baio as the title characters Joanie Cunningham and Chachi Arcola, respectively. ...more on Wikipedia

Actors: Scott Baio, Erin Moran, Al Molinaro

Premiered: 1982

Number of Seasons: 2

Also Ranked

#67 on The Best TV Spinoffs

320 136

Is this the worst?

see more on Joanie Loves Chachi

The Greatest TV Shows Of All Time

3 391 VOTES

Small Wonder

Small Wonder is an American science fiction sitcom that aired in first-run syndication from September 7, 1985 to May 20, 1989. The show chronicles the family of a robotics engineer who secretly creates a robot modeled after a human girl, then tries to pass it off as their adopted daughter. ...more on Wikipedia

Actors: Dick Christie, Marla Pennington, Jerry Supiran

Premiered: 1985

Number of Seasons: 4

Also Ranked

#63 on The Best Sitcoms of the 1980s

#61 on The Best 1980s Primetime TV Shows

#30 on 20+ 1980s Sitcoms That Will Still Make You Laugh

256 135

Is this the worst?

see more on Small Wonder

Non-Reality TV Shows That Should Be Canceled

4 242 VOTES

MobyWaller added The Ropers

The Ropers is an American sitcom that ran from March 13, 1979 to May 22, 1980 on ABC. The series is a spin-off of Three's Company and based on the British sitcom George and Mildred. It was taped at CBS Television City in Hollywood, California, where its parent series, Three's Company, was taping at the time, from February–April 1979 and from July 1979-February 1980. ...more on Wikipedia

Actors: Norman Fell, Audra Lindley, Jeffrey Tambor

Premiered: 1979

Number of Seasons: 2

165 77

Is this the worst?

see more on The Ropers

The Funniest TV Shows of All Time