A common TV trope is the womanizing cisgender male who lusts after every female he sees, often looking only to bed them. He treats them poorly, seeks out women based on physical appearance alone, and gets away with it.
Despite society's push towards gender equality, characters like these persist on television today. And, not surprisingly, in decades past, they were pretty common. These types of characters do make for entertaining television, whether fans root for them or loathe them. It is fiction, after all.
One of the most popular Two And A Half Men, played by veteran movie actor Charlie Sheen, but there have been many others.
Charlie Harper (Two And A Half Men)
Charlie's womanizing was at the center of the storyline in this long-running sitcom. He was a perpetual bachelor whose life was turned upside down when his younger brother Alan arrived, seeking a place to stay after being thrown out by his wife. He came with his 10-year-old son in tow, which made it even more awkward for Charlie to continue his sexual escapades.
Charlie was a terrible role model for the child and would hit on any attractive women he came across, often with terrible pick-up lines. It didn't matter if she was a woman in a bar, his obsessive next-door neighbor, or even his nephew's teachers – no one was off limits. But fans ate it up, making Charlie Sheen the highest paid actor on TV for a time.
Barney Stinson (How I Met Your Mother)
What made Barney's horrible actions accepted by viewers of How I Met Your Mother was the hilarious, over-the-top delivery by actor Neil Patrick Harris. Barney was damaged from his childhood, but his actions towards women mostly stemmed from a teenage sweetheart who broke his heart by leaving the then-quiet-and-sweet Barney for a more confident and pompous man in a suit. Barney vowed to be nothing more than a womanizer from that point on.
Barney developed a book that outlined his various methods of picking up women, often seeking out the more attractive and naïve of them that he could easily manipulate. He took things too far many times, but Harris portrayed Barney almost like a caricature of a person, so his actions were more funny than hurtful.
Joey Tribbiani (Friends)
"How, you doin'?" It's the corniest pick-up line around and it originated from the dimwitted Joey, an aspiring actor women found attractive; so he made the most of his good looks and went on plenty of dates.
Played by Matt LeBlanc, Joey, along with the rest of the main characters from Friends, are ranked among the most popular sitcom characters ever to grace the small screen. And while much of Joey's womanizing was portrayed as being pretty innocent, he was still a womanizer who loved to serial date.
Sam Malone (Cheers)
It's totally cliché that a bartender would be a womanizer. Add to that the character's history as a former professional baseball player, not to mention his almost perfect mane of hair, and it was a recipe for egotistical machismo.
Ted Danson personified the character on Cheers and helped make the show one of the most iconic sitcoms of the '80s. His love for Diane (Shelley Long), however, helped humanize Sam and eventually made him more than just a guy looking for one-night stands.
Hank Moody (Californication)
Despite being a man seemingly addicted to infidelity, fans couldn't help but root for Hank (David Duchovny), the uninspired Californication famous writer who always seemed to find trouble wherever he went and was more interested in drinking, partying, and bedding women then writing his next book.
What made Hank from Californication more palatable was the fact that he truly loved his ex-wife and desperately wanted to do better by her. But when women literally threw themselves at him, and he found himself in compromising situations, he always made the wrong decisions.
Glenn Quagmire (Family Guy)
This character on Family Guy, voiced by Seth MacFarlane, is yet another cliché. After the woman he loved broke his heart, he decided not to open up to anyone ever again and simply seek out one-night stands and meaningless relationships.
Despite looking quite young, he is supposedly in his sixties and is described not only as a womanizer, but also sex-craved and perverted. Not surprisingly, he delivered really inappropriate pick-up lines throughout various episodes.
Don Draper (Mad Men)
Don Draper (Jon Hamm) from Mad Men was deeply damaged from his past, which included being born to a sex worker, then raised by his verbally and abusive stepfather.
Don was married but that didn't stop him from bedding any woman who pursued him. His secretary, a client, or even a random woman at a restaurant – no one was off limits. Don seemed to drown his sorrows in women and was, in some ways, looking for the motherly figure he never had in his life. While he was a serial womanizer, he would also sometimes get attached to women who showed they care. Though even then, it didn't stop him from cheating.
Larry Dallas (Three's Company)
very outdated premise that certainly wouldn't work today of a young man living with two women in a rented apartment, having to pretend to be gay so as not to raise eyebrows with the landlord.
Jack Tripper's best friend Larry, played by Richard Kline, was the stereotypical 1970s ladies' man. He was a used car salesman and would often give women Jack's name instead of his own, especially when he had to deal with jealous boyfriends who were none too happy about their girlfriends hanging out with a womanizer.
Vincent Chase (Entourage)
Vincent Chase played a young actor who quickly rose to fame in The character from Entourage was loosely based on singer and actor Mark Wahlberg, who served as an executive producer.
Tempted by the world of Hollywood, access to beautiful women, and legions of female fans, Vinny – played by Adrian Grenier – couldn't resist. The character showed exactly what might happen to a young man in his 20s who suddenly becomes loved and adored by all, making millions of dollars.
Schmidt (New Girl)
In the latter seasons of this long-running sitcom, the focus was on Schmidt's deep obsession with and devotion to Cece, the woman he eventually married. But prior to meeting her, and during their times of separation, Schmidt on New Girl was a downright womanizer.
Schmidt lived to bed different women every night, with his behavior said to stem from his dramatic weight loss after college that finally made him feel confident in himself and gain the attention of more women. While his behavior was deplorable, it was clear Schmidt was just trying to fill a hole in his life and boost his self-confidence with meaningless relationships. But he proved he could be, and wanted to be, dedicated to one woman once he met the love of his life.
