From Peep Show to Half Man: TV’s Most Unsettling Moments
Some of the finest television moments can also be the hardest to watch. Prepare to look through your fingers at these supremely squirm-inducing scenes.
It’s rarely how anyone imagines their first time. Richard Gadd’s follow-up to Baby Reindeer, Half Man, contains many disturbing moments, none more so than in its opening episode where teen delinquent Ruben orchestrates his younger step-sibling Niall’s loss of virginity.
This creates a TV moment so uncomfortable it’s almost impossible to sit still on your sofa. But what are the all-time most unsettling scenes? From bad rapping to DIY dentistry, here is a selection of 15 scenes that made viewers wince, squirm, and watch through their fingers.
Brother from Another Lover (Half Man, 2026)
As a twisted form of gratitude for helping him pass his prelim exam, Ruben (Stuart Campbell), a teen delinquent, brings home his girlfriend Mona (Charlotte Blackwood). When they catch underage Niall (Mitchell Robertson) "perving" at them in their shared bedroom, Ruben encourages Mona to switch beds and take Niall’s virginity, while Ruben looms over him, offering words of encouragement and even a steadying hand at one point. This moment marks the formation of a lifelong toxic bond.
Boar on the Floor (Succession, 2019)
In a standout episode from season two, the Roy family’s inner circle attends a hunting retreat in Hungary. Patriarch Logan (Brian Cox), furious over a leak of company information, subjects Greg, Tom, and Karl to a humiliating hazing ritual as punishment for what he calls "collective disloyalty." Logan’s bullying involves forcing them to get down on all fours, role-play as pigs, and fight over a sausage. This scene starkly reveals Logan’s vicious sadism. Notably, Karl does steal Tom’s sausage during the ordeal.
David Brent Begs for His Job (The Office, 2002)
In a scene reminiscent of an excruciating HR meeting, David Brent (Ricky Gervais), the Slough branch manager of Wernham Hogg, is dismissed after being more focused on entertaining than working. The sacking takes a heartbreaking turn when Brent tearfully pleads to keep his job. The poignancy is undercut when Brent emerges from behind the desk riding an ostrich, a stunt for Red Nose Day.
Piggate Mark II (Black Mirror, 2011)
When David Cameron became embroiled in the 2015 "Piggate" controversy, Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker was widely regarded as prophetic for having depicted a similar scenario four years earlier. The first episode of the dystopian anthology, The National Anthem, features a blackmailed prime minister (Rory Kinnear) faced with a grotesque choice: allow a kidnapped young royal to be tortured and killed, or have sex with a sow on live television. After failed attempts to rescue the princess or fake the footage, the PM reluctantly complies with the humiliating demand. Brooker reassured viewers and Cameron alike:
“It’s a complete coincidence, albeit a quite bizarre one.”
The Stoning of Gladys (The Leftovers, 2014)
One of the most harrowing moments of violence in the series to date, this scene signals HBO’s post-apocalyptic saga’s extraordinary depth. In the fifth episode, Gladys (Marceline Hugot), a loyal member of the silent cult the Guilty Remnant, is dragged into the woods by unseen assailants, taped to a tree, and pelted with rocks. She breaks her vow of silence to beg for mercy, but her pleas are ignored.
Hannah Self-Harms with a Q-tip (Girls, 2013)
Lena Dunham has never shied away from difficult subjects, and this visceral scene is among Girls’ most traumatic. In the grip of OCD and anxiety, Hannah Horvath (Dunham) stands before a mirror, obsessively cleaning her ear. She inserts a cotton bud and pushes it until it becomes lodged. She screams in pain and is taken to hospital with blood pouring from her ear canal, vividly describing hearing air hissing from her punctured eardrum. Dunham tweeted:
“If all I’ve done on this Earth is scare you out of using Q-tips, I will die a happy and purposeful woman.”
Mr Schue Raps and Dirty Dances (Glee, 2009)
Ryan Murphy’s jukebox musical drama was a major hit, running for six series. Remarkably, Spanish teacher and glee club leader Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) crossed numerous lines. He rapped Young MC’s "Bust A Move" and Kanye’s "Gold Digger," complete with awkward dad dancing. He performed a deeply inappropriate rendition of Britney Spears’ "Toxic" to a room full of high school students. This was before he had sex in the school bathroom and planted drugs to blackmail pupils into joining the choir. His behavior was truly menacing.
Lol: Ironically Named (This is England ’86, 2010)
Shane Meadows and Jack Thorne’s acclaimed miniseries features one of the most stomach-churning sexual assaults in small-screen history, along with a grim aftermath. Trev (Danielle Watson) is raped by her friends’ abusive father Mick (Johnny Harris). When Mick attempts to rape his stepdaughter Lol (Vicky McClure), she kills him with a hammer. Skinhead Combo (Stephen Graham) voluntarily takes the blame and is jailed. In the sequel This is England ’90, Combo’s release prompts a heartbreaking dinner scene where the full messy truth emerges.
Family Thais (The White Lotus, 2025)
Another uncomfortable depiction of brotherly incest appears in the third season of the spa satire set in Koh Samui. Nepotistic Saxon Ratliff (Patrick Schwarzenegger) goads his shy younger brother Lochlan (Sam Nivola) to lose his virginity. After taking molly at a full-moon rave, the siblings share a dare kiss before Lochlan has sex with ex-model Chloe (Charlotte Le Bon), during which he "extends a hand" to Saxon. The next day, Saxon vomits after a hungover flashback. Schwarzenegger admitted these taboo scenes were "uncomfortable to watch with my family."
Pulling Teeth (The Americans, 2015)
One of the most painful portrayals of dentistry on screen since Marathon Man. KGB agent Elizabeth Jennings (Keri Russell) suffers a tooth infection after being hit in the mouth during a confrontation with a Fed. Knowing the FBI monitors dental surgeries, she and her husband Philip (Matthew Rhys) silently agree on a plan. Hiding in their home’s laundry room to avoid alarming their children, Elizabeth drinks whiskey while Philip performs a DIY tooth extraction with pliers. In an intimate close-up, they grasp, gasp, sigh, and cry. Some viewers found the scene strangely erotic. The showrunners originally planned for the couple to have sex afterward but realized the tooth-pulling was cathartic enough.
SJ-Pee (And Just Like That, 2021)
Non-binary stand-up comic Che Diaz (Sara Ramirez) drew criticism from fans of the Sex and the City sequel. While Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) receives manual pleasure from Che in the kitchen, bed-bound Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), recovering from hip surgery, needs assistance reaching the bathroom. With Miranda otherwise occupied, Carrie wets the bed, leading to an awkward situation and an unexpected dating column.
A Major Hitch (Six Feet Under, 2004)
More than a scene, this is an ordeal. In season four’s "That’s My Dog," undertaker David Fisher (Michael C. Hall) picks up scruffy hitchhiker Jake (Michael Weston), who turns out to be a crazed crack addict. David is carjacked and subjected to a terrifying ride where he is punched, tied up, threatened with a gun, forced to smoke crack, and splashed with petrol. As Jake’s behavior grows increasingly unhinged, viewers experience the tension as if taken hostage themselves.
Jeremy’s Doggie Bag (Peep Show, 2007)
Peep Show specialized in awkwardness, and this is a prime example. On Mark’s stag do in Shropshire, Jeremy (Robert Webb) accidentally runs over a pet dog. Desperate to cover up the tragedy, he burns the terrier named Mummy and then eats her in front of the owners. He nearly convinces everyone that the bag contains barbecued turkey until they notice hairs and a collar. Jeremy insists:
“It’s just turkey,”chewing queasily,
“Undercooked, disgusting turkey.”
Al Passes a Kidney Stone (Deadwood, 2005)
In the second season of the profane period western, saloon owner Al Swearengen (Ian McShane) is seriously ill with kidney issues, sweating and shivering in bed while sex workers tend to him. Doc Cochran (Brad Dourif) prepares for risky surgery but attempts one last natural method to dislodge the "gleets." Everyone helps Al to urinate, and to their horror and relief, blood and kidney stones are expelled. Al suffers a minor stroke in the process. This was a far cry from anything seen in Lovejoy.
Windscreen Wiper Required (Sex Education, 2020)
Every teenage boy’s worst nightmare unfolds in season two of Netflix’s sex dramedy. The episode opens with a montage of Otis (Asa Butterfield) masturbating in various locations, set to a cover of "I Touch Myself" by Divinyls. The sequence culminates with Otis masturbating in a supermarket car park, only for his mother Jean (Gillian Anderson) to return, having forgotten her wallet, and witness him ejaculating on the car window. This leads to a visit to the car wash and a frank conversation.
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These scenes represent some of the most uncomfortable moments in television history, pushing boundaries and challenging viewers’ tolerance for awkwardness, discomfort, and taboo subjects.
