Popular TV shows that critics hate, but normal people love

Nothing critics say can keep these popular TV shows off the air.

null  (Patrick Harbron/Netflix)

How much do critics matter?

For many TV shows, it seems like not that much. In fact, some of the most critically panned TV shows on the air are the most loved by audiences, and have big ratings.

We already collected a list of some new fall TV shows from 2017 that critics hate (but normal people love), and noticed huge differences in other popular shows as well. So we collected a longer list of current TV shows critics don't like, but everyone else loves enough to tune in every week — or to binge-watch on Netflix.

We used critic and audience scores from Rotten Tomatoes to judge, and some the differences are staggering.

Here are popular TV shows that critics hate, but audiences love:

21. "MacGyver" — CBS

21. "MacGyver" — CBS  (Ron P. Jaffe/CBS)

Critic rating: 26%

Audience rating: 54%

Difference: 28%

Description: A resourceful former special forces operative is recruited into a clandestine organization.

20. "Bull" — CBS

20. "Bull" — CBS  (CBS)

Critic rating: 24%

Audience rating: 68%

Difference: 44%

Description: A renowned psychologist heads a prolific trial consulting service in this drama series based on the early career of Dr. Phil McGraw.

19. "S.W.A.T." — CBS

19. "S.W.A.T." — CBS  (CBS)

Critic rating: 45%

Audience rating: 68%

Difference: 23%

Description: A S.W.A.T. leader is torn between loyalty to the streets and duty to his fellow officers.

18. "Chicago Med" — NBC

18. "Chicago Med" — NBC  (NBC)

Critic rating: 48%

Audience rating: 68%

Difference: 20%

Description: Hospital dramas play out in a state-of-the-art trauma center in this "Chicago Fire" spin-off, which delves into the lives of its doctors, nurses and staff.

17. "Man With a Plan" — CBS

17. "Man With a Plan" — CBS  (Darren Michaels/CBS)

Critic rating: 21%

Audience rating: 71%

Difference: 50%

Description: A contractor becomes a stay-at-home dad after his wife goes back to work.

16. "Fuller House" — Netflix

16. "Fuller House" — Netflix  (Netflix)

Critic rating: 32%

Audience rating: 73%

Difference: 41%

Description: Recently widowed D.J. Tanner-Fuller gets help from her sister Stephanie and best friend Kimmy when the women move in with their families to help D.J. raise her children in this spin-off series.

15. "Marlon" — NBC

15. "Marlon" — NBC  (Justin Lubin/NBC)

Critic rating: 50%

Audience rating: 73%

Difference: 23%

Description: An inappropriate but loving father is committed to coparenting with his polar opposite ex-wife in this comedy, which is loosely inspired by star Marlon Wayans' life.

14. "Friends From College" — Netflix

14. "Friends From College" — Netflix  (Netflix)

Critic rating: 23%

Audience rating: 74%

Difference: 51%

Description: A comedy following the lives of a group of college friends in their 40s.

13. "Scorpion" — CBS

13. "Scorpion" — CBS  (Bill Inoshita/CBS)

Critic rating: 42%

Audience rating: 74%

Difference: 32%

Description: Walter O'Brien, a computer genius, and some of his equally brilliant friends are recruited in Los Angeles by a special agent with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to investigate high-tech crimes.

12. "The Night Shift" — NBC

12. "The Night Shift" — NBC  (Cathy Kanavy/NBC)

Critic rating: 20%

Audience rating: 76%

Difference: 56%

Description: The serial is about the lives of men and women who work the graveyard shift in a hospital at San Antonio.

11. "Iron Fist" — Netflix

11. "Iron Fist" — Netflix  (Myles Aronowitz/Netflix)

Critic rating: 17%

Audience rating: 77%

Difference: 60%

Description: Billionaire Danny Rand returns to New York City after being missing for years, trying to reconnect with his past and his family legacy. He fights against the criminal element corrupting New York City with his kung-fu mastery and ability to summon the awesome power of the fiery Iron Fist.

10. "Code Black" — CBS

10. "Code Black" — CBS  (Monty Brinton/CBS)

Critic rating: 51%

Audience rating: 81%

Difference: 30%

Description: Doctors and nurses fight to save lives in the country's busiest ER.

9. "American Housewife" — ABC

9. "American Housewife" — ABC  (ABC)

Critic rating: 54%

Audience rating: 84%

Difference: 30%

Description: An average wife and mother raises her flawed family in a town of seemingly perfect people.

8. "Chicago Fire" — NBC

8. "Chicago Fire" — NBC  (NBC)

Critic rating: 47%

Audience rating: 87%

Difference: 40%

Description: A drama series following the firefighters, paramedics and rescue squad of Chicago Firehouse 51.

7. "The Brave" — NBC

7. "The Brave" — NBC  (YouTube/NBC)

Critic rating: 38%

Audience rating: 88%

Difference: 50%

Description: A drama that centers on military heroes who embark on dangerous missions behind enemy lines.

6. "The Good Doctor" — ABC

6. "The Good Doctor" — ABC  (ABC)

Critic rating: 55%

Audience rating: 88%

Difference: 33%

Description: A talented young surgeon with savant syndrome ruffles feathers while saving lives at a prestigious hospital's pediatric surgical unit.

5. "Chicago P.D." — NBC

5. "Chicago P.D." — NBC  (NBC)

Critic rating: 57%

Audience rating: 88%

Difference: 31%

Description: A 'Chicago Fire' spin-off following the men and women of the Chicago Police Department.

4. "Criminal Minds" — CBS

4. "Criminal Minds" — CBS  (CBS)

Critic rating: 36%

Audience rating: 89%

Difference: 53%

Description: A procedural thriller about the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, which profiles criminals to solve crimes. The ensemble drama relies on the diversity of the team, which includes a young genius and a seasoned leader tortured by a past case. Unlike other crime dramas that focus on science, this series is very cerebral and almost Holmesian in its deductive analysis of the crimes and their perpetrators.

3. "Midnight, Texas" — NBC

3. "Midnight, Texas" — NBC  (NBC)

Critic rating: 60%

Audience rating: 89%

Difference: 29%

Description: Locals from a Texas town try to fight off supernatural beings.

2. "The Mick" — Fox

2. "The Mick" — Fox  (FOX)

Critic rating: 58%

Audience rating: 92%

Difference: 34%

Description: A tough, opinionated woman raises her sister's spoiled kids in an affluent Connecticut neighborhood when her sibling bolts the country to avoid federal charges.

1. "The Orville" — Fox

1. "The Orville" — Fox  (Fox)

Critic score: 18%

Audience score: 93%

Difference: 75%

Description: Follows the crew of the not-so-functional exploratory ship in the Earth's interstellar fleet, 400 years in the future.