NBC
Most television shows require viewers to suspend their disbelief to some degree and subscribe to the internal logic of a universe where, say, incestuous members of royalty spend a good chunk of their day joyriding on the back of a dragon or a high school chemistry teacher can transform into a drug lord capable of striking fear into the heart of a Mexican cartel.
There are also plenty of programs set in a slightly more grounded reality that nonetheless contain some fairly unbelievable aspects—like virtually any show that takes place in New York City or Los Angeles that features someone with a relatively modest job who lives in a spacious apartment or a decked out loft located in the heart of the town.
Those shows rarely provide the audience with an in-depth look at the finances of their main characters, but One Main Financial decided to do exactly that by taking a closer look at the lifestyles of some notable names who would be absolutely swimming in debt if they actually existed in the real world.
These sitcom characters would never be able to get by in real life thanks to the amount of debt they’d rack up to sustain themselves
The study in question took a look at a number of different factors that contributed to the balance sheet of the characters in question, including their salary, the cost of rent, clothing, and other day-to-day expenses (it’s worth noting it didn’t adjust the data based on the time period in which the shows were set).
After crunching the numbers, these were the people with the most unsustainable habits on an annual basis:
- Carrie Bradshaw—Columnist, Sex and the City: –$199,812 per year (Income: $33,444, Expenses: $233,256)
- Phil Dunphy—Real estate agent, Modern Family: -$111,221 per year (Income: $94,655, Expenses: $205,876)
- Valentina—Assistant stylist, How I Met Your Father: -$99,988 per year (Income: $34,602, Expenses: $134,590)
- Sophie Tompkins—Photographer, How I Met Your Father: -$95,287 (Income: $41,705, Expenses: $136,992)
- Jessica Day—Teacher, New Girl: –$88,180 per year (Income: $25,152, Expenses: $113,332)
- Monica Geller—Chef, Friends: –$86,098 per year (Income: $49,677, Expenses: $135,775)
- Captain Raymond Holt—Police captain, Brooklyn 99: –$77,105 per year (Income: $98,127, Expenses: $175,232)
- Chandler Bing—Statistical analyst, Friends: –$63,944 per year (Income: $70,556, Expenses: $134,500)
- Winston Bishop—Police officer, New Girl: –$63,920 per year (Income: $54,748, Expenses: $118,668)
- Cheyenne Taylor Lee—Shop assistant, Superstore: –$61,369 per year (Income: $33,819, Expenses: $95,188)
That is some serious Dril Candle Tweet Energy.