FWIW, he’s worse in the first couple of seasons than in the rest of it. The first two were modeled after the British version, but the British version only ran for two seasons, so after they ran out of material to mimic, they went their own way with it and Michael gradually starts getting written in a way where he’s more of a bumbling obnoxious person with a good heart than he is a narcissistic asshole.

But even then, yeah, the show can be painful to watch.