Moms are supposed to be sweet, right? Warm, cuddly, like grandmas but younger. In a perfect world, they are all sunshine and kisses on the noses.

In the fictional world moms can be real bad-asses, and who could blame them. Writers, (myself included) put them in situations which bring out the worst in them, making them a hell of a lot of fun to write and watch on screen… but not meet behind the bleachers on the playground.

Here are my top ten fictional bad-ass moms

10. Helena Henstridge (Elizabeth Hurley) – The Royals (E! Entertainment)

Helena Henstridge, Queen of England slept with her daughter’s boyfriend, lied about the paternity of her children so that she could remain Queen Regent after her husband died, did her very best to one-up her daughter at a fashion show. Eventually, Queen Helena saw the error of her ways and decided that her son was worthy of being king so she backs him, but before he could take the throne, she switches her allegiance and decides to yank the throne away from him.

9. Harlee Santos (Jennifer Lopez) – Shades of Blue (NBC) 

Last season when we left Harlee Santos, she’d killed her baby daddy because he tried to lure her teenaged daughter away from her. Not to mention he was violent, and just got out of jail. Had he watched Enough, he would have known he didn’t stand a chance.

8. Daenerys Targaryen (Amelia Clarke) – Game of Thrones (HBO) 

Daenerys Targaryen is the mother… the mother of dragons, that alone makes her a bad-ass. But seriously, when we first met her she was abused and sold off to the savage Khal Drogo, who often raped her. As the series progressed, Daenerys came into her own, she learned how to tame her husband and captured many nations while freeing slaves and empowering women in a time when women were treated as sex objects or child-bearing vessels.

7. Norma Bates (Vera Farmiga) – Bates Motel (A&E)

With a mother like Norma Bates, Norman Bates didn’t stand a chance at normalcy. Norma has lied, killed and stole to protect Norman. I always wondered why Norma hated her eldest son, Dylan until it was revealed that he was conceived when her brother raped her. That said, you could kind of understand why she borders the edge of crazy town.

6. Savannah Nicole Rose DaCosta (Savi) – The Family Portrait Series (Books 1, 2, 3, 4)

Savi is one of the most hated female characters I’ve ever written! Blackmail and mental torture are her weapons of choice. Below are some of the comments readers have shared about this bad-ass mom.

“How a woman like Savi could ever have two amazingly gentle and caring daughters I will never know!” Rachel B.

“Savi was a terrible selfish mother and reading about her really made me hate her. So Gillian really wrote in a way I could totally imagine Savi being a real person. And boy would I have loved to slap her in the face.” Maureen B

“I am kind of happy how things turned out for Savi. I really hated her especially when she planned on ruining other people’s life.” Fayanne

5. Cookie Lyon (Taraji P. Hensen) – Empire (FOX)

Cookie is hardcore, the woman did hard time to protect her man. Later she almost took him for everything she rightfully deserves. She is fierce, outspoken and not afraid to throw it down.

4. Carol Peletier (Melissa McBride) – The Walking Dead (AMC)

From season 3-6 Carol was one of my favorite characters. She has shown the most growth in all the characters on TWD. From a fearful victim to a gun slinging, group rescuing bad-ass! Carol rescued the group at Terminus, single-handedly saved the community when the Wolves attacked and took out a truck full of armed men. Carol’s body count continues to grow as the zombie apocalypse continues.

3. Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) – Game of Thrones (HBO)

If you are not a Lannister, you are already hated by Cersei. There’s no doubt that Cersei loves her children but the woman is evil. From sleeping with her twin, torturing poor Sansa Stark and bringing her son, Joffrey into the world. If there was a bad mother of the year award, Cersei would be the poster child.

2. Gemma Teller (Katey Segal) – Sons of Anarchy (FX)

Gemma is my favorite on this list. Queen manipulator and love you one minute, stab-you-in-the-back-of-the-head-with-a-fork kind of person. It was only fitting that her beloved son was the one who put her down.

1. Maya Lewis (Khandi Alexander) – Scandal (ABC)

I recently got into Scandal, and now I am hooked. When it comes to parents, Oliva Pope drew the short stick. Her dad is a hitman for the US government and her mom, well her mom is a terrorist. A real life (in tv-land) internationally wanted terrorist. She is the badest mother of them all.

This is my list, I’d love to know yours, share it in the comments section.