🔗 Share this article

Looking back, we consider the TV landscape of the past year, a handful of shows emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. Ranging from awkward sequels to bafflingly bad docuseries, here are the programmes that left us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this divisive follow-up? Plagued with woeful writing, painful character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series fought to find its footing. For a moment, as the final season started, it looked like it had at last hit its stride. Then arrived an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator announced this would be the last season. It concluded on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too on-the-nose. Still, viewers certainly found joy picking apart every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? The answer is a resounding no.’

But that was almost the smallest of this show's issues. The recipient of a very rare no-star review, it was difficult to know where to begin enumerating the problems. The laughably leaden writing? The mind-numbing veneration of affluence and materialism? The seemingly wilful procession of tropes? Acting so bad they felt almost spiteful? Suffice it to say “each and every one” and never speak of this series again. Except, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the restraining orders, abuse claims and parental failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that you’d truly have known it from this three-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive excess while struggling to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any sympathy this show might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charismatic but flippant narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Naturally we understood it was ridiculous from the get-go: a thriller about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of pure admiration for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One barely reacted when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat.

The Gangster Drama

Shady characters meeting in deserted boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its crime drama back.

In truth, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a little dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the embarrassment of having to indulge baffling dialects. But there were many other issues. Primarily that it was just really boring; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various London rogues which felt rather simplistic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Considering the extent to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s performatively angry commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into twee homemaking as intentional provocations. But then you watch them and are compelled to concede that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine come to life; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental sayings and forgettable crafting “tips” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by vast, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are obviously fascinating things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, identity, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this documentary series opted not to explore them. Rather, the viewing was akin to consuming a sales brochure. She clearly has every right to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any helps with this cagey non-event of a series.

The Game Show

It had the potential to be the next big hit – except even camper, with a famous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality managing her inheritance. What more could you want? As players battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too complicated to explain what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up reeking of a programme that was trying way too hard to emulate something way beyond it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you succeed a show that captured a generation? The pressure was enormous for this glitzy romantic comedy about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The star took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of famous friends involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of gifted younger comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A particular sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a dry pulp but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known irate mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, meanwhile, simply inspired the thought that they should probably have stayed in there a while longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely showcased the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be handled sensitively. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from strangely breezy, somewhat stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A total mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire the star … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a discovery that could destabilise society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies targeting – and eliminating – academics frankly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This hagiography followed the online personality notorious for sexual exploits as she undertook her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was far greater examination of her true psychology, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who appeared to haul her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and zero critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.