🔗 Share this article

Looking back, we consider the TV landscape of the recent year, a selection of series stand out not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. From awkward spin-offs to bafflingly poor docuseries, here are the programmes that left us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

Where to begin with this divisive follow-up? Plagued with dreadful scripts, cringe-inducing character development (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series struggled to justify its existence. For a moment, as the final season began, it looked like it had at last hit its stride. Then came an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner declared this would be the final season. It ended on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was simply too symbolic. Still, fans certainly had a hoot picking apart every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a little sob?

All’s Fair

‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? Of course she can’t.’

But that was practically the least of this drama's problems. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon zero star assessment, it was hard to know where to start enumerating the problems. The hilariously leaden dialogue? The mind-numbing glorification of affluence and consumption? The seemingly deliberate procession of tropes? Acting so poor they felt borderline spiteful? Let’s just say “each and every one” and forget about this show again. However, a new season has been ordered, so we’re probably going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Given the restraining orders, domestic violence claims and fatherly failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not you’d really have gleaned it from this multi-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless hedonism while failing to tell us anything we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any sympathy this series might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charismatic but dismissive egotist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Of course we understood it was preposterous from the outset: a thriller about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or destroy all of humanity. We stuck with it out of sheer admiration for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One barely cared when his character died, and the other ended up slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

The Gangster Drama

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

Actually, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a little dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to accommodate unconvincing dialects. But there were many other problems. Primarily that it was just really boring; a dispute over narcotics territory between various cockney picaresques which seemed rather simplistic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Given the extent to which she provokes the ire of certain ostentatiously enraged commentators, it’s almost easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into quaint homemaking as deliberate provocations. But then you watch them and are compelled to concede that in this case, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine come to life; a poster for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental sayings and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by vast, largely unearned wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are obviously fascinating things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, self-image, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this three-part series chose not to explore them. Rather, the experience was akin to consuming a marketing catalogue. She obviously has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any helps with this guarded non-event of a series.

The Game Show

It had the potential to be the next big hit – except even more extravagant, with a glamorous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality managing her estate. What more could you ask for? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too confusing to detail what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up reeking of a production that was straining desperately to live up to something way beyond it.

Too Much

How do you follow a show that captured a generation? The expectation was immense for this starry romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of celebrity cameos involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of talented emerging comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a single joke milked to a dry pulp but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known ranting mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, meanwhile, simply inspired the idea 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 presented the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an interesting drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be treated sensitively. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lurching from strangely breezy, slightly stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A complete mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We love the star … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could destabilise society? No! This international thriller about government agencies spying on – and eliminating – academics honestly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This uncritical portrait followed the online personality notorious for sexual exploits as she undertook her biggest challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was way more interrogation of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the now-famous mum who showed up to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and absolutely no interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.