🔗 Share this article

As we reflect on the television landscape of the past year, a handful of shows emerge not for their excellence, but for their notable shortcomings. Ranging from awkward sequels to bafflingly poor docuseries, here are the programmes that left us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

How to start with this love/hate spin-off? Plagued with woeful writing, painful character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the show struggled to justify its existence. Briefly, as the final series started, it looked like it had at last found its groove. Then came an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator announced this would be the last season. It ended on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too symbolic. Still, fans undeniably had a hoot dissecting every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘Can Kim Kardashian act? Of course she can’t.’

But that was almost the least of this drama's issues. The subject of a very rare zero star assessment, it was hard to know where to begin enumerating the flaws. The laughably wooden writing? The mind-numbing veneration of affluence and materialism? The almost deliberate parade of tropes? Performances so bad they felt almost spiteful? Suffice it to say “each and every one” and forget about this series again. However, a second season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Given the legal troubles, abuse claims and fatherly shortcomings, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that you’d really have known it from this three-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive excess while failing to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any pity this series might evoke should be reserved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charismatic but flippant narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Naturally we knew it was ridiculous from the outset: a thriller about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of sheer love for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One barely reacted when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about giving up the ghost.

The Gangster Drama

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

Actually, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to accommodate unconvincing dialects. But there were plenty of other issues. Mainly that it was just really boring; a conflict over narcotics territory between various cockney picaresques which seemed rather simplistic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Considering the degree to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s ostentatiously enraged commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into quaint homemaking as intentional statements. But then you watch them and are forced to admit that in this case, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue animated; a meme for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental sayings and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by vast, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly fascinating things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, self-image, self-worth. But for some reason, this documentary series opted not to explore them. Rather, the experience was like reading a sales catalogue. She clearly has good reason to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any helps with this cagey non-event of a series.

The Game Show

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

Too Much

How do you succeed a show that captured a generation? The pressure was immense for this starry romantic comedy about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who lands in London with a shattered romance. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity friends involved felt uncomfortable.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of gifted younger comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar irate mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the thought that they should probably have stayed in there a while longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively presented the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The material needed to be handled with care. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lumbering from oddly breezy, somewhat stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A total mess? Very much so.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire the star … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could ruin society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies spying on – and killing off – academics frankly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the content creator renowned for explicit exploits as she undertook her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was far greater examination of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have spoken to the now-famous mum who showed up to haul her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and zero interrogation of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.