🔗 Share this article

Looking back, we consider the television landscape of the recent year, a selection of series emerge not for their brilliance, but for their notable failures. From cringe-inducing spin-offs to confusingly poor documentaries, here are the productions that left us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

How to start with this love/hate follow-up? Plagued with woeful scripts, painful arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the show struggled to justify its existence. For a moment, as the third season started, it looked like it had at last found its groove. Then arrived an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner announced this would be the last season. It concluded on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was simply too symbolic. Still, viewers certainly found joy dissecting every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was practically the smallest of this show's issues. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon no-star review, it was difficult to know where to start enumerating the problems. The hilariously wooden dialogue? The tedious glorification of wealth and consumption? The seemingly deliberate procession of cliches? Performances so poor they felt borderline spiteful? Let’s just say “each and every one” and forget about this show again. Except, a second season has been ordered, so we’re probably going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Considering the restraining orders, domestic violence allegations and fatherly shortcomings, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not you’d really have gleaned it from this three-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless excess while struggling to tell us anything we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any sympathy this show might evoke should be reserved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charismatic but dismissive egotist.

The Iris Affair

Of course we understood it was ridiculous from the outset: a thriller about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or destroy all of humanity. We persevered out of pure love for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely reacted when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

MobLand

Shady figures meeting in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its crime drama back.

Actually, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a little dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to indulge unconvincing accents. But there were many other problems. Mainly that it was just profoundly dull; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various cockney picaresques which felt a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the degree to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s performatively enraged commentators, it’s almost tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into quaint lifestyle as deliberate provocations. But then you watch them and are forced to concede 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 sleeping dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental platitudes and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by immense, largely unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly fascinating things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, self-image, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this three-part series opted not to say them. Instead, the viewing was like consuming a marketing catalogue. She clearly has good reason to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any helps with this guarded non-event of a series.

The Game Show

It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a glamorous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her estate. What more could you ask for? As contestants competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too complicated to explain what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The series ended up reeking of a programme that was trying way too hard to live up to something far greater than it.

Too Much

How does one succeed a show that defined a generation? The pressure was enormous for this starry romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. The star took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of celebrity friends involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of talented younger comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a single joke milked to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a familiar irate mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have stayed in there a bit longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively presented the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an compelling drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The material needed to be handled with care. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lumbering from oddly jaunty, somewhat mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A complete mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We love the star … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so intelligent he’s on the brink of a discovery that could destabilise society? No! This international thriller about secret services spying on – and killing off – academics honestly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This uncritical portrait followed the content creator renowned for sexual escapades as she undertook her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was way more examination of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the now-famous mum who appeared to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and zero critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.