🔗 Share this article

Looking back, we consider the television offerings of the recent year, a selection of shows stand out not for their excellence, but for their spectacular shortcomings. Ranging from cringe-inducing sequels to bafflingly bad 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 spin-off? Plagued with woeful scripts, cringe-inducing character development (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series struggled to justify its existence. Briefly, as the third season started, it seemed as if it had at last found its groove. Then arrived an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator declared this would be the final season. It concluded on a bum note; the closeup of Miranda’s loo full of poo was just way too on-the-nose. Yet, fans certainly found joy dissecting every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was practically the least of this show's problems. The recipient of a very rare no-star assessment, it was hard to know where to begin listing the problems. The hilariously leaden dialogue? The mind-numbing glorification of affluence and consumption? The almost wilful parade of cliches? Acting so bad they felt borderline spiteful? Let’s just say “each and every one” and forget about this series again. Except, a second season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the legal troubles, abuse allegations and fatherly shortcomings, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d really have known it from this multi-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless hedonism while failing to tell us anything we weren't already aware of. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any pity this series might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charming but dismissive egotist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Of course we understood it was ridiculous from the get-go: a drama about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of sheer admiration for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One barely cared when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost.

MobLand

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

In truth, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to indulge baffling accents. But there were many other problems. Mainly that it was just profoundly boring; a dispute over narcotics territory between various cockney picaresques which felt rather simplistic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the degree to which she provokes the ire of certain performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into quaint lifestyle as deliberate provocations. But then you view them and are forced to admit that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue animated; a meme for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark sayings and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by immense, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly fascinating things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, self-image, self-worth. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to explore them. Instead, the experience was like consuming a sales brochure. She obviously has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “stern” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any helps with this guarded letdown of a series.

The Game Show

It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a glamorous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality managing her estate. What more could you want? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and arguing. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s even now too confusing to explain what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up reeking of a production that was straining desperately to emulate something way beyond it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you succeed a show that captured a generation? The expectation was immense for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous to watch, embodying Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of celebrity cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the smart inclusion of talented younger comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a single joke stretched to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known ranting mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply inspired the thought that they should probably have remained in there a while longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively presented the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an interesting drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be treated with care. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from strangely jaunty, slightly stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A total mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire the star … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could ruin society? No! This international thriller about secret services spying on – and eliminating – academics honestly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the content creator notorious for explicit escapades as she prepared for her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was far greater examination of her actual psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who showed up to haul her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific shots and absolutely no critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.