🔗 Share this article

As we reflect on the TV offerings of the past year, a selection of series stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable shortcomings. From awkward spin-offs to bafflingly bad documentaries, here are the programmes that left us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

Where to begin with this love/hate spin-off? Burdened with dreadful writing, painful character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series struggled to find its footing. Briefly, as the final series began, it looked like it had finally hit its stride. Then arrived an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator announced this would be the final series. It concluded on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was just way too symbolic. Yet, viewers certainly had a hoot dissecting every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was practically the smallest of this show's problems. The subject of a very rare no-star review, it was hard to know where to start listing the flaws. The laughably leaden writing? The mind-numbing veneration of wealth and consumption? The seemingly deliberate parade of tropes? Performances so bad they felt borderline spiteful? Suffice it to say “each and every one” and forget about this series again. However, a new season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the legal troubles, abuse allegations and parental failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d really have known it from this three-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive excess while struggling to tell us anything we weren't already aware of. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being indulged, so any pity this series might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charming but dismissive egotist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we knew it was ridiculous from the outset: a drama 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 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 ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. Talk about giving up the ghost.

MobLand

Shady characters convening 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 look a little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to accommodate baffling accents. But there were plenty of other issues. Primarily that it was just profoundly dull; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various cockney picaresques which felt a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the degree to which she provokes the ire of certain performatively angry commentators, it’s almost tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into twee homemaking as intentional statements. But then you view them and are compelled to admit that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue come to life; a meme for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by immense, largely unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly interesting things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, self-image, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this documentary series opted not to explore them. Instead, the experience was akin to reading a marketing catalogue. She clearly has good reason 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 should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a famous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality managing her estate. What more could you ask for? As contestants competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too complicated to detail what precisely 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 emulate something far greater than it.

Too Much

How do you succeed a show that defined a generation? The expectation was immense for this glitzy romantic comedy about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was a delight to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of famous friends involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the smart inclusion of gifted emerging comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have stayed in there a bit longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively showcased the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be handled sensitively. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lurching from strangely breezy, slightly mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A total mess? Very much so.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire the star … but did we believe him playing the greatest maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a discovery that could ruin society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services targeting – and killing off – intellectuals honestly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This hagiography followed the online personality renowned for explicit exploits as she undertook her most extreme 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 interviewed the now-famous mum who showed up to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and zero critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.