🔗 Share this article

Looking back, we consider the television landscape of the recent year, a handful of shows emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular failures. From cringe-inducing sequels to bafflingly bad docuseries, here are the productions that had us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

Where to begin with this love/hate spin-off? Plagued with dreadful scripts, cringe-inducing arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show struggled to justify its existence. Briefly, as the third season began, it seemed as if it had finally hit its stride. Then came an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator declared this would be the last series. It concluded on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s loo full of poo was simply too on-the-nose. Yet, fans certainly found joy dissecting every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was almost the smallest of this drama's problems. The recipient of a very rare zero star assessment, it was hard to know where to begin listing the flaws. The laughably wooden dialogue? The mind-numbing glorification of wealth and materialism? The seemingly deliberate procession of tropes? Performances so poor they felt borderline spiteful? Let’s just say “all of the above” and never speak of this series again. However, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the legal troubles, abuse allegations and parental shortcomings, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not you’d really have known it from this three-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless excess while failing to tell us a single thing we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any pity this show might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charming but dismissive egotist.

The Iris Affair

Of course we knew it was preposterous from the get-go: 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 stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One barely cared when his character died, and the other ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost.

The Gangster Drama

Shady characters convening in deserted boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its gangland drama back.

In truth, that is harsh on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to indulge baffling accents. But there were plenty of other issues. Mainly that it was just really dull; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various cockney picaresques which seemed rather simplistic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Given the degree to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s performatively angry commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into quaint lifestyle as intentional provocations. But then you view them and are forced to concede that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine animated; a poster for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, sentimental sayings and forgettable crafting “tips” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by vast, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly interesting things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, identity, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this documentary series chose not to say them. Rather, the experience was akin to consuming a sales catalogue. She obviously has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any helps with this guarded non-event of a series.

The Inheritance

It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a famous star playing dead and a well-known personality managing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too complicated to detail what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up smelling of a production that was trying way too hard to live up to something far greater than it.

Too Much

How do you succeed a show that defined a generation? The expectation was enormous for this starry romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who lands in London with a shattered romance. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous to watch, embodying Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity friends involved felt uncomfortable.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the smart inclusion of gifted emerging comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a familiar irate mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have stayed in there a while longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced 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 isn’t it. The material needed to be treated sensitively. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lumbering from oddly breezy, slightly stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A total mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We love the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could ruin society? No! This international thriller about government agencies targeting – and eliminating – academics frankly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This hagiography followed the content creator notorious for sexual exploits as she prepared for her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we craved was way more interrogation of her true psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the now-famous mum who appeared to haul her son out of the queue. What we got was horrific shots and zero interrogation of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.