🔗 Share this article

Looking back, we consider the TV offerings of the past year, a selection of shows stand out not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. From awkward spin-offs to bafflingly poor documentaries, here are the productions that had us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

Where to begin with this love/hate follow-up? Plagued with woeful scripts, cringe-inducing arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series fought to justify its existence. Briefly, as the final season started, it looked like it had finally hit its stride. Then came an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator declared this would be the final series. It ended on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was simply too on-the-nose. Yet, viewers undeniably had a hoot picking apart every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a small sob?

All’s Fair

‘Can Kim Kardashian act? The answer is a resounding no.’

But that was practically the least of this show's problems. The recipient of a very rare zero star review, it was difficult to know where to start enumerating the flaws. The laughably leaden dialogue? The tedious veneration of wealth and materialism? The seemingly wilful parade of tropes? Performances so poor they felt almost malicious? Suffice it to say “each and every one” and forget about this show again. Except, a second season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the legal troubles, abuse claims and fatherly failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not you’d truly have known it from this multi-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive excess while struggling to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any sympathy 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 ridiculous 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 sheer admiration for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely cared when his character died, and the other ended up slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

MobLand

Dodgy figures convening in empty boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its gangland 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 suffer the embarrassment of having to indulge baffling accents. But there were many other problems. Primarily that it was just really dull; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various London rogues which seemed a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the extent to which she grinds the gears of certain performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into quaint homemaking as intentional statements. But then you view them and are compelled to concede that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine come to life; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark sayings and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by immense, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are obviously fascinating things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, identity, self-worth. But for some reason, this documentary series chose not to say them. Rather, the viewing was akin to reading a sales brochure. She clearly has every right to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any favours with this cagey non-event of a series.

The Inheritance

It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a famous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you want? As players battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing 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 show ended up reeking of a production that was straining desperately to emulate something far greater than it.

Too Much

How does one succeed a show that defined a generation? The pressure was immense for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. The lead actress seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, embodying Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, paradoxically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the smart inclusion of gifted emerging comics, expectations 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 behind-the-scenes sketches, meanwhile, simply inspired the thought that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively presented the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be handled sensitively. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lurching from oddly breezy, slightly mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A total mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

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

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the content creator renowned for sexual exploits as she undertook her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was far greater interrogation of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have interviewed the now-famous mum who appeared to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and zero interrogation of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.