🔗 Share this article

As we reflect on the TV landscape of the recent year, a selection of shows stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable failures. Ranging from cringe-inducing sequels to confusingly bad documentaries, here are the programmes that had us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

How to start with this love/hate spin-off? Plagued with woeful scripts, cringe-inducing character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the show fought to justify its existence. Briefly, as the third series started, it looked like it had at last found its groove. Then came an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the final series. It ended on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was just way too symbolic. Yet, viewers undeniably found joy dissecting every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – 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 zero star review, it was hard to know where to start enumerating the problems. The laughably leaden writing? The tedious veneration of wealth and materialism? The almost wilful procession of cliches? Acting so poor they felt borderline malicious? Let’s just say “each and every one” and never speak of this series again. Except, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

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 multi-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive hedonism while failing to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon was being indulged, so any pity this show might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charming but dismissive egotist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Of course we understood it was preposterous from the get-go: a drama about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of sheer love for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One barely cared when his character died, and the other ended up slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat.

The Gangster Drama

Shady characters 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 gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the embarrassment of having to accommodate baffling dialects. But there were many other issues. Primarily that it was just profoundly dull; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various cockney rogues which seemed rather simplistic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Given the extent to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s ostentatiously enraged commentators, it’s almost easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into quaint homemaking as deliberate provocations. But then you watch them and are compelled to concede that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue animated; a meme for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark sayings and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by immense, largely unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly fascinating things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, self-image, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this documentary series opted not to say them. Instead, the viewing was like reading a marketing catalogue. She obviously has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any favours with this guarded letdown of a series.

The Game Show

It should have been the next big hit – except even more extravagant, with a glamorous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you want? As contestants competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. 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 show ended up reeking of a production that was straining desperately to live up to something far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you succeed a show that captured a generation? The expectation was immense for this glitzy romantic comedy about Jessica, a rosy-eyed 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 insufficient. Plus, the abundance of celebrity cameos involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the smart recruitment of talented younger comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a single joke milked to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the idea that they should probably have remained 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 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 voice, lumbering from oddly breezy, slightly mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A complete mess? Very much so.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We love the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a discovery that could destabilise society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services spying on – and killing off – academics honestly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This uncritical portrait followed the content creator notorious for sexual exploits as she undertook her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would possess her? What we craved was far greater examination of her true psychology, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who showed up to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and absolutely no critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.