🔗 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 notable shortcomings. Ranging from cringe-inducing sequels to confusingly poor docuseries, here are the productions that had us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

Where to begin with this love/hate follow-up? Plagued with woeful scripts, painful arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series struggled to justify its existence. Briefly, as the final season started, it seemed as if it had finally hit its stride. Then arrived an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator declared this would be the last series. It ended on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s loo full of poo was just way too on-the-nose. Yet, fans undeniably had a hoot picking apart every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a little sob?

All’s Fair

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

But that was practically the smallest of this drama's issues. The recipient of a very rare no-star assessment, it was difficult to know where to start enumerating the problems. The laughably leaden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of wealth and materialism? The almost deliberate procession of cliches? Acting so bad they felt borderline spiteful? Let’s just 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.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Given the legal troubles, abuse claims and parental shortcomings, 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 smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless excess while struggling to tell us anything we weren't already aware of. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any pity this series might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charming but flippant egotist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Of course we knew it was ridiculous from the outset: a drama about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or destroy 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 ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about giving up the ghost.

MobLand

Dodgy figures meeting 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 bit dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the embarrassment of having to indulge baffling accents. But there were many other problems. Primarily that it was just profoundly dull; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various cockney picaresques which felt rather simplistic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Considering the extent to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s ostentatiously enraged commentators, it’s almost easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into twee homemaking as deliberate 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 lifestyle magazine come to life; a meme for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental sayings and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by immense, largely unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly interesting things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, identity, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to say them. Rather, the experience was like reading a marketing brochure. She obviously has good reason to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any helps with this cagey non-event of a series.

The Game Show

It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality managing her estate. What more could you ask for? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too complicated to detail what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via filmed videos. The series ended up reeking of a production that was trying way too hard to emulate something way beyond it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you follow a show that captured a generation? The expectation was immense for this starry romcom 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, reveling in Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very slick and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of talented younger comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A particular sketch was a single joke milked 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 inspired the thought that they should probably have remained in there a while longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely showcased the viewpoint 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 with care. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lurching from strangely jaunty, slightly mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? 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 verge of a breakthrough that could destabilise society? No! This international thriller about secret services targeting – and eliminating – academics frankly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the content creator renowned for sexual escapades as she undertook her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was way more interrogation of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have spoken to the now-famous mum who appeared to haul her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.