This Drifting Excrement Was Far Too Meaningful! These Are the Television Letdowns of the Past Year.

Looking back, we consider the TV offerings of the recent year, a selection of shows emerge not for their excellence, but for their notable failures. From awkward sequels to bafflingly bad docuseries, here are the programmes that left us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this love/hate spin-off? Burdened with woeful writing, cringe-inducing character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series fought to find its footing. Briefly, as the final season began, it seemed as if it had at last hit its stride. Then arrived an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner announced this would be the last season. It ended on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too symbolic. Still, viewers undeniably had a hoot picking apart every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was practically the least of this drama's problems. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon zero star assessment, it was hard to know where to start enumerating the flaws. The hilariously wooden writing? The tedious veneration of wealth and materialism? The almost deliberate procession of tropes? Acting so poor they felt borderline malicious? Suffice it to say “each and every one” 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

Considering the legal troubles, domestic violence allegations and parental failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not you’d truly have gleaned it from this multi-part documentary which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless excess while failing to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, 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

Naturally we knew it was ridiculous from the outset: 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 admiration for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One scarcely reacted when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

MobLand

Dodgy figures convening in empty boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its gangland drama back.

Actually, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t endure the embarrassment of having to indulge baffling dialects. But there were many other issues. Primarily that it was just really boring; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various London picaresques which seemed a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the extent to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into twee homemaking as deliberate provocations. But then you view them and are compelled to concede that in this case, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue come to life; a meme for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark platitudes and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by immense, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly fascinating things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, identity, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this documentary series opted not to explore them. Rather, the experience was like reading a sales catalogue. She obviously has good reason to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any helps with this cagey letdown of a series.

The Game Show

It should have been the next big hit – except even more extravagant, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As players battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too confusing to detail what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up smelling of a production that was trying way too hard to emulate something way beyond it.

Too Much

How do you succeed a show that defined a generation? The expectation was enormous for this starry romcom 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 joyous to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of famous cameos involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of talented younger comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A particular sketch was a single joke milked to a dry pulp but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known ranting mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the idea that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely presented the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The material needed to be handled with care. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lumbering from strangely jaunty, somewhat mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A total mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We admire the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a discovery that could destabilise society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies spying on – and eliminating – academics honestly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This hagiography followed the online personality renowned for sexual exploits as she prepared for her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would possess 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 spoken to the now-famous mum who appeared to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and absolutely no interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.