🔗 Share this article

Looking back, we consider the TV landscape of the past year, a handful of series emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular failures. Ranging from cringe-inducing sequels to bafflingly poor documentaries, 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 spin-off? Burdened with dreadful scripts, cringe-inducing character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series struggled to find its footing. For a moment, as the final season began, it seemed as if it had finally found its groove. Then came an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner announced this would be the final season. It concluded on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too on-the-nose. Still, fans undeniably found joy dissecting every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was almost the least of this show's problems. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon no-star review, it was hard to know where to start enumerating the flaws. The hilariously leaden writing? The tedious glorification of wealth and consumption? The almost wilful parade of cliches? Acting so bad they felt borderline malicious? Let’s just say “each and every one” and forget about this series again. However, a second season has been ordered, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the restraining orders, domestic violence claims and parental failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that you’d really have gleaned it from this multi-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive 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 saved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charismatic but dismissive narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Naturally 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 stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One barely cared when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost.

The Gangster Drama

Shady figures meeting in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its crime drama back.

In truth, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a little dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to indulge baffling accents. But there were many other issues. Mainly that it was just really boring; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various cockney rogues which seemed a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of certain ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s almost easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into quaint homemaking as deliberate provocations. But then you view them and are forced to concede that in this case, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine come to life; a meme for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, sentimental sayings and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by immense, largely unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are obviously interesting things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, identity, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this documentary series chose not to explore them. Instead, the viewing was akin to reading a marketing catalogue. She clearly has good reason to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any helps with this cagey letdown of a series.

The Game Show

It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a famous star playing dead and a well-known personality overseeing her estate. What more could you want? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too confusing to explain what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances 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.

Too Much

How do you follow a show that captured a generation? The expectation was enormous for this glitzy romantic comedy about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a shattered romance. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, embodying Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of talented emerging comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A particular sketch was a one-note joke milked to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known irate mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have stayed in there a while longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely showcased the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an compelling drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be treated with care. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lumbering from strangely breezy, slightly stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A complete 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 ruin society? Nope! This international thriller about secret services targeting – 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 explicit exploits as she prepared for her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would motivate 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 interviewed the now-famous mum who appeared to haul her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and absolutely no critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.