This Floating Excrement Was Way Too Symbolic! It's the TV Letdowns of the Past Year.

Looking back, we consider the television landscape of the past year, a handful of series emerge not for their brilliance, but for their notable shortcomings. Ranging from cringe-inducing spin-offs to confusingly poor docuseries, here are the productions that left us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this divisive spin-off? Plagued with woeful scripts, cringe-inducing arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series fought to find its footing. For a moment, as the final series started, it looked like it had at last hit its stride. Then came an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner announced this would be the last series. It ended on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was just way too symbolic. Still, viewers certainly found joy dissecting every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – danced 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 practically the smallest of this drama's issues. The recipient of a very rare no-star review, it was difficult to know where to start listing the problems. The hilariously leaden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of affluence and consumption? The seemingly deliberate parade of tropes? Performances so bad they felt borderline spiteful? Let’s just 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 restraining orders, domestic violence allegations and parental shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that you’d truly have known it from this three-part documentary which smirked its way at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive excess while struggling to tell us a single thing we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being indulged, so any pity this series might induce should be saved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charismatic but flippant narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Naturally we understood 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 stuck with it out of pure love 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 ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

The Gangster Drama

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

Actually, that is harsh 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 accommodate baffling dialects. But there were plenty of other problems. Primarily that it was just really dull; a conflict over narcotics territory between various cockney rogues which felt a bit basic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Considering the extent to which she grinds the gears of certain performatively enraged commentators, it’s almost tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into twee homemaking as intentional provocations. But then you watch them and are forced to concede that in this case, they might have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle magazine 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 “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All underpinned by vast, largely unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly interesting things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, identity, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this three-part series chose not to say them. Rather, the experience was like consuming a sales brochure. She obviously has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any helps with this guarded letdown of a series.

The Game Show

It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a glamorous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you want? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too confusing to explain what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up reeking of a programme that was trying way too hard to emulate something far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How does one succeed a show that captured a generation? The pressure was immense for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of celebrity cameos involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of gifted younger comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known irate mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the thought that they should probably have remained in there a while longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

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 compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be handled with care. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lumbering from strangely jaunty, somewhat stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A complete mess? Absolutely.

Prime Target

We admire the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could destabilise society? Nope! This international thriller about secret services targeting – and killing off – academics honestly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This hagiography followed the content creator notorious for explicit escapades as she undertook her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was way more interrogation of her true psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who showed up to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.