🔗 Share this article

As we reflect on the TV landscape of the recent year, a selection of series emerge not for their excellence, but for their notable failures. Ranging from awkward spin-offs to confusingly bad documentaries, here are the programmes that had us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

Where to begin with this divisive follow-up? Plagued with dreadful writing, painful arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the show struggled to find its footing. For a moment, as the third series began, it seemed as if it had finally found its groove. Then came an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator announced this would be the final season. It concluded on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo full of poo was simply too on-the-nose. Still, viewers undeniably found joy picking apart every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a small sob?

All’s Fair

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

But that was practically the smallest of this drama's issues. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon zero star assessment, it was difficult to know where to begin listing the flaws. The hilariously leaden dialogue? The tedious veneration of affluence and materialism? The almost deliberate parade of tropes? Performances so poor they felt borderline spiteful? Let’s just say “all of the above” and never speak of this show again. However, a second season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Given the restraining orders, abuse allegations and parental failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d really have gleaned it from this multi-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless excess 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 saved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charismatic but dismissive narcissist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we knew it was preposterous from the get-go: a thriller about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or annihilate all of humanity. We stuck with it out of pure admiration 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 super slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

The Gangster Drama

Dodgy characters meeting in deserted boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter jackhammering away 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 look a little dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer 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 a bit basic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Given the extent to which she provokes the ire of certain ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into twee lifestyle as deliberate provocations. But then you watch them and are compelled to concede that in this case, they might have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue come to life; a poster for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by vast, largely unearned wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are obviously fascinating things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, identity, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this three-part series chose not to say them. Rather, the viewing was like reading a marketing brochure. She obviously has good reason to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any favours with this cagey letdown of a series.

The Inheritance

It should have been the next big hit – except even more extravagant, with a famous star playing dead and a well-known personality managing her inheritance. What more could you want? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too complicated to detail what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via filmed videos. The series ended up smelling 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 defined a generation? The pressure was enormous for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. The star took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of celebrity cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

The Sketch Show Return

Not good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of talented emerging comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a single joke milked to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have stayed 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 solely presented the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be treated with care. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from oddly jaunty, somewhat stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A total mess? Absolutely.

Prime Target

We admire the star … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so intelligent he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could ruin society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies targeting – and killing off – academics frankly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This hagiography followed the content creator renowned for sexual exploits as she undertook her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was way more interrogation of her actual psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who showed up to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.