🔗 Share this article

As we consider the television offerings of the recent year, a handful of series emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. From cringe-inducing spin-offs to confusingly bad docuseries, here are the programmes that had us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this divisive spin-off? Plagued with dreadful writing, painful arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series struggled to justify its existence. For a moment, as the third season began, it looked like it had at last hit its stride. Then arrived an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the final season. It ended on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too symbolic. Still, viewers undeniably found joy dissecting 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 release a small sob?

All’s Fair

‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? The answer is a resounding no.’

But that was almost the smallest of this drama's issues. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon zero star assessment, it was difficult to know where to start enumerating the problems. The laughably wooden dialogue? The tedious glorification of affluence and consumption? The seemingly wilful parade of tropes? Acting so bad they felt almost malicious? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and forget about this show again. Except, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Considering the legal troubles, domestic violence claims and parental shortcomings, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d truly have gleaned it from this multi-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive excess while failing to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon was being indulged, so any sympathy this series might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charismatic but flippant egotist.

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 persevered out of pure admiration for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One barely reacted when his character died, and the other ended up slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost.

The Gangster Drama

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

Actually, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a little old-fashioned 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 really dull; a dispute over narcotics territory between various cockney rogues which seemed a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the extent to which she provokes the ire of certain performatively angry commentators, it’s almost easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into twee homemaking as intentional provocations. 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 animated; a meme for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark platitudes and forgettable crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All underpinned by immense, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

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

The Inheritance

It should have been the next big hit – except even camper, with a glamorous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality managing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and arguing. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s even now too confusing to explain what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up reeking of a production 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 expectation was immense for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The star took her biggest role by the horns and was a delight to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity friends involved felt uncomfortable.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not good enough to be ‘patchy’.

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 stretched to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known irate mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the thought that they should probably have stayed in there a bit longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

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 probably is an interesting drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be handled sensitively. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lumbering from strangely breezy, somewhat stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A total mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a discovery that could ruin society? Nope! This international thriller about secret services spying on – and eliminating – intellectuals honestly got more farcical 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 undertook her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would possess her? What we craved was way more interrogation of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who appeared to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and zero interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.