🔗 Share this article This Floating Poo Was Far Too Symbolic! These Are the Television Letdowns of the Year. As we reflect on the TV landscape of the past year, a handful of shows emerge not for their excellence, but for their spectacular failures. From cringe-inducing sequels to confusingly bad documentaries, here are the programmes that left us utterly bewildered 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 arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series struggled to find its footing. For a moment, as the final season started, it looked like it had at last found its groove. Then arrived an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner announced this would be the last series. It concluded on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too on-the-nose. Still, fans undeniably had a hoot dissecting every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a little sob? All’s Fair ‘Can Kim Kardashian act? Of course she can’t.’ But that was almost the least of this show's issues. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon zero star assessment, it was hard to know where to begin enumerating the flaws. The laughably leaden writing? The tedious veneration of affluence and materialism? The seemingly wilful parade of cliches? Performances so poor they felt borderline spiteful? Let’s just say “all of the above” and forget about this series again. However, a second season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to. The Charlie Sheen Documentary Given the legal troubles, domestic violence claims and parental failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d really have gleaned it from this three-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive hedonism while struggling to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any pity this show might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charming but dismissive egotist. The Iris Affair Of course we knew it was preposterous from the get-go: a thriller about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or destroy all of humanity. We stuck with it out of sheer 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 hacking Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat. MobLand Dodgy characters meeting in deserted boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its crime drama back. In truth, that is harsh on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a little dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the embarrassment of having to indulge baffling dialects. But there were plenty of other problems. Mainly that it was just really dull; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various London rogues which seemed rather simplistic. With Love, Meghan Considering the degree to which she grinds the gears of certain performatively enraged commentators, it’s almost tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into quaint lifestyle as intentional statements. But then you watch them and are forced to admit that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue animated; a poster for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by immense, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh. Victoria Beckham There are obviously fascinating things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, identity, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this three-part series chose not to explore them. Instead, the experience was like consuming a marketing brochure. She obviously has good reason to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any favours with this cagey letdown of a series. The Inheritance It had the potential to be the next big hit – except even more extravagant, with a glamorous star playing dead and a well-known personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too complicated to detail what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up reeking of a production that was straining desperately to live up to something way beyond it. Too Much How does one follow a show that defined a generation? The pressure was immense for this starry romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very slick and, paradoxically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of celebrity friends involved felt icky. Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping Not good enough to be ‘uneven’. Given the smart inclusion of gifted younger comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. 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 ranting mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the idea that they should probably have stayed in there a bit longer. The Knox Dramatisation This retelling 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 probably is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be treated sensitively. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lumbering from strangely breezy, slightly stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A total mess? Absolutely. The Maths Genius Thriller We admire the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so intelligent he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could ruin society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies targeting – and killing off – academics honestly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers. 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story This uncritical portrait followed the online personality renowned for sexual exploits as she undertook her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was far greater interrogation of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the now-famous mum who showed up to haul her son out of the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.