🔗 Share this article This Floating Excrement Was Far Too Meaningful! It's the Television Disappointments of the Year. As we reflect on the television offerings of the past year, a handful of shows emerge not for their excellence, but for their spectacular shortcomings. From cringe-inducing sequels to bafflingly bad docuseries, here are the productions that left us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote. And Just Like That Where to begin with this love/hate spin-off? Burdened with woeful writing, painful arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series fought to find its footing. Briefly, as the third series started, it seemed as if it had at last found its groove. Then came an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the last season. It concluded on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s loo full of poo was just way too on-the-nose. Still, fans certainly had a hoot dissecting every single “wtf?” moment. 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 least of this drama's issues. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon zero star review, it was difficult to know where to start listing the problems. The laughably wooden dialogue? The tedious veneration of affluence and consumption? The almost deliberate procession of tropes? Performances so poor they felt almost spiteful? Let’s just say “all of the above” and forget about this series again. Except, a new season has been ordered, so we’re probably going to have to. AKA Charlie Sheen Considering the legal troubles, domestic violence claims and parental shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d really have known it from this multi-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless hedonism while failing to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any pity this show might evoke should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charming but dismissive egotist. The Supercomputer Drama Of course we knew it was preposterous from the get-go: a drama about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or destroy all of humanity. We persevered out of sheer love for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely cared when his character died, and the other ended up slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat. The Gangster Drama Dodgy figures meeting in empty boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its crime drama back. Actually, that is harsh on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to accommodate unconvincing accents. But there were many other problems. Primarily that it was just profoundly boring; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various cockney rogues which felt rather simplistic. With Love, Meghan Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into twee lifestyle as intentional statements. But then you view them and are forced to admit that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine animated; a poster for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark sayings and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by immense, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh. The Beckham Documentary There are obviously fascinating things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, identity, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this three-part series chose not to say them. Rather, the viewing was like reading a sales brochure. She clearly has every right to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any favours with this cagey non-event of a series. The Inheritance It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a famous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality managing her estate. What more could you ask for? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too complicated to detail what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up reeking of a programme that was straining desperately to emulate something far greater than it. The Lena Dunham Romcom How does one follow a show that defined a generation? The pressure was enormous for this glitzy romantic comedy about Jessica, a hopeful 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, reveling in Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity friends involved felt uncomfortable. Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’. Given the smart recruitment of talented younger comics, expectations were high. But sadly, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a dry pulp but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known irate mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply inspired 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 executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely presented the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be handled sensitively. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lumbering from oddly jaunty, somewhat stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A total mess? Absolutely. The Maths Genius Thriller We love the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius since, a man so intelligent he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could destabilise society? Nope! This international thriller about government agencies targeting – and eliminating – academics frankly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense. The Bonnie Blue Documentary This hagiography followed the online personality notorious 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 true psychology, 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 absolutely no interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.