🔗 Share this article This Drifting Excrement Was Way Too Meaningful! It's the Television Letdowns of the Year. Looking back, we reflect on the TV offerings of the past year, a selection of series emerge not for their excellence, but for their spectacular failures. Ranging from awkward sequels to bafflingly bad docuseries, here are the productions that had us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote. The 'Sex and the City' Sequel Where to begin with this love/hate follow-up? Burdened with woeful scripts, painful character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series struggled to find its footing. For a moment, as the third series started, it looked like it had finally hit its stride. Then arrived an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner announced this would be the last series. It ended on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was just way too on-the-nose. Still, viewers certainly found joy picking apart every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't let out a little sob? All’s Fair ‘Can Kim Kardashian act? Of course she can’t.’ But that was practically the smallest of this show's problems. The recipient of a very rare no-star assessment, it was difficult to know where to begin listing the problems. The hilariously wooden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of affluence and materialism? The seemingly deliberate parade of tropes? Performances so bad they felt almost spiteful? Let’s just say “all of the above” and never speak of this series again. Except, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to. The Charlie Sheen Documentary Considering 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 truly have known it from this three-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless excess while struggling to tell us a single thing 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 saved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charming but dismissive narcissist. The Iris Affair Naturally we knew it was ridiculous from the outset: a drama about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or annihilate all of humanity. We stuck with it out of sheer admiration for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One scarcely reacted when his character died, and the other ultimately hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost. The Gangster Drama Shady characters convening in deserted boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its crime drama back. Actually, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to indulge unconvincing dialects. But there were plenty of other problems. Primarily that it was just profoundly boring; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various London picaresques which seemed a bit basic. With Love, Meghan Given the extent to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s performatively angry commentators, it’s almost tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into quaint lifestyle as deliberate statements. But then you watch them and are compelled to concede that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue come to life; a poster for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental sayings and forgettable crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All underpinned by vast, largely unearned wealth. Ugh. Victoria Beckham There are obviously interesting things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, self-image, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this three-part series chose not to say them. Instead, the viewing was akin to consuming a sales brochure. She obviously has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any helps with this guarded non-event of a series. The Game Show It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a famous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As contestants competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too confusing to detail what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up reeking of a production that was trying way too hard to live up to something way beyond it. Too Much How does one succeed a show that defined a generation? The pressure was immense for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, embodying Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of famous friends involved felt icky. The Sketch Show Return Not good enough to be ‘patchy’. Given the smart recruitment of gifted younger comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a single joke milked to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known ranting mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the thought that they should probably have remained in there a while longer. The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively showcased the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be handled sensitively. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lumbering from oddly breezy, somewhat mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A complete mess? Absolutely. The Maths Genius Thriller We admire the star … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could ruin society? No! This international thriller about government agencies targeting – and killing off – academics honestly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers. The Bonnie Blue Documentary This hagiography followed the content creator renowned for sexual escapades as she prepared for her biggest feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was far greater examination of her true psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who showed up to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and absolutely no critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.