🔗 Share this article

Looking back, we consider the television offerings of the past year, a selection of series emerge not for their excellence, but for their notable failures. From awkward sequels to confusingly bad docuseries, here are the programmes that had us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

Where to begin with this divisive follow-up? Plagued with woeful writing, painful character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the show fought to find its footing. Briefly, as the final series began, it looked like it had finally found its groove. Then arrived an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator declared this would be the final series. It ended on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s loo full of poo was just way too symbolic. Yet, fans undeniably had a hoot dissecting every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't let out a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘Can Kim Kardashian act? The answer is a resounding no.’

But that was practically the smallest of this show's problems. The recipient of a very rare no-star review, it was difficult to know where to begin enumerating the flaws. The hilariously wooden dialogue? The tedious veneration of wealth and materialism? The seemingly wilful parade of tropes? Performances so poor they felt almost spiteful? Let’s just say “each and every one” and never speak of this series again. However, a new season has been ordered, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the legal troubles, abuse claims and fatherly failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d truly 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 didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being indulged, so any sympathy this series might induce should be saved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charismatic but flippant narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Naturally we knew it was preposterous from the outset: a thriller about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or destroy all of humanity. We stuck with it out of sheer love for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One barely cared when his character died, and the other ultimately hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about giving up the ghost.

MobLand

Shady characters meeting in deserted boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter blaring 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 bit dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to accommodate baffling accents. But there were many other issues. Primarily that it was just profoundly dull; a conflict over narcotics territory between various cockney picaresques which felt a bit basic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Considering the extent to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s ostentatiously enraged commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into twee lifestyle as deliberate statements. But then you watch them and are forced to admit that in this case, they might have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue come to life; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark platitudes and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by immense, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are obviously interesting things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, self-image, self-worth. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to explore them. Rather, the viewing was like reading a marketing catalogue. She obviously has every right to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any favours with this guarded 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 inheritance. What more could you ask for? As players battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too confusing to explain what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The series ended up smelling of a production that was trying way too hard to live up to something way beyond it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you succeed a show that defined a generation? The pressure was immense for this starry romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous 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 cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the smart recruitment of gifted emerging comics, expectations were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A recurring 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 ranting mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the thought that they should probably have remained 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 exclusively presented the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an interesting drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The material needed to be treated with care. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lumbering from strangely jaunty, somewhat stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A total mess? Absolutely.

Prime Target

We admire the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so intelligent he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could ruin society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services targeting – and killing off – academics frankly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This uncritical portrait followed the content creator renowned for explicit escapades as she prepared for her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we craved was way more examination of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the now-famous mum who appeared to haul her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and absolutely no critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.