🔗 Share this article This Floating Poo Was Far Too Meaningful! These Are the Television Letdowns of the Past Year. As we consider the TV offerings of the recent year, a selection of series emerge not for their brilliance, but for their notable shortcomings. From cringe-inducing sequels to confusingly poor docuseries, here are the productions that left us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote. And Just Like That How to start with this love/hate spin-off? Plagued with woeful scripts, cringe-inducing arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show struggled to justify its existence. For a moment, as the final season began, it looked like it had finally hit its stride. Then came an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator declared this would be the final season. It concluded on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo full of poo was just way too on-the-nose. Still, fans certainly had a hoot picking apart every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her palatial 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 practically the least of this drama's problems. The recipient of a very rare no-star review, it was difficult to know where to start enumerating the problems. The hilariously wooden writing? The mind-numbing veneration of affluence and materialism? The almost wilful procession of tropes? Acting so bad they felt borderline malicious? Let’s just say “all of the above” and never speak of this series again. However, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to. The Charlie Sheen Documentary Given 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 gleaned it from this multi-part documentary which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive excess while struggling to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Instead, 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 endure close contact with this charismatic but flippant egotist. The Iris Affair Of course we knew it was preposterous from the outset: a drama 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 scarcely cared when his character died, and the other ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat. The Gangster Drama Shady characters convening in empty boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its gangland drama back. Actually, that is harsh 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 accommodate baffling accents. But there were plenty of other issues. Primarily that it was just profoundly boring; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various London rogues which felt a bit basic. The Meghan Markle Series Considering the extent to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s performatively angry commentators, it’s temptingly easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into twee homemaking as deliberate provocations. But then you view them and are forced to concede that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle magazine animated; a meme for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by vast, largely unearned wealth. Ugh. Victoria Beckham There are clearly interesting things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, self-image, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this documentary series chose not to explore them. Rather, the viewing was akin to consuming a sales brochure. She clearly has every right to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any favours with this cagey non-event of a series. The Inheritance It had the potential to be the next big hit – except even more extravagant, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality managing her estate. What more could you want? As players battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: 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 smelling of a production that was straining desperately to emulate something far greater than it. The Lena Dunham Romcom How do you succeed a show that defined a generation? The expectation was immense for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The lead actress seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of celebrity cameos involved felt icky. Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping Not good enough to be ‘patchy’. Given the shrewd inclusion of gifted younger comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A particular sketch was a single joke milked to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known irate mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the thought that they should probably have remained in there a while longer. The Knox Dramatisation 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 probably is an compelling drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be treated sensitively. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from oddly breezy, somewhat stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A complete mess? Very much so. The Maths Genius Thriller We love the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the greatest maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could ruin society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies targeting – and killing off – intellectuals frankly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense. 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story This uncritical portrait followed the online personality renowned for sexual escapades as she undertook her biggest feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was far greater examination of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who appeared to haul her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and absolutely no interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.