🔗 Share this article This Floating Excrement Was Way Too Meaningful! It's the TV Letdowns of the Year. As we consider the television offerings of the recent year, a handful of series stand out not for their brilliance, but for their notable shortcomings. From awkward sequels to confusingly bad documentaries, here are the productions that had us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote. And Just Like That How to start with this divisive follow-up? Plagued with woeful writing, painful character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series struggled to justify its existence. For a moment, as the third series started, it seemed as if it had at last found its groove. Then arrived an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the final series. It ended on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was just way too on-the-nose. Yet, fans undeniably found joy picking apart every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – danced 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 practically the least of this show's problems. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon zero star assessment, it was hard to know where to start enumerating the flaws. The hilariously leaden dialogue? The tedious glorification of affluence and consumption? The seemingly wilful parade of cliches? Acting 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 probably going to have to. The Charlie Sheen Documentary Given the legal troubles, abuse allegations and fatherly shortcomings, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that you’d truly have known it from this multi-part documentary which smirked its way at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless hedonism while failing to tell us a single thing we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any sympathy this series might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charismatic but dismissive egotist. The Iris Affair Naturally we understood it was preposterous from the outset: a drama 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 leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One barely cared when his character died, and the other ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about giving up the ghost. MobLand Shady figures meeting in deserted boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its gangland drama back. In truth, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to accommodate baffling accents. But there were plenty of other issues. Primarily that it was just profoundly dull; a conflict over narcotics territory between various London picaresques which felt a bit basic. With Love, Meghan Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of certain ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into twee lifestyle as deliberate provocations. But then you watch them and are compelled to concede that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine come to life; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, sentimental sayings and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by immense, largely unearned wealth. Ugh. The Beckham Documentary There are clearly fascinating things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, identity, self-worth. But for some reason, this documentary series opted not to say them. Rather, the viewing was akin to consuming a sales brochure. She obviously has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “stern” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any helps with this cagey letdown of a series. The Inheritance It should have been the next big hit – except even more extravagant, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality managing her inheritance. What more could you want? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too confusing to explain what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up reeking of a programme that was trying way too hard to emulate something way beyond it. Too Much How does one follow a show that captured a generation? The pressure was immense for this glitzy romantic comedy about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of celebrity friends involved felt uncomfortable. Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’. Given the shrewd inclusion of talented younger comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a single joke milked to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar irate mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the idea that they should probably have remained 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 showcased 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 with care. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lumbering from strangely jaunty, slightly stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A complete mess? Absolutely. Prime Target We love the star … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so intelligent he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could destabilise society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies targeting – and killing off – intellectuals honestly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense. The Bonnie Blue Documentary This hagiography followed the online personality renowned for explicit exploits as she undertook her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would possess 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 spoken to the legendary mum who showed up to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and absolutely no interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.