This Floating Poo Was Way Too Symbolic! It's the TV Letdowns of the Past Year.

Looking back, we consider the TV offerings of the past year, a handful of shows stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable failures. From awkward sequels to confusingly bad docuseries, here are the productions that left us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

How to start with this love/hate follow-up? Plagued with woeful writing, cringe-inducing character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show struggled to justify its existence. For a moment, as the third season began, it seemed as if it had finally found its groove. Then came an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner announced this would be the last series. It concluded on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo full of poo was just way too on-the-nose. Still, viewers 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 couldn't let out a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? Of course she can’t.’

But that was almost the smallest of this drama's problems. The recipient of a very rare zero star review, it was difficult to know where to start listing the problems. The hilariously leaden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of wealth and consumption? The seemingly wilful procession of tropes? Performances so bad they felt borderline spiteful? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and never speak of this show again. However, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Given the restraining orders, abuse claims and parental failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d really have known it from this three-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive excess while struggling to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any sympathy this show might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charismatic but dismissive narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

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 persevered out of pure love for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely 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 figures convening in deserted boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its gangland drama back.

Actually, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the embarrassment of having to accommodate unconvincing dialects. But there were plenty of other issues. Mainly that it was just really boring; a conflict over narcotics territory between various cockney rogues which seemed rather simplistic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the extent to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s performatively enraged commentators, it’s almost easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into twee lifestyle as deliberate provocations. But then you view them and are forced to admit that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue animated; a poster for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental platitudes and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by immense, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are obviously fascinating things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, self-image, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this documentary series opted not to say them. Rather, the viewing was like reading a marketing brochure. She clearly has good reason to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any helps 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 glamorous star playing dead and a well-known personality managing her inheritance. What more could you want? As contestants competed, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too confusing to explain 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 programme that was straining desperately to emulate something way beyond it.

Too Much

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 arrives in London with a shattered romance. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was a delight to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of famous cameos involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the smart recruitment of talented emerging comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, 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 ready to slip into a well-known irate mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply inspired 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 exclusively showcased the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be handled with care. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lumbering from oddly jaunty, somewhat mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A total mess? Very much so.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so intelligent he’s on the verge of a discovery that could destabilise society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services spying on – and killing off – intellectuals frankly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This uncritical portrait followed the content creator renowned for sexual exploits as she undertook her biggest feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was far greater interrogation of her true psychology, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have interviewed the now-famous mum who showed up to haul her son out of the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and zero interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.