🔗 Share this article This Floating Excrement Was Way Too Symbolic! These Are the TV Disappointments of the Year. Looking back, we reflect on the TV offerings of the past year, a handful of series emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. Ranging from awkward spin-offs to confusingly bad docuseries, here are the programmes that had us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote. And Just Like That How to start with this love/hate follow-up? Plagued with dreadful writing, painful character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series fought to find its footing. Briefly, as the final series started, it seemed as if it had finally hit its stride. Then arrived an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the last series. It concluded on a bum note; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was just way too on-the-nose. Still, fans certainly found joy picking apart every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a small sob? The Kim Kardashian Drama ‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? The answer is a resounding no.’ But that was almost the smallest of this drama's issues. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon no-star assessment, it was hard to know where to start listing the problems. The hilariously leaden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of wealth and consumption? The seemingly deliberate parade of cliches? Performances so poor they felt borderline malicious? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and never speak of this show again. However, a new season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to. The Charlie Sheen Documentary Considering the legal troubles, domestic violence claims and fatherly failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d really have known it from this three-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive excess while failing to tell us anything we weren't already aware of. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any pity this series might induce should be saved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charismatic but flippant egotist. The Iris Affair Of course we understood it was ridiculous from the get-go: a thriller about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or annihilate all of humanity. We stuck with it out of pure admiration 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 ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat. MobLand Dodgy figures meeting in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter blaring 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 little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t endure the embarrassment of having to accommodate baffling accents. But there were plenty of other issues. Mainly that it was just really dull; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various London picaresques which felt a bit basic. The Meghan Markle Series Considering the extent to which she provokes the ire of certain ostentatiously enraged commentators, it’s almost easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into twee lifestyle as deliberate statements. But then you watch them and are forced to admit that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine animated; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by immense, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh. The Beckham Documentary There are clearly fascinating things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, self-image, self-worth. But for some reason, this three-part series chose not to say them. Instead, the viewing was akin to consuming a marketing brochure. She obviously has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any favours with this cagey letdown 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 contestants battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too complicated to detail what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up reeking of a programme that was straining desperately to live up to something way beyond it. The Lena Dunham Romcom How does one follow a show that captured a generation? The expectation was immense for this starry romantic comedy about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, 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 shrewd inclusion of gifted emerging comics, expectations were high. But sadly, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a one-note joke milked to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known irate mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply inspired the thought that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer. The Knox Dramatisation This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely presented the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an interesting drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be treated with care. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lurching from oddly breezy, slightly stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A total mess? Very much so. Prime Target We admire the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a discovery that could destabilise society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services spying on – and eliminating – intellectuals honestly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers. 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story This hagiography followed the content creator notorious for explicit escapades as she undertook her biggest feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was far greater interrogation of her actual psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the now-famous mum who appeared to haul her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and zero interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.