🔗 Share this article That Drifting Poo Was Far Too Meaningful! These Are the TV Letdowns of the Past Year. As we consider the TV landscape of the past year, a handful of shows emerge not for their brilliance, but for their notable failures. Ranging from awkward sequels to bafflingly poor docuseries, 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 spin-off? Plagued with woeful writing, painful arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show fought to justify its existence. For a moment, as the final season began, it seemed as if it had finally hit its stride. Then arrived an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator declared this would be the last series. It ended on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo full of poo was simply too symbolic. Yet, viewers undeniably had a hoot dissecting every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a little sob? All’s Fair ‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? Of course she can’t.’ But that was almost the least of this show's issues. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon no-star assessment, it was hard to know where to start listing the flaws. The laughably wooden dialogue? The mind-numbing veneration of wealth and materialism? The almost wilful procession of cliches? Performances so poor they felt borderline malicious? Let’s just say “each and every one” and forget about this show again. However, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to. The Charlie Sheen Documentary Given the restraining orders, abuse allegations and fatherly failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that you’d truly have known it from this three-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless excess while struggling to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any sympathy this show might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charismatic but flippant egotist. The Iris Affair Naturally we knew it was ridiculous from the outset: a thriller 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 pure admiration for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One barely reacted when his character died, and the other ultimately hacking Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost. The Gangster Drama Dodgy characters convening in empty boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its crime drama back. Actually, that is harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t endure the embarrassment of having to indulge unconvincing accents. But there were plenty of other problems. Mainly that it was just profoundly boring; a conflict over narcotics territory between various cockney rogues which seemed rather simplistic. The Meghan Markle Series Considering the extent to which she provokes the ire of certain ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s almost tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into quaint homemaking as deliberate statements. But then you view them and are compelled to concede that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle magazine come to life; a poster for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark 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 said about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, identity, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this documentary series chose not to explore them. Instead, the viewing was like consuming a sales catalogue. She obviously 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 letdown of a series. The Game Show It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality managing her inheritance. What more could you want? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s even now too complicated to detail what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via filmed videos. The series ended up reeking of a production that was trying way too hard to emulate something way beyond it. The Lena Dunham Romcom How do you follow a show that captured a generation? The expectation was enormous for this starry romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who lands 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 abundance of famous friends involved felt uncomfortable. The Sketch Show Return Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’. Given the smart inclusion of gifted emerging comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a one-note joke milked to a dry pulp but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known irate mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer. The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely presented the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be handled with care. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lumbering from strangely jaunty, somewhat stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A total mess? Absolutely. The Maths Genius Thriller We love the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so intelligent he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could ruin society? Nope! This international thriller about secret services spying on – and killing off – academics frankly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense. The Bonnie Blue Documentary This uncritical portrait followed the online personality renowned for explicit escapades as she prepared for her biggest challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was far greater interrogation of her actual 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 shots and zero interrogation of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.