This Floating Excrement Was Way Too Symbolic! It's the Television Disappointments of the Past Year.

As we reflect on the television offerings of the recent year, a handful of series emerge not for their brilliance, but for their notable shortcomings. From awkward spin-offs to confusingly bad docuseries, here are the productions that had us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this divisive spin-off? Plagued with woeful scripts, 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 started, it seemed as if it had finally hit its stride. Then came an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the last series. It concluded on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s loo full of poo was simply too symbolic. Still, viewers undeniably had a hoot dissecting every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘Can Kim Kardashian act? The answer is a resounding no.’

But that was practically the smallest of this show's issues. The subject of a very rare zero star review, it was difficult to know where to begin listing the flaws. The laughably leaden writing? The tedious glorification of affluence and materialism? The almost wilful procession of cliches? Acting so bad they felt borderline spiteful? Let’s just say “all of the above” and never speak of this show again. However, a second season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the restraining orders, domestic violence claims and fatherly failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d truly have known it from this multi-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive hedonism while struggling to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any sympathy this show might induce should be saved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charismatic but flippant egotist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we understood it was ridiculous from the outset: a thriller about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered 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 painfully slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost.

The Gangster Drama

Dodgy characters convening in deserted boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its gangland drama back.

Actually, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to accommodate baffling dialects. But there were many other issues. Mainly that it was just profoundly boring; a dispute over narcotics territory between various London picaresques which seemed a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s ostentatiously enraged commentators, it’s almost tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into quaint homemaking as deliberate provocations. But then you view them and are compelled to admit that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue animated; a poster for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental sayings and forgettable crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by vast, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly interesting things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, self-image, self-worth. But for some reason, this documentary series chose not to explore them. Instead, the viewing was akin to consuming a sales catalogue. She clearly has good reason to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any favours with this guarded letdown of a series.

The Inheritance

It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a famous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality managing her estate. What more could you ask for? As players competed, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too complicated to explain what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up smelling of a programme that was trying way too hard to emulate something way beyond it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How does one succeed a show that defined a generation? The pressure was enormous for this starry 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 Jane Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the smart recruitment of gifted younger comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A particular sketch was a one-note joke milked to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known ranting mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the thought that they should probably have stayed in there a bit longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely presented the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The material needed to be handled sensitively. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lumbering from oddly breezy, somewhat mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A total mess? Absolutely.

Prime Target

We admire the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a discovery that could destabilise society? No! This international thriller about government agencies spying on – and killing off – academics honestly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the online personality notorious for sexual exploits as she undertook her biggest feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was way more interrogation of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who appeared to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and zero critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.