🔗 Share this article That Drifting Poo Was Far Too Symbolic! It's the TV Letdowns of the Past Year. Looking back, we consider the television landscape of the past year, a selection of shows stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable failures. From cringe-inducing spin-offs to bafflingly bad docuseries, here are the programmes that had us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote. And Just Like That Where to begin with this love/hate spin-off? Plagued with dreadful writing, cringe-inducing arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series struggled to find its footing. For a moment, as the third season started, it looked like it had finally found its groove. Then arrived an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator announced this would be the last series. It ended on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too on-the-nose. Still, fans undeniably had a hoot picking apart every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who couldn'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 drama's issues. The recipient of a very rare zero star assessment, it was hard to know where to begin listing the problems. The laughably wooden dialogue? The tedious glorification of wealth and consumption? The seemingly wilful parade of tropes? Acting so poor they felt borderline malicious? Suffice it to say “each and every one” and forget about this show again. However, a second season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to. The Charlie Sheen Documentary Given the restraining orders, abuse claims and parental failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d truly have gleaned it from this three-part documentary which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless hedonism while failing to tell us a single thing we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any pity this show might induce should be saved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charming but flippant egotist. The Supercomputer Drama Of course we understood it was preposterous from the get-go: 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 pure love for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. 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. The Gangster Drama Dodgy characters convening in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its crime drama back. In truth, that is harsh on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to indulge baffling dialects. But there were plenty of other problems. Primarily that it was just really dull; a conflict over narcotics territory between various cockney picaresques which felt rather simplistic. With Love, Meghan Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s performatively angry commentators, it’s almost tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various 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 catalogue come to life; a poster for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by vast, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh. Victoria Beckham There are obviously fascinating things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, identity, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to say them. Rather, the experience was like reading a marketing brochure. She obviously has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any favours with this cagey non-event of a series. The Game Show It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality managing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too confusing to explain what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, 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 far greater than it. Too Much How does one follow a show that captured a generation? The pressure was enormous for this starry romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands 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, paradoxically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt icky. The Sketch Show Return Not good enough to be ‘uneven’. Given the shrewd recruitment of gifted emerging comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A particular sketch was a single 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 inspired the idea that they should probably have stayed in there a while longer. The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox This retelling 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 tragic 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be handled sensitively. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lurching from strangely jaunty, slightly mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A complete mess? Absolutely. Prime Target We love the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could destabilise society? Nope! This international thriller about secret services targeting – and eliminating – intellectuals honestly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers. 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story This hagiography followed the online personality notorious for explicit escapades as she undertook her biggest challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was far greater interrogation of her actual psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who appeared to haul her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and zero critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.