🔗 Share this article That Drifting Excrement Was Way Too Meaningful! It's the TV Disappointments of the Year. Looking back, we reflect on the television offerings of the past year, a selection of shows emerge not for their excellence, but for their notable failures. Ranging from awkward spin-offs to bafflingly poor docuseries, here are the productions that left 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 paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the show fought to justify its existence. For a moment, as the final series started, it looked like it had at last found its groove. Then came an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner declared this would be the final season. It ended on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was just way too on-the-nose. Still, viewers undeniably had a hoot picking apart every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a little sob? The Kim Kardashian Drama ‘Can Kim Kardashian act? Of course she can’t.’ But that was almost the least of this drama's problems. The subject of a very rare no-star assessment, it was hard to know where to begin listing the flaws. The laughably leaden writing? The mind-numbing veneration of affluence and materialism? The almost wilful procession of tropes? Acting so poor they felt borderline malicious? Let’s just say “each and every one” and never speak of this series again. Except, a second season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to. The Charlie Sheen Documentary Given the legal troubles, abuse claims and fatherly shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d truly have known it from this multi-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various episodes 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 indulged, so any pity this show might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charming but dismissive egotist. The Iris Affair Naturally we knew it was ridiculous from the outset: a drama about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or destroy all of humanity. We persevered out of sheer admiration for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One scarcely cared when his character died, and the other ended up slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat. The Gangster Drama Shady figures 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. In truth, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to indulge baffling accents. But there were many other problems. Mainly that it was just profoundly dull; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various cockney rogues which seemed a bit basic. With Love, Meghan Considering the extent to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s performatively angry commentators, it’s almost tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into twee lifestyle as intentional provocations. But then you watch them and are forced to concede that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle magazine come to life; a meme for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by vast, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh. The Beckham Documentary There are clearly fascinating things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, identity, self-worth. But for some reason, this three-part series chose not to explore them. Rather, the viewing was akin to reading a sales brochure. She obviously has every right to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any favours with this cagey letdown of a series. The Game Show It should have been the next big hit – except even camper, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality managing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As players battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s even now too confusing to explain what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up reeking of a programme that was straining desperately to emulate something way beyond it. The Lena Dunham Romcom How do you succeed a show that captured a generation? The expectation was immense for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who lands in London with a shattered romance. The lead actress seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very slick and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt icky. Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’. Given the smart recruitment of talented younger comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A particular sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a familiar irate mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer. The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively showcased the viewpoint 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. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lurching from strangely breezy, somewhat stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A complete mess? Very much so. The Maths Genius Thriller We love the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could destabilise society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies spying on – and eliminating – academics frankly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense. 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story This hagiography followed the online personality notorious for explicit escapades as she prepared for her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was far greater examination of her actual psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have spoken to the now-famous mum who appeared to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and absolutely no interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.