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

As we consider the television landscape of the recent year, a handful of series emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. From awkward sequels to confusingly bad documentaries, here are the productions that left us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

Where to begin with this love/hate follow-up? Burdened with woeful scripts, cringe-inducing character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series fought to find its footing. For a moment, as the final season began, it looked like it had finally hit its stride. Then came an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator declared this would be the last season. It concluded on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s loo full of poo was simply too on-the-nose. Yet, viewers undeniably had a hoot picking apart every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? Of course she can’t.’

But that was practically the smallest of this show's problems. The subject of a very rare no-star assessment, it was hard to know where to start enumerating the problems. The hilariously leaden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of affluence and consumption? The seemingly deliberate parade of tropes? Performances so bad they felt borderline malicious? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and never speak of this series again. However, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Given the restraining orders, abuse allegations and parental shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not you’d really have known it from this multi-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive excess while struggling to tell us anything we weren't already aware of. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being indulged, so any sympathy this series might induce should be saved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charismatic but flippant egotist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Of course 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 persevered out of pure love for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely reacted when his character died, and the other ultimately hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost.

The Gangster Drama

Shady figures meeting in empty boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its gangland drama back.

Actually, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a little dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to accommodate baffling accents. But there were many other issues. Mainly that it was just profoundly dull; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various cockney rogues which felt a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of certain performatively angry commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into quaint homemaking as intentional statements. 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 animated; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental sayings and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by vast, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly interesting things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, self-image, self-worth. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to explore them. Rather, the experience was akin to reading a sales catalogue. She obviously has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any helps with this cagey non-event of a series.

The Inheritance

It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality overseeing her estate. What more could you ask for? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too confusing to detail what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via filmed videos. The series ended up reeking of a production that was straining desperately to live up to something far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you 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 lead actress seized the opportunity 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 insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity friends involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the smart inclusion of talented younger comics, expectations 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 ready to slip into a well-known irate mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have stayed in there a while 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 probably is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be treated sensitively. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lumbering from strangely jaunty, somewhat mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A complete mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We love the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could ruin society? Nope! This international thriller about government agencies targeting – and killing off – intellectuals frankly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This uncritical portrait followed the content creator notorious for sexual escapades as she undertook her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was way more interrogation of her actual psyche, 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 away from the queue. What we got was horrific shots and absolutely no critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.