🔗 Share this article That Floating Poo Was Way Too Meaningful! These Are the TV Letdowns of the Year. Looking back, we reflect on the television landscape of the past year, a handful of shows stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable failures. Ranging from cringe-inducing sequels to bafflingly bad documentaries, here are the programmes that left us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote. And Just Like That How to start with this divisive follow-up? Burdened with woeful scripts, painful character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show struggled to justify its existence. Briefly, as the third series started, it looked like it had finally found its groove. Then arrived an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator declared this would be the last season. It ended on a bum note; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was just way too on-the-nose. Still, fans undeniably had a hoot picking apart every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a small sob? All’s Fair ‘Can Kim Kardashian act? Of course she can’t.’ But that was practically the smallest of this show's issues. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon no-star assessment, it was difficult to know where to start listing the flaws. The hilariously wooden writing? The tedious glorification of wealth and consumption? The seemingly deliberate parade of tropes? Acting so bad they felt almost malicious? Let’s just say “all of the above” and never speak of this show again. Except, a second season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to. The Charlie Sheen Documentary Considering the restraining orders, abuse allegations and fatherly shortcomings, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not you’d truly have known it from this three-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive excess while failing to tell us a single thing we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any pity this show might evoke should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charming but dismissive narcissist. The Supercomputer Drama Of course we understood it was preposterous from the get-go: 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 sheer love for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One barely cared when his character died, and the other ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat. 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. In truth, that is harsh on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a little dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to indulge baffling accents. But there were plenty of other problems. Mainly that it was just profoundly boring; a conflict over narcotics territory between various London picaresques which felt a bit basic. With Love, Meghan Considering the extent to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s almost tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into twee lifestyle 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 homeware catalogue come to life; a meme for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark platitudes and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by vast, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh. Victoria Beckham There are clearly fascinating things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, self-image, self-worth. But for some reason, this documentary series opted not to say them. Rather, the experience was akin to reading a marketing catalogue. She clearly has good reason to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any helps with this guarded letdown of a series. The Inheritance 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 overseeing her estate. What more could you want? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too complicated to detail what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up reeking of a production that was trying way too hard to live up to something far greater than it. Too Much How does one succeed a show that defined a generation? The expectation was immense for this starry romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity friends involved felt uncomfortable. Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping Not good enough to be ‘uneven’. Given the shrewd recruitment of gifted younger comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a one-note joke milked to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar irate mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the thought that they should probably have stayed in there a while longer. The Knox Dramatisation This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely showcased the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be treated with care. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from oddly jaunty, slightly stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A complete mess? Absolutely. The Maths Genius Thriller We love the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a discovery that could ruin society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services targeting – and eliminating – academics honestly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense. 1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story This hagiography followed the content creator renowned for explicit escapades as she prepared for her biggest challenge yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was way more examination of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. 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 disturbing imagery and absolutely no interrogation of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.