That Drifting Poo Was Way Too Meaningful! It's the TV Letdowns of the Year.

As we consider the television landscape of the recent year, a handful of series emerge not for their excellence, but for their spectacular failures. Ranging from awkward sequels to confusingly poor docuseries, here are the programmes that left us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this love/hate follow-up? Plagued with woeful scripts, painful arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series struggled 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. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the final series. It concluded on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was just way too on-the-nose. Still, viewers certainly found joy dissecting every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a little sob?

All’s Fair

‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? The answer is a resounding no.’

But that was practically the least of this show's issues. The subject of a very rare zero star assessment, it was difficult to know where to begin enumerating the flaws. The hilariously leaden writing? The tedious glorification of affluence and materialism? The almost deliberate parade of cliches? Performances so poor they felt almost spiteful? Let’s just say “each and every one” and forget about this series 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 fatherly failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that you’d truly have known it from this multi-part documentary which smirked its way at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive hedonism while struggling to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any sympathy this series might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charming but flippant egotist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we understood it was preposterous from the outset: a thriller about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or annihilate all of humanity. We stuck with it out of pure love for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One barely cared when his character died, and the other ended up slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

The Gangster Drama

Shady figures meeting in deserted boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its gangland 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 suffer the embarrassment of having to indulge unconvincing dialects. But there were many other issues. Mainly that it was just really boring; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various London picaresques which felt a bit basic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into twee homemaking as intentional statements. But then you view them and are compelled to concede that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue animated; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark platitudes and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by vast, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are obviously fascinating things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, self-image, self-worth. But for some reason, this documentary series chose not to explore them. Instead, the experience was akin to consuming a marketing catalogue. She obviously has good reason to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any helps with this guarded letdown of a series.

The Game Show

It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a glamorous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality managing her estate. 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 complicated to explain what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up smelling of a programme that was trying way too hard to live up to something way beyond it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How does one succeed a show that captured a generation? The pressure was immense for this glitzy 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 Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of famous cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

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 recurring sketch was a single joke stretched to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar irate mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, meanwhile, simply inspired the idea that they should probably have stayed in there a bit longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely showcased the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be handled sensitively. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lurching from oddly breezy, somewhat mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A complete mess? Absolutely.

Prime Target

We admire the star … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a discovery that could ruin society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services spying on – and killing off – intellectuals frankly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This uncritical portrait followed the online personality notorious for explicit exploits as she prepared for her biggest feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was far greater examination of her true psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who appeared to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.