This Drifting Excrement Was Way Too Symbolic! It's the TV Letdowns of the Year.

Looking back, we consider the television offerings of the recent year, a handful of series stand out not for their excellence, but for their spectacular failures. Ranging from cringe-inducing sequels to bafflingly bad docuseries, here are the productions that had us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

Where to begin with this love/hate follow-up? Plagued with woeful writing, cringe-inducing character development (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series fought to justify its existence. Briefly, as the third series started, it seemed as if it had finally found its groove. Then arrived an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner announced this would be the final series. It concluded on a bum note; the closeup of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was just way too on-the-nose. Still, fans certainly had a hoot picking apart every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her palatial 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 very rare zero star review, it was difficult to know where to start listing the problems. The laughably wooden writing? The mind-numbing veneration of wealth and materialism? The almost deliberate procession of cliches? Performances so bad they felt borderline spiteful? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and never speak of this show again. However, a second season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Considering the restraining orders, abuse claims and parental shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that you’d truly have known it from this multi-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive hedonism while struggling to tell us anything we weren't already aware of. Instead, 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 suffer proximity with this charming but flippant egotist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we knew it was ridiculous from the get-go: a drama about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of pure love for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One barely reacted when his character died, and the other ended up slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

MobLand

Dodgy figures meeting in deserted 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 unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a little dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to indulge unconvincing dialects. But there were many other issues. Mainly that it was just really dull; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various cockney rogues which seemed rather simplistic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s almost easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into twee homemaking as deliberate provocations. But then you view them and are compelled to admit that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine animated; a meme for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental platitudes and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by vast, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are obviously fascinating things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, identity, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this three-part series chose not to explore them. Instead, the viewing was like reading a sales brochure. She obviously has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any helps with this cagey letdown of a series.

The Game Show

It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a glamorous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you want? As players battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too confusing to explain what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances 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 far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you succeed a show that defined a generation? The pressure was immense for this glitzy romantic comedy about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The star took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of famous cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of talented emerging comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A particular sketch was a single joke milked to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known irate mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the thought that they should probably have remained in there a bit 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 probably is an interesting drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be handled sensitively. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lumbering from oddly jaunty, somewhat mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A total mess? Absolutely.

Prime Target

We admire the star … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so intelligent he’s on the brink of a discovery that could destabilise society? Nope! This international thriller about secret services targeting – and killing off – academics 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 prepared for her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was way more examination of her actual psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who showed up to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.