That Floating Poo Was Far Too Meaningful! It's the TV Letdowns of the Year.

Looking back, we consider the television offerings of the past year, a handful of series stand out not for their brilliance, but for their notable failures. From cringe-inducing sequels to bafflingly bad documentaries, here are the productions that left us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

How to start with this love/hate spin-off? Burdened with woeful scripts, painful arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series struggled to justify its existence. For a moment, as the final series started, it seemed as if it had at last hit its stride. Then arrived an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner announced this would be the final season. It ended on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was just way too on-the-nose. Yet, viewers undeniably had a hoot picking apart every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘Can Kim Kardashian act? The answer is a resounding no.’

But that was practically the smallest of this drama's issues. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon zero star review, it was difficult to know where to begin enumerating the flaws. The laughably wooden dialogue? The tedious veneration of affluence and materialism? The seemingly deliberate procession of tropes? Performances so bad they felt almost malicious? Let’s just say “each and every one” and never speak of this series again. Except, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the legal troubles, abuse allegations and fatherly shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d really have known it from this three-part documentary which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless excess while failing to tell us anything we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon was being indulged, so any sympathy this series might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charismatic but dismissive narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Naturally we understood it was preposterous 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 stuck with it out of pure love for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One barely reacted when his character died, and the other ended up slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat.

MobLand

Shady figures convening 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 crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t endure the embarrassment of having to accommodate unconvincing accents. But there were plenty of other problems. Mainly that it was just really dull; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various cockney picaresques which felt a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of certain ostentatiously enraged commentators, it’s almost easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into quaint homemaking as intentional statements. But then you view them and are compelled to concede that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue come to life; a meme for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental sayings and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by vast, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly interesting things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, self-image, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this documentary series chose not to explore them. Rather, the viewing was like reading a marketing catalogue. She obviously has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any favours with this guarded non-event of a series.

The Game Show

It had the potential to be the next big hit – except even camper, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you want? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. 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 series ended up smelling of a programme that was straining desperately to live up to 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 arrives in London with a shattered romance. The lead actress seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of famous cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the smart inclusion of talented younger comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known irate mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have remained 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 exclusively showcased the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an compelling drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be handled with care. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lumbering from strangely jaunty, slightly stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A total mess? Very much so.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We love the star … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so intelligent he’s on the verge of a discovery that could ruin society? Nope! This international thriller about government agencies targeting – and killing off – intellectuals frankly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the online personality renowned for explicit exploits as she undertook her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would possess her? What we craved was far greater interrogation of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who appeared to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was horrific shots and absolutely no critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.