A Very Royal Scandal
Yes, the Prince Andrew/Emily Maitlis head-to-head was the TV moment of 2019, and it is unlikely that any television interview will ever be as jawdropping again. But why did we need not just one but two screen recreations of it this year? This one came with Maitlis’s blessing, but sadly already existed in the shadow of Netflix’s Scoop. Despite excellent turns by Michael Sheen and Ruth Wilson, it never felt anything other than slight and superfluous.
Meet the Rees-Moggs
Just the fact that this series exists at all is a letdown. To recap: faced with a historic election wipeout, and the likelihood of losing his seat, Jacob Rees-Mogg made the slightly craven choice to invite a reality TV crew into his home to help transition himself (and his family) into full-blown media personalities. It didn’t work. The show came and went without any buzz whatsoever.
The Bear
So tense, touching, funny and idiosyncratic were the first two seasons of Carmy and co’s kitchen nightmares that each one was hands-down the best TV of the year. And then came this directionless, subpar third season. It might not have been quite as bad as some of its harsher critiques suggested (although no one needed the extended Fak clan’s clumsy comic relief) but its irksome cliffhanger ending felt like a jarringly attention-grabbing move from a show that previously oozed class. And when the earlier outings had been so brilliant, how could we fail to feel short-changed?
Bad Sisters
Living up to the standards set by Sharon Horgan’s blackly hilarious first season was always going to be tough going given that it was a faithful adaptation of excellent Flemish drama, Clan – which had no second series. Sadly, it proved a stretch too far, with this follow-up never matching the zip of its initial outing due to convoluted plotting and a darker turn that robbed this once-thrilling sisterhood of its sparkle. Some things are best left alone.
Sherwood
There’s no denying that this season of James Graham’s Nottingham-based crime drama featured its fair share of clangers. Why on earth would Scott Rowley give up the location of his money? And surely Daphne Sparrow – who has spent decades running a nihilistic crime syndicate – wouldn’t suddenly be so bothered by the Bottomleys’ potential death that she’d risk bringing gang vengeance on her entire family (which seems to be her raison d’etre)? Yes, Lorraine Ashbourne’s performance as Daphne was breathtaking and there were numerous moments that left your jaw hanging open, but at times, this show’s plotting felt scream-at-the-screen stupid.
House of the Dragon
Given how little actually happened this season, it’s hard not to feel that they could’ve condensed it into about three episodes – and saved us hours of plodding, event-free viewing. There’s no denying that a potentially explosive showdown has been set up for series three, but it would’ve been nice if they hadn’t decided to make viewers wait an extra couple of years for the action.