Top 23 Worst TV Shows of Each Year (2000 - 2022)
2000: “Tucker”
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What better way to kick off the twenty-first century than with some bad television? This NBC sitcom is about a young boy named Tucker who must move in with his aunt, uncle, and cousin after his parent’s divorce. While on the surface, it seems to be your run-of-the-mill early 2000s family series. But you’ll quickly learn upon watching that the major obstacle that our protagonist faces is his constant, pre-teen… excitement. Instead of tackling teen boy problems in a humorous or interesting way, “Tucker” comes off as weirdly sexual and underthought.
2001: “Off Centre”
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From the team that created the “American Pie” franchise, comes… disappointment. Having to live up to expectations is a difficult task, but “Off Centre” fully missed the mark. Airing for two seasons on The WB network, this sitcom follows friends Mike and Euan and their New York antics and adventures. The plotlines throughout the show are far from unique, resting on tired tropes for their stories. And taking place in 2001 as it did, there are countless sexist and homophobic jokes that simply aren’t funny. Even with the magnificent John Cho in their cast, this series still doesn’t land.
2002: “That ‘80s Show”
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Did you know Glenn Howerton had this leading role before co-creating and starring in “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia?” Luckily for him, being a part of this series didn’t hold him back from his future acting endeavors! While this show was produced by a similar crew as “That '70s Show,” it didn’t have the same charm or success. Critics noted that there wasn’t enough time between the actual decade and the show itself for it to be as nostalgic as its predecessor. Who knows– maybe if they tried again now, it would be a hit!
2003: “My Big Fat Greek Life”
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Some great ideas are best left alone! In 2003, Nia Vardalos– the star of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” – adapted the film into a sitcom for CBS. Some details between the movie and the TV series changed– most notably, the actor playing Vardalos’ husband. But aside from the casting switch, the show failed to deliver the same wit and nuance that the source material had. The characters became flat caricatures, resting on Greek stereotypes for laughs. Our advice? If you’re a fan of the movie, skip this spinoff before it ruins the original for you!
2004: “Hawaii”
If there’s a television genre that never seems to go out of style, it’s crime drama procedurals. But that certainly doesn’t mean they’re always foolproof! Not to be confused with the classic “Hawaii Five-O,” this NBC cop show also followed a task force based in Honolulu. Its fatal flaw was the blatant unoriginality in both concept and execution– especially with such a close comparison to the hit CBS series. The first season of “Hawaii” was intended to have an eight-episode run, but only seven were released before its inevitable cancellation.
2005: “Killer Instinct”
Watching this show, it seems like the creators came up with the title first and then… forgot to make it any good. This crime series is about Jack Hale, a detective in the fictional “Deviant Crimes Unit” of the San Francisco police department. What gives Hale his title-worthy “killer instinct?” His father was a serial killer, of course. But this key character and plot point is lazily shoe-horned in, not holding any real weight in the stakes of the show. Also, the crimes investigated go far beyond deviant– they are bizarrely grotesque.
2006: “South Beach”
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With the J.LO stamp of approval, how could you go wrong? Originally airing on UPN, this show– executive produced in part by Jennifer Lopez– follows two guys from Brooklyn who decide to move to the much flashier city of Miami, Florida. Other than some beautiful shots of the scenery, this series has very little to offer in terms of plot intrigue or character development. In the ranking for television shows in the 2005-06 season, “South Beach” earned the 152nd spot… out of 156. You know what they say– first is the worst, 152nd is the best. That’s the saying, right?
2007: “Viva Laughlin”
This year had some real stinkers– like ABC sitcom “Cavemen” that was based on the GEICO commercials. But the worst show of 2007 goes to this musical drama hybrid series that was cut after only two episodes on CBS. However, the songs performed aren’t originals– they just have the actors sing over slightly lower volume tracks of popular songs. One moment you’re listening to our protagonist sing along to what sounds like the radio, and the next he’s wrapped up in a murder case. These two elements never ever blend together in this show, resulting in a dissonant, laughable mess.
2008: “Knight Rider”
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Okay, we’ll say it– enough with the revivals. If the original’s so good that it’s worth revamping, we’ll just watch the original! This is exactly the case for this NBC spinoff show, which carries on the story of both the 1982 version of the series of the same name and its subsequent TV movie. In the reboot, we follow Michael Traceur– the son of David Hasselhoff’s character in the first “Knight Rider.” This series attempts to update the 1982 plotlines, but ultimately crashes and burns with dull characters and cheesy action.
2009: “The Last Templar”
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If this plot summary sounds at all interesting, we strongly advise that you go read the book instead. This miniseries– based on the novel of the same name by Raymond Khoury– is an adventure following an archeologist who travels the world in hopes of decoding an ancient secret code. The show does a remarkably poor job of pacing its complicated plot and has some heavy-handed religious implications that can be off-putting for some audiences. And the cherry on top of any bad television show– the acting here is atrocious.
2010: “$#*! My Dad Says”
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What do you get when you cast William Shatner as the star of a network sitcom adapted from a Twitter thread? You’ve got the recipe for our worst series of 2010! This show is about the dynamic between the filterless 72-year-old Ed and his adult children. It’s unfortunate to see the talented Shatner reduced to this seemingly half-thought series– even seasoned comedy pros Will Sasso and Nicole Sullivan feel wasted. For a comedy, it's flat and unfunny– and the multi-camera, laugh track setup does it absolutely no favors.
2011: “Charlie's Angels”
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Another year, another bad reboot. The original 1976 “Charlie’s Angels” garnered a cult following during its run on ABC, but this 2011 remake did not have the same luck. Our three leads give us a whole lot of nothing, tanking a show they could have potentially anchored. However, the dialogue isn’t any better– which doesn’t help their performances whatsoever. This female-driven action show genuinely could have been given a fun, modern spin, but instead stayed firmly within expectation leading to a boring watch. Due to the negative reception, only four of the thirteen episodes ended up making it to the air.
2012: “Fred: The Show”
Hmm… is the biggest flop of 2012 “Work It,” the poor taste sitcom about two men who go to work in drag? Not quite– the only show that could possibly beat that one is this infamous Fred Figglehorn comedy. Based on his already polarizing viral YouTube Channel, putting Fred front and center for his own series was destined to be a disaster. Anything that made his channel entertaining was completely lost in the sauce of this production. His obnoxious, squawking voice against the cookie-cutter teen show background is a blinding dissonance that is impossible to sit through. And no, it isn’t even a little funny.
2013: “Dads”
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Have you all lost your hope in humanity yet? If not– buckle in, this one might do it for you. From the twisted mind of Seth MacFarlane comes a Fox sitcom seemingly designed to upset and offend its audience just for the sake of it. “Dads” has the straightforward premise of two men grappling with their fathers moving in with them, but constantly takes its stories in unnecessarily crude directions. Drawing the most controversy was the portrayal of Brenda Song’s character, who was repeatedly tokenized and sexualized. You can only wonder how they let even one episode make it to television.
2014: “Saint George”
You’re better than this, George Lopez. After his long-running self-titled family sitcom came to an end, Lopez was given this new series on the network FX. Nothing about this comedy feels original, despite what you may surmise from the reactions of the show’s suspiciously over-enthusiastic live audience. Instead, it’s an insufficient copy of the series that preceded it filled to the brim with lazy, half-baked jokes. And if the legend Danny Trejo can’t do anything to save your show, then you’ve got something seriously unredeemable on your hands.
2015: “Real Rob”
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Did somebody say vanity project? We didn’t say it. That must have been somebody else. This Netflix show written, created, produced, and starring Rob Schneider is a whirlwind. Hot off of his near-identical failed show “¡Rob!,” “Real Rob” dares to answer the question nobody asked– what if Schneider had absolute creative control over yet another series? The result is an inconsistent mess of a sitcom that defies every expectation of the genre in the worst way. In one episode we have “Seinfeld”-esque cutaways to Schneider’s stand-up, in others we have none. And it’s so unfunny, it almost makes you wish there was a laugh track just to help discern what lines Rob Schneider thought were jokes.
2016: “Hunters”
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Yes, even shows about aliens can be bad. We’re just as upset about it as you are. Airing on the Syfy network, this drama was an adaptation of the novel “Alien Hunter” by Whitley Strieber. In it, we follow Flynn Carroll of the FBI who– upon his wife’s disappearance– discovers the existence of alien terrorists and begins to track them down. But the series’ low-budget visual and special effects, its lack of exciting storytelling, and over-familiar plot ideas made it fall flat on its face. And so, we have yet another one-season wonder.
2017: “Inhumans”
Don’t come for us, Marvel superfans. You know this show stunk. Obviously, any MCU content is immediately going to have the highest possible level of hype known to man. So when Marvel flops, it flops hard. Fans of the comic had hopes that the “Inhuman” royal family would be larger than life on screen– as they were on the page. But even with their big budget, the characters didn’t translate well onto television. As a whole, the series was unexciting– which on its own is enough to destroy a superhero show.
2018: “Living Biblically”
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Lord, have mercy. This CBS sitcom is all about a man who recently lost his best friend and decides to live his life strictly by the Bible. Because everyone’s always saying how the only thing missing from multicam comedies is the Good Book. Okay, no one’s saying that. And for good reason! “Living Biblically” is basically every other sitcom you’ve seen, but the twist is our protagonist has stringent, entirely self-imposed religious expectations. This adds no nuance or comedy to the tired plotlines, it instead adds a pointless and strange layer to them.
2019: “The I-Land”
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We image that the pitch for this series started with: “Imagine ‘Lost’ – but stupid.” This Netflix show was widely disliked– being found guilty of bad writing, inconsistent themes, and a jarring use of flashbacks. You don’t have to watch for long to see why this show was a flop– the dialogue is truly laughable. But perhaps the series’ most disturbing failure was its unsuccessful attempt to make social commentary on serious issues. Overall, “The I-Land” is all over the place, and failing on all fronts. If you were brave enough to finish Season One, don’t expect a Season Two!
2020: “Hoops”
This one was far from a slam dunk. This comedy series on Netflix followed the antics of a volatile basketball coach, and the team he hopes to bring to glory. But unfortunately, that wasn’t the case– as it only lasted one measly season. Even though the adult animation genre tends to be raunchy, “Hoops” takes everything too far without solid comedic backing. Most of the jokes– if you can call them that– are just vulgar for the sake of shock value. If you’re going to try too hard to be funny, at least be funny!
2021: “Sex/Life”
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The thing about a bad comedy series is that it’s always unfunny– but a bad drama is almost always hilarious. Netflix’s raunchy drama about a mother who has a torrid affair with her ex is all heat, no kitchen. It’s trying so hard to be over-the-top sexy that it’s essentially just smut instead– with dialogue so unbelievable it’s truly laughable. While it’s clearly intended to be a show for people to mindlessly enjoy, it would have been nice if the creators of “Sex/Life” respected their audience enough to give them some substance.
2022: “Fairview”
Who’s got the final spot in this star-studded lineup of disaster? It’s the Comedy Central adult animation series all about a small American town and its mayor dealing with hot-button political issues. And despite being executive produced by “The Late Show”’s Stephen Colbert, the show fails to provide commentary with any satirical value whatsoever. It takes the vulgarity of “South Park,” but eliminates the unique cultural critique. And don’t even get us started on the animation style– seriously, who let this happen? Oh right, Colbert. Well, we can only hope the years to come will provide us with slightly better television! But maybe still a few failures to keep things interesting.
