CALL ME KAT
Following up her acclaimed, decade-long run on CBS’ The Big Bang Theory was never going to be easy — especially with another multi-camera comedy to which it would inevitably get compared. To her credit, though, Mayim Bialik developed an extremely charming character in Kat, and she surrounded herself with another very likable cast (including Cheyenne Jackson, Leslie Jordan and Kyla Pratt). Unfortunately, the show itself paled in comparison to its beloved British predecessor Miranda, and failed to establish its own identity. Clearly Fox agreed that some tinkering was needed; a new showrunner was appointed ahead of Season 2.
Really surprised that the highly-inferior-to-the-original 4400 didn’t make this list. 6 episodes in, and nothing has happened! I mean, other than ticking every possible woke box.
Oh God, not the woke box! Will no one let us sleep?
Sorry Vic, 4400 is doing just fine. It’s not an outright darling but its 80% on RT makes it far from a critical flop as well.
Whenever the word woke is used in a comment “code word for bigotry”, I automatically dismiss the comment. I don’t disagree that the show is obviously subpar to the original but instead of seeing the diversity on the show as realistic representation of the landscape of the real America, you use that as a criticism. You lose all credibility. WAKE UP, all humans deserve representation and respect.
I’m so with you on this!
Call Me Kat is FAR from the worst shows of the year. What a disgusting, trash list.
Good Morning, need some coffee?
It’s like 9PM here.
Aw maybe need some sleep then.
I agree. I like Call me Kat. I laugh Out loud irl Many comedies I watch but do not laugh. The rest of the list I don’t watch anyways.
Watch Perfect Strangers then
That’s why it’s listed at number 10. The #1 show is the worst.
It’s on a list of the worst shows. The ranking isn’t really important.
They’re not in any order
“But as much as we love a good spoiler here at TVLine, we won’t give away which series came in first — or, uh, last — on our list of the year’s worst shows.”
They are in fact ranked; that line has been edited for crystal clarity. –Mgmt.
I agree – Kat was one of my favorites.
I mean, their description is accurate. It has good characters but meanders as a show with direction. Though I don’t know that comparing it to what it’s based on should matter when 99% of the people watching it never saw the original anyway.
Pretty sure there’s more people that watch the original than you think. It’s on so many streaming services here.
Agreed, Call Me Kat is cute and lightweight but not horrible. I also enjoyed Fear The Walking Dead. Shame on me for not having better taste, LOL. Almost wish I cared about the need to make (and read) lists like this. Almost. But I read it anyway. Oh, the shame… :-)
Yes call me kat is a very cute show. Look like someone was taking their Bitch Pills. Take call me Kat off this List ASAP.
I completely agree with you. I like the show.
Fear is just bad. It’s the only show on this list that I watch.
Same with me. I don’t watch any other show on this list. I actually almost quit after season 5. Season six was actually really good in a lot of ways, until that bomb went off. Now I don’t even know what to make of season 7.
At first I thought it was to make them leave the area and head to Alexandria.
They are moving to Savanah next year so it could happen
Fear is so disappointing now =/
Fear has always been bad. It was a cash grab that didn’t even pay off on the concept. Was supposed to show us the beginning of it all, and that didn’t even last a season. Then it was stuck trying to find characters (or stealing them) that didn’t just make it Walking Dead West Coast.
At least it has some good actors, unlike The World Beyond” disaster.
Thankfully the World Beyond disaster is only two seasons long, Which was two seasons too many. Only character we care about is Jadis the Trash lady only to find out what happened to Rick. Disappointed in this series all together.
Can’t believe the far-inferior-to-the-original 4400 didn’t make this list. 6 episodes in and NOTHING is happening. Episode five featured some of the worst acting and writing I’ve seen on any television show. But hey…as long as they tick all the boxes, right?? Please…
I detect a racist.
How so?
Because these days, each and every square foot of this country has to look like a Benneton ad, and must perfectly match the national ethnic pie chart. And if it doesn’t… it’s RAAAACISM!!!!
We live in a time where if you don’t get what you want, just scream about some -ism or -phobia. Accuse white supremacy. Or snarily put man- in front of it.
The show is racist, though. Not in the traditional sense that make blue haired college students have wet dreams, but still racist.
Take a real good look the cast: All the good guys are black. All the fascists are white. There’s 4400 hostages on the show, you’d think one of them were white. Or asian. Or latin. Or first nation.
One is white, asian, latin, native american and oh yeah the whites are fascists. Just ask all the women who are about to lose control over their own bodies. (Actually that more Al-Qaeda, but I digress….)
I haven’t seen any black fascists lately.
You people are ridiculous. Each episode has had MULTIPLE plot points and all the sexual/gender stuff has mainly been to show characters from the past how much things have changed. I have a feeling that some are still learning though; I think the doctor might really be intersex and is still confused. I find it fascinating and at 80% on rotten tomatoes, it’s not a best shows list show, but it’s far from the worst.
I can’t speak to this particular show, as I’ve not seen it, but considering we’ve had so many shows and movies throughout the history of TV and film that put minorities in the “bad guy” category and white people in the “hero” category, I think white people can learn to deal with a show or film that might flip the script every now and again, and stereotype them as the bad guys for a change. Almost like getting a taste of what minorities have had to put up with for decades, or something.
Thats the problem… just because someone doesnt like a diverse show doesnt mean they are racist, thats not always the case and the same can be applied to the show itself just because a cast has too many white people… a show like Fate is bad? Yes, diversity is needed and we should ask for more people of color but we consider a show bad just because of it… a tv show is bad because of the plot or character development. Its so confusing because now, people even use people of color to make sure their show will work and others cant say the show its bad since that will make them racist. The Wonder Years reboot is good but shows like the new Charmed series used the whole women of color/ feminist flag to look woke and didnt care for the plot. Some writers just use people of color to sell their ideas and end up ruining what could have been a nice show.
There’s plenty of valid reasons to criticize the show. It’s throwing in the “tick all the boxes” that makes the comment an issue. The issue with 4400 is casting and writing, same with your examples. It’s not the fact that they cast people of color.
I have absolutely…I mean, seriously, I shouldn’t have to explain this…NO issue with the cast being predominantly black. I’m not even going to explain how dumb that is. My only problem with the makeup of the cast is that the acting SUCKS! And to expand upon the writing…when you spend more time waving your arms in front of the audience saying, “look, everybody…look how ‘woke’ we are” instead of focusing on, I don’t know…story, dialogue, character interaction…it’s gonna reflect in your show.
I’ve had many people actually suggest I lower my expectations because it’s a CW show, which I kind of view as a cop-out. But maybe they’re right. I mean someone point me in the direction of an actually-well-written CW show…
Supernatural
Supernatural great show
I bailed after two eps. It’s so bad.
Ticking boxes? Woke? Lol dude chill. The world is changing its in our tv ads. They show interracial couples and gasps SAME SEX couples. You appear to have a Mad Men mentality in a Modern Family world. Serious question and not throwing shade. Why are you irked by change, progression and forward-thinking? TV and movies should reflect what we see in the world.
Except in the case of 4400, it’s about ticking off boxes. Take a look at the show and you’ll see that out of the six episodes that’s aired as of today, four of them have been about sexuality and/or gender identity. Instead of the mystery of why they were taken and why they have powers. Which is the plotline of the show. One would think they’d have enough plot to cover more than two episodes.
I imagine the honest answer to your question is something about how young white men in America are taught the world is theirs, the world SHOULD be as white as it was on tv when they grew up, and the only “sharing” they’ll ever have to do will be their own choice, and will only include one or two tokens of the “other” groups. And they think everyone else thinks like this, everyone else wants this for their own group, and if another group has some level of power they’ll get rid of or utterly ignore their group. At the end of the day, it’s insecurity, it’s a deep deep fear that if the world doesn’t revolve around them they’ll be lost. They think they can’t be enough, if they aren’t the boss of something or everything. And they haven’t been taught how to articulate vulnerable emotions so they cover their confusion and pain with a performance of aggrievement and false comparisons and a veneer of rage. It’s a horrible way to live, and horrible for everyone else they inflict it on.
Also, it’s funny (ish) to see people in this thread saying stuff like “you’d think” that only one or two nonwhite people would be in a group of literal hundreds, as though they think their reality of almost universal whiteness is the REAL reality. It’s funny because I’ve grown up and lived in one small city, I’m no “woke college student liberal elite avocado toast with access to hair dye” boogieman whose life is somehow less real to them, and I’ve never, ever seen a single tv show or movie that has approached the kind of diversity I’ve seen around me for my whole life. If I made characters of my actual real reality, I’d be told I was “ticking boxes” or “pandering” or “trying too hard”. But it’s just life, it’s just people.
Very well said Stranger! I agree with almost everything. I’m 47 and when I was a kid, it was tough to find TV shows that showed POC where they were not: a criminal, the best friend , clownish or a thug. Thankfully, The Cosby Show and A Different World Came along. Then in 2004, Lost and Grey’s Anatomy premiered on ABC. Each of those shows had people of color as lead characters and were extremely diverse.
Vic hates this show so much that he posted above as Vic 5 minutes before he posted it as Vic Mackey. Props for your passionate hatred of 4400, I guess.
And your disdain for “wokeness” can mean a couple things…that you are annoyed by the more general oversensitivity to less egregious offenses or that you are resentful that you can’t say hateful things to people without being called out for doing so. In my experience, most people who criticize wokeness fall into the latter category because most people who are actually woke know how to separate what is deserving of criticism from that which is just noise. The people who criticize wokeness love to use the outlying voices of hypersensitive people to justify their disdain for a population of people who generally have the best interests of ALL in mind. Why don’t you just find a Tim Allen show to watch…they are benign and colorless and humorless shows that should be right up your alley. No wokeness to be found.
If you’re going to include Netflix shows, there are much worse ones. These are just the higher profile ones. I like Call Me Kat.
I’ll take American Horror Stories over AHS: Double Feature any day of the week. I can’t believe that mess of a season didn’t make your list
Agree completely. The first half of Double Feature wasn’t bad, but the second half was terrible, I couldn’t even finish it. I thought American Horror Stories was pretty good!
fortunately i didn’t watch most of these but i really take issue with the Morning Show’s inclusion. I’m a New Yorker and had no issue with the covid integration and while this season was not nearly as good as the first — there’s no way this was one of the worst of the year.
How Come La Brea isn’t on this list????
Worst acting, story line, and where have all the Saber Tooth Tigers gone? Oh yeah, I forgot, they’re really vegetarians.
The thing about La Brea is it’s so bad that it’s good, which makes the show fun to watch. The common theme among the shows on this list (and I haven’t seen any of them) appears to be they simply aren’t very enjoyable .
Yes, others have commented that it has that wonderful “did they just do/say that?” quality, see Zoo for its close relative.
I couldn’t make it to the first commercial break. It was so bad.
Does that mean you missed the giant cartoon sloth? Gold, I tell ya
AMEN!
Fear the Walking Dead’s nuclear bomb storyline is just too much to deal with, why continue to stay in the location with nuclear fallout instead of leaving the damn state, like honestly im just frustrated with last seasons final and the current storyline. Morgan, Grace, and their baby should have just left the state
I agree, its weird that they are staying where there is nuclear fallout. Normal ppl would have gone running towards the other direction.
They actually tried early on to simply drive out of it. There were concerns about having enough gas to make it, and of course, they didn’t make it out before the next crisis happened. So it’s not like the idea was not tried.
We really like The Morning Show. Great acting.
Me too! And including COVID the way they do makes it relevant.
I wanted Call Me Kat to succeed, not because I like it but because I wanted MB to be too busy for Jeopardy.
I agree about Celebrity Dating Game and that’s odd because I love ZD and MB.
Alter Ego is/was a disaster from the get go. Who thought this was a good idea?
I haven’t watched the others.
I started watching Jeopardy! again *because* she’s hosting. Since Ken Jennings took over, I might catch it once per week.
I was hoping for Buzzy Cohen as permanent host rather than Her or Ken.
I LOVE Ken Jennings as host and he belongs as host. Mayim was good but I prefer Ken.
I really like Fear The Walking Dead, lately more than the incredibly slow paced original. I understand the fan base is torn on this show but to put it on the 10 worst list is pushing it. Killing John off was a horrible idea but to say 10 worst, come on. This feed will be littered with far worse shows.
both shows in the franchise have a habit of splitting up the group every season and every season has a “b- storyline” where they have to find each other while facing a bigger threat (the a-storyline) … which i think it a copout and lazy writing
I stopped watching Fear this year. While I hated killing John, I can live with that. But surviving nuclear bomb and living in the fallout is just too much
I enjoy Kat and it’s quirky cast. The set up with all the cats wandering around where
People eat is a bit weird
Strongly disagree on the morning show. Love this season
Agree. This season was superb!
The Bachelor
The Bachelorette
Supermarket Sweep
Alter Ego
4400
I have tried watching Call Me Kat, and it is not good. I ruled the rest of the shows out for many reasons and did not even try them.
i’m confused about one thing, looking at the list and your reasons for why you think these are the worst shows of 2021, so im curious … do you not like the show, or do you not like the storyline of the season? because it seems like you are using both in order to create this list (example: you liked the first season of the Morning Show, but you didnt like the storyline for season 2 … so does not liking the storyline of the season make it one of the “worst shows” of 2021)
The only show here I watched was Pretty Smart and I will defend that show forever. It’s a cute, funny, easy to watch show. The cast is great, the (sometimes predictable, I admit) plot is entertaining. I loved it, and I’m hoping for a season two.
I wish Madison WOULD show up alive on Fear the Walking Dead. Her return could jump start the whole stagnant mess that this show has become.
I’m still waiting for it.
It is time for this Walking Dead stuff to just go away. Emily Osment is a smoke show and a pretty good comedic actress. I wish she’d get a decent show.
After a slow start, Pretty Smart becomes quite charming and refreshing. I would like to see what they do with another season.
Completely agree.
I feel good that none of the shows I watched is on the list.
No kidding. I take a proactive approach and try to avoid watching shows that look like they may suck.
Zooey Deschanel deserves so much better! Get that girl on a good show! The Dating Game show was absolutely awful!!!
I know celebrity versions of games shows are all the rage now, but usually it’s to show how dumb they all are (have you ever seen how much they dumb down the questions for the celebrities in the final category on Family Feud? “Name a color on a zebra!”). This one seems like the weirdest one to try and adapt. Practically everyone in the world knows the celebrity is going out on a date with someone from a game show. So what’s the point? Might have a shot convincing over a whole season of something like “Celebrity Bachelor/Bachelorette” or something, but not someone at one taping, even for a security guard attended date. There’s no pay off even by that show’s low standards. (Please no one in Hollywood actually think Celebrity Bachelor/ette is a good idea.)
Celebrity Family Feud is dumbed down a little, BUT the money is also going to charity and so I think it should be to help the most charities possible.
Michael Bolton was just a strange addition, and his songs always gave away the contestants too easily when it came to that part.
I couldn’t agree more about the morning show and tiger king
Can’t say I watch any of these, but for me B Positive’s retooling has been an epic fail. It sort of worked having the contrast of dark humour and subject matter with an old fashioned laugh track.