While 2014 was a year full of great and groundbreaking television, it’s impossible to ignore all of the awful television that came along with it. For every Broad City, there’s a Mixology, and for every Transparent, there’s Black Box. Plenty has been said about the most-watched bad shows of the year — the horrifyingly awful Stalker, the ridiculous ending of How I Met Your Mother, and just about everything on Lifetime — but there were many more low points than just those. Here are ten of the worst TV programs and moments of the year that you’ve probably already forgotten about.
Mixology (ABC)
At the center of Mixology is a somewhat intriguing concept, in that the entire series takes place during just one night in a bar and chronicles the budding relationships between a bunch of single people. But it quickly turned out that Mixology relied too much on shitty stereotypes, grating female characters, and uncomfortable rape jokes. It wasn’t entertaining or funny, and the characters were, by and large, too obnoxious to ever connect with them — and I say this having watched it through to the end, even after it was canceled.
Black Box (ABC)
Television has a questionable history with characters who suffer from any sort of mental illness, and doubly so when it comes to bipolar disorder. Black Box is perhaps the most egregious example of this. Its main character, a brilliant bipolar neuroscientist named Dr. Black, immediately enters a manic episode the second she’s off her meds — you can tell she’s manic because of the jazzy soundtrack — and becomes a suicidal and hyper-sexual being, but always manages to pull it together enough to help her patients! Not only was it an unrealistic depiction of mental illness, but it was also straight-up offensive.
Kathie Lee and Hoda Host WWE Raw on October 6 (USA)
I like to believe I hold the title for Biggest Defender of WWE Over the Age of 11 but even so, I can’t even get behind the awful choices WWE makes for its Raw guest hosts (Grumpy Cat, Larry the Cable Guy, and Jerry Springer were all among them this year). But by far the worst were the Today show’s Kathie Lee and Hoda, who came down to the ring with wrestler/partier Adam Rose and then proceeded to smash bottles of wine on each other’s asses — apparently in the name of Breast Cancer Awareness.
I Wanna Marry “Harry” (Fox)
Most reality dating shows function as a fun hate-watch, but I Wanna Marry “Harry” was too inane to even pretend to enjoy. It made women believe that this — a Fox reality show burned off in the summer — was their last chance for love. And what’s more, their last chance for love was a man pretending to be Prince Harry. (He barely resembled Harry, for the record). The show was canceled before we found out if they ever found love, or at least found out he was lying.
Jonah from Tonga (HBO)
Remember when HBO aired an entire season of Chris Lilley pretending to be a Pacific Islander while wearing blackface? I’d rather not.
Anger Management (FXX)
Charlie Sheen’s comeback vehicle after being fired from Two and a Half Men was about as bad as, well, Two and a Half Men. While curious viewers checked in for the first few weeks, the ratings quickly dropped, but the show had to keep truckin’ to hit that 100-episode order. Some of the important things that happened this season: Charlie slept with his coworker’s twin, a “hot Latina woman,” his probation officer’s receptionist, a therapy client’s girlfriend, a cop, a sorority sister, a “hot nerd,” and a “good Catholic daughter” (among countless others). Thankfully, the show finally hit episode 100 last night and ended.
Mind of a Man (GSN)
Because there aren’t enough TV shows that cater to men, Game Show Network debuted Mind of a Man this year. It is basically Family Feud, but the producers only interview men. During game play, two female contestants try to correctly guess what men think about work, dating, marriage, etc. If they are stumped, they have the option to ask a male celebrity for help. Some of the rounds include “The Male Order” and “The Men’s High Five.” Just be grateful you’ve never heard of this show.
The Simpsons/Family Guy crossover episode (Fox)
This crossover episode was so misguided that even the later, much better, Simpsons/Futurama crossover couldn’t get rid of the bad taste in viewers’ mouths. It was technically a Family Guy episode, but it brought the worst of that show to the (general) goodness of The Simpsons, temporarily turning Springfield into a place you’d never want to visit, let alone live in.
Alan and Walden get married on Two and a Half Men
On the bright side, Two and a Half Men is finally ending its run this season! Unfortunately, the main storyline right now is about Alan and Walden, two straight men, pretending to be gay and getting actually married to each other because Walden decided it would make it easier for him to adopt a child. As you would expect, every episode has been chock-full of boring, awful, and cliché gay jokes.
The Night Shift‘s promo photo
It’s been months, and I stopped watching the show (which somehow got renewed!) at midseason, but I still can’t stop thinking about this terrible and unintentionally hilarious photo featuring Doctor Cool dangerously riding a motorcycle through a sterile hospital.