There is no doubt that this is true: 2020 sucks.
Take away from the many factors we are dealing with every day, and all we have left is our entertainment; our beloved TV.
Well, in 2020, we’ve discovered that even if we’re banished to our homes and being very good little angels, we are still at risk, not only because of COVID-related TV issues, either (although it does top the list). Read on to see our biggest disappointment of the year (so far).
COVID Interruptions and Delays
Shows ended before they were supposed to, and we have no idea when many are returning. Some were canceled. How does COVID impact The Society for goodness sakes? TruTV canceled I’m Sorry for the same reason, and networks need to do a lot more than apologize for rescinding already renewed shows.
A lot of shows got their storylines upended, and we may never know what was previously in store for the characters we love.
New Amsterdam veered away from a storyline resembling our suffering with the virus because it might trigger people, and now we know that many series will dive headfirst into the same territory by incorporating the virus — as if we need a reminder of how terrible our lives have become in a mere six months.
Cancellation of The Society (and the Showrunner’s Worthless Hints About the Second Season)
Yep, this was already noted in the section above, but that the showrunner came out with what might have happened in the second season without addressing the elephant in the room is unacceptable.
What’s the elephant? At the end of the first and only season of The Society, they dropped some hints about the why of the situation the kids found themselves in. And it was easily the driving point to wanting to see more of The Society.
What happened that left the kids stranded? Why were they cut off from their families who had moved on swimmingly without them? Was it punishment? An accident? It’s so unfair that we will never know.
Yellowstone Season 3 Finale
Maybe the previous section is why Yellowstone Season 3 Episode 10 stung more than anticipated. Yes, we know Yellowstone is already in Montana and filming, but what IF they can’t finish? Was that the finale we want hanging over our heads?
The entire season took place in an extraordinarily tight window of time, so imagining anyone could have planned the three-pronged attack on the Duttons given their distance from one another is just ludicrous.
When compared against Succession, which is framed similarly with a patriarch and his children in a succession situation, well, the Yellowstone Season 3 finale just doesn’t hold up.
Younger’s Delay of it Now-Final Season
Younger, which has become a staple summer show, didn’t air since COVID hit right as they were about to begin production on Younger Season 7.
And now it was announced that Season 7 is its finale, so that’s even more of a bummer.
We need to know what is next for Liza. How will Josh’s rude behavior at Diana’s wedding affect her? And will she still be interested in a future with Charles, or is that over? He just proposed!
And will there be a spinoff with Kelsey at the helm, especially since… well, we have another section for that.
The Lizzie McGuire Reboot Getting Nixed
With the continual news of reshoots and rejiggering of The Lizzie McGuire reboot, it’s not a surprise that Disney+ chose not to move forward with it.
Still, a lot of millennials who grew up on the show were excited about it because it was set to follow an adult Lizzie navigating life in NYC.
There’s still hope the script will be rewritten to fit Disney+’s vision or that a different network will pick it up.
Then again, in light of the end of Younger now in sight, maybe it’s time for Hilary Duff to get a spinoff so she can be the adult we love, who is just about as Lizzie M. as we could hope.
The Reboots We WANTED Aren’t Going Forward!
Yep, we wanted Lizzie McGuire to be rebooted. We were also really looking forward to more Thirtysomething and the continuation of Revenge.
Sure, we were somewhat nervous about them, but the early casting and storylines seemed promising. And let’s face it, both of these shows have a lot of avenues available to revisit the characters.
Why do we have so any reboots we don’t want but can’t get the ones that actually make sense? 2020 sucks.
Disney+ Is a Bit of a Letdown
While we’re on the topic of Disney+, we need to get this out. The streamer is a bit of a letdown.
For all of the excitement around its launch, Disney+ is a whole lot of nothing so far for adults.
With the exception of The Mandalorian, there isn’t much to praise. Heck, even movies come and go so quickly you can’t possibly keep track.
They also stole Friends, so it’s gone from Netflix, as well as Once Upon a Time, which is gone as of September 6. Does their getting all of the streaming rights make up for their poor slate of original content? No, no, it does not.
TV Fanatic Readers Lack of Interest in Apple TV+
There is an exception to this disappointment — Defending Jacob did well for us and generated discussion. But other than that, you have let us down, and it’s a real shame.
Why? Because hands down, Apple TV+ has amassed the best group of original series that you’re not watching.
From The Morning Show to Serpent to For All Mankind to Little Voice and including the latest, Ted Lasso with Jason Sudeikis, the time and money Apple has spent to get it right shows.
Maybe with a dismal fall season, you’ll wise up and get on board. It’s well worth the $4.99 (!!!) monthly cost to get quality content. And then, we wouldn’t be talking to ourselves all the time.
Roberto Aquirre-Sacasa’s Bad Luck Is Our Bad Luck, Too
Two of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s shows getting canceled in one week is highly annoying. What are the odds?
It was kind of expected for Katy Keene, but it was surprising that Netflix decided to end Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
It crushed any and all hope of a big crossover event (how ever they would have managed to do it) and put an end to at least one world full of characters we’d grown to love.
No fair!
Power’s Final Episodes Left a Lot to Be Desired
The decision to have the night of Ghost’s death shown through the eyes of different characters over the last five episodes was an odd choice because it sidelined many of the characters that were central to Power.
And not to mention we never even got to really say goodbye to Ghost or see any of the immediate fallout of his death.
The spinoffs are coming, but it would have been nice to see the original series end in a way that felt like a fitting sendoff to the characters we came to know.
America Ferrara Leaving Superstore
Without Amy, and without Amy and Jonah together, is there even a point to Superstore?
We haven’t heard of any brilliant plans to replace her yet. And even if they did, would we believe it?
The show will never be the same, and unless they convince us otherwise, we’re wondering if it’s worth tuning in when it begins airing again.
Bellamy Blake’s depiction in The 100 Season 7
Bellamy wasn’t around for 11 episodes, except for a fake-out death, and now he is forced into a “traitor” role even though he is getting killed off soon. So at most, he will be around for three to four episodes, and most of them are to serve as the conflict.
And at the same time, Clarke Griffin, the lead, has been missing as well. They barely used her for the first half of the season, she wasn’t the driving force for anything, and she was missing from too many episodes.
In general, there are a lot of issues with The 100 Season 7, but the way they erased both leads from the final season makes no sense.
Penny. Dreadful. City. Of. Angels.
We can’t even speak of this disaster by titling the section appropriately. It just doesn’t deserve the respect.
End to end, we have NEVER been so disappointed in a show. To sell it as anything related to the original series was a con job of epic proportions.
And it wasn’t even just that it was bad. It was that there was actual potential. They had a fantastic cast. They had amazing production value. They brought 1930s Los Angeles to spectacular life.
The season took is to depths of disappointment we didn’t even know existed. Based on the promotional pictures, they left scenes on the cutting room floor that might’ve actually filled out a narrative that ended up making no sense and wasting all the goodwill imbued by the franchise.
And Nathan Lane never even got to punch a Nazi.
Roswell, New Mexico Season 2
Roswell, New Mexico’s second season was highly anticipated and had promise, but it was all over the place, barely made sense, and never pinned down a specific plot.
Even worse, the show’s freshman season showed that the writers were still struggling with the writing for some characters. Maria is nothing but a pawn, and Kyle is still on the periphery. Adding useless characters to prop characters is not a game plan.
And Roswell, New Mexico Season 2 Episode 13, the finale, was weak. That’s a kind judgment.
Siren’s Romantic Switch
They did a bait and switch on their primary Polymarine romance, you know, the one that was interesting.
They always hyped the more traditional Ben and Ryn romance and then spent the entire (now final) season sidelining Maddie.
With that kind of storytelling, the show deserved to get canceled.
Big Brother 22: All-Stars
Their loose interpretation of All-stars has included some questionable contestants.
It has never been more abundantly clear that there is a new-school versus old-school way of playing, and it’s already dull with the large alliance and steamrolling.
Thank goodness for Janelle and Kaysar, though their fates are already sealed.
The Good Doctor Season 3 Finale
Killing off Neil Mendez so unceremoniously, not even giving him a farewell with Shaun or some of his other students was humiliating
They put a nail in two different ships: Mendez/Lim and Mendez /Claire, without any fanfare at all.
This was done after leaving one unfinished and teasing at the other without ever following through with it.
And breaking up Shaun and Carly just so Shaun could hook up with ableist Lea really sucked, especially after showing why they would be toxic romantically.
Mina’s Mommy Is Me Arc on The Resident
Mina’s arc with her best friend’s pregnancy and her baby was such a letdown on The Resident.
It was such an uncharacteristic way for someone like her to get sidelined all season. We have come to enjoy Mina for her strength but more for her ability to forge her own path.
Forcing her to consider parenthood when everything else opposed it — including her friend’s poor decisions regarding pregnancy and Mina’s disinterest in motherhood — was a serious letdown for the woman we love.
Practically Every Grey’s Anatomy Season 16 Storyline
Last, and certainly not least, we’ve got a lot to say about Grey’s Anatomy Season 16, and it ain’t good, people!
Meredith committing insurance fraud just so they could praise her as some sort of savior when there were other ways for her to save that patient, and for them to tackle health insurance was just ridiculous.
Literally, every relationship was in trouble at one point or another.
Amelia being upset that wanted to know if the baby was his was irrational pre-tumor removal behavior. Jackson and Maggie broke up for no logical reason (was it because he was mad she was mad he left her in the car?), and then he jumped into a relationship with Vic two weeks later (Vic, whose fiancé died about a month prior).
Jackson was a prop for the Station 19 crossovers. The crossovers helped Station 19 but at the expense of Grey’s stories.
Richard holding a grudge against Catherine for getting fired, but not being mad at Meredith (whose fault it was) or Bailey (who did the firing) was ridiculous.
And Richard’s random hip replacement was clearly a way to cause a medical emergency for him without him being terminally ill.
But a hip replacement happening three years ago in another hospital no one knew or talked about did not align with anything on the show.
And, let us not forget the fiasco that was Alex Karev’s departure. If they were going to crush the long-forged relationship he had built with Jo for Isobel, then they should have at least begged for (or paid handsomely) Katherine Heigl to return to see Alex off into the sunset.
The whole season was all over the place.
What is rankling you during this very trying year? Do you have any disappointment to add to our expansive list?
You know we want to hear from you, so have your say below!
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film. Follow her on Twitter and email her here at TV Fanatic.