TVLine has compiled a list of the most disappointing television offerings from 2025 to date, highlighting series and movies that failed to meet expectations across genres like reality, true crime, procedurals, and sci-fi. The roundup critiques shows for issues ranging from tonal inconsistencies and poor casting to lackluster storytelling and insensitivity. Featured entries include TLC's 'The Baldwins' and Netflix's 'Pulse,' among others.
Overview
In a candid assessment published on November 7, 2025, TVLine's critics called out the year's underperformers in television, emphasizing the importance of critiquing shows that miss the mark. The list encompasses both series and TV movies, spanning networks like TLC, Hulu, The CW, HBO, and Netflix. As critic Kimberly Roots noted in the introduction, "Loving television means celebrating the best it has to offer... and also calling out the series that really miss the mark." The selections reflect a mix of high-profile disappointments, from celebrity reality fare to prestige dramas, inviting reader feedback in the comments.
Key Disappointments
The Baldwins (TLC): This reality series following Alec Baldwin and Hilaria Baldwin drew ire for repetitive themes about family chaos and insensitivity toward Baldwin's real-life involuntary manslaughter trial over the 2021 'Rust' shooting. Roots remarked, "Never was that more true than when we were supposed to feel bad for Alec... (Perspective, anyone?)" The family’s habit of referring to their youngest child only as "the baby" added to the frustration.
Good American Family (Hulu): A true-crime miniseries on the Natalia Grace adoption case was criticized for its lopsided narrative, delaying the adoptee's perspective until episode 5. Rebecca Luther highlighted the "jumbled mess of harrowing drama, misplaced comedy and bizarre needle drops," while praising Christina Hendricks' performance as Cynthia Mans despite miscastings like Ellen Pompeo and Mark Duplass.
Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent (The CW): Described as a pale imitation of the original franchise, this Canadian procedural evoked the "meme that says, 'Your Mom: We have [fill-in-the-blank] at home!'" Leads Aden Young and Kathleen Munroe were commended, but the 1995-esque feel and shadow of the original 'Criminal Intent' duo doomed it, per Roots.
Mountainhead (HBO): Jesse Armstrong's post-'Succession' movie featured Steve Carell and Jason Schwartzman as smug billionaires in a toxic ski weekend tale lacking nuance. Dave Nemetz called it a "bitter stew of toxic entitlement," culminating in an "unforgivably callous scene" of plotted murder for profit.
Pulse (Netflix): This medical drama was sunk by clichéd dialogue and self-aware soapiness, with a cringey HR argument exemplifying its flaws. Luther noted it "rolled its eyes at other soapy medical dramas while also landing in that category itself."
Star Trek: Section 31 (Paramount+): Michelle Yeoh's spinoff movie felt like a "rejected pilot," with frenetic pacing masking plot holes and generic action over 'Star Trek' essence. Nemetz observed, "It played like a rejected pilot for a TV show... which, in fact, was exactly what it was."
With Love, Meghan (Netflix): Meghan Markle's lifestyle series was deemed insubstantial, focusing on tablescapes without deeper insight into her post-royal life. Luther lamented, "After weathering so many public storms... Markle had an opportunity here to really let us in... Instead, 'With Love, Meghan' felt insubstantial and pointless."
Zero Day (Netflix): Despite stars Robert De Niro and Angela Bassett, this conspiracy thriller drowned in exposition and twists. Nemetz critiqued its hollow attempt at prestige, saying, "Just because something looks like prestige TV doesn't mean it's any good."
The list underscores 2025's mixed TV landscape, balancing entertainment critique with calls for better storytelling.