Seasons: 1
Starring: Madison Iseman, Bill Heck, Brianne Tju
Description: An adaptation of the famous slasher series from the late nineties, this series has basically the exact same plot as the original movie, with a group of teen friends being stalked by a killer a year after they witness a fatal accident. Is that a spoiler? We’re not sure anymore.
Why it’s a stinker: Critics called the show, a whole eight episodes, a tough slog. Even the original movie isn’t an amazing film, and it drags. Stretching that plot out to eight forty-five-minute episodes makes this one a snoozer you can easily miss. In addition, the dialogue seemed out of touch. Pairing up the teens of today with slashers just doesn’t seem to mesh that well.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Worst)
Seasons: 1
Starring: Morfydd Clar, Robert Aramayo, Sophia Nomvete, Markella Kavenagh
Description: “The Rings of Power” takes us back thousands of years into the history of Middle-Earth, long before there was ever a Hobbit to destroy the One Ring and save the world. We get to see battles between elves and monsters and how the world of “Lord of the Rings” was formed.
Why it’s a stinker: No, “The Rings of Power” isn’t a terrible show, but it clearly didn’t know how to best present its source material – of which there wasn’t a great deal in the first place. It doesn’t have the sincere movie magic of Peter Jackson’s first trilogy, and character choices have turned people away from the show.
The Terminal List (Worst)
Seasons: 1
Starring: Chris Pratt, Constance Wu, Taylor Kitsch
Description: Navy SEAL Commander James Reece decides to turn to vengeance as he investigates the mysterious murder of his entire platoon. He applies everything he’s learned after spending all that time in the military’s most elite group, hunting down the people responsible.
Why it’s a stinker: Somehow, this show was able to strip Chris Pratt of his unique charisma and replace it with almost nothing. It has a certified rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes. It becomes little more than a by-the-book revenge story that also doesn’t portray the military all that well. It’s earned genuinely terrible reviews except on Amazon (and it’s hard to trust those), and this show has little more to offer than something to throw on for the big Pratt fan in the family.
Solos (Worst)
Seasons: 1
Starring: Uzo Aduba, Nicole Beharie, Morgan Freeman
Description: A seven-part anthology series that explores what it means to be human through a fantasy and science-fiction lens, “Solos” has some big names like Anne Hathaway, Anthony Mackie, Helen Mirren, and more. Each one has its own little story; there’s plenty of slick production and some fun high-concept science-fiction ideas.
Why it’s a stinker: Just like with so many pieces of art, the writing is terrible. The actors and actresses have to do their best with overwritten globs of text, mostly thanks to writer David Weill. Every confession has to be full of tears; there are far too many current-year pop-culture gags and despite the show’s best attempt at “Black Mirror” episodes, none of them are able to get elevated above even middling.
Tell Me Your Secrets (Worst)
Seasons: 1
Starring: Lily Rabe, Amy Brenneman, Hamish Linklater
Description: Originally written as a show for TNT, this show purports to be a complex thriller revolving around three mysterious characters that have intersecting motives. Emma is a woman who is in love with a dangerous killer, John is a former serial predator looking for redemption, and Mary is a grieving mother obsessed with finding her missing daughter.
Why it’s a stinker: With rug-pulls, timeline-shifting plot points, and oodles of melodrama, the show is just too in the weeds for its own good. The secrets that are promised in the title are barely worth the time the show gives them, and it’s clear this series languished on the shelf for too long before Amazon Prime picked it up.