The Worst New TV Shows of 2020

by Jason Dietz, Metacritic Features Editor – December 22, 2020

What were the biggest television duds of the past year? Above are the lowest-scoring first-year primetime TV series (including limited series and specials) debuting in the United States between January 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020. Shows are ranked by Metascore (an average of grades from top professional critics on a 0-100 scale) prior to rounding based on scores from December 19, 2020, and must have at least 4 reviews from professional critics to qualify.

10 of 11 photo by Adam Rose/Netflix

40 #10: The Goop Lab with Gwyneth Paltrow (Netflix)

It's not the only Netflix series based on a lifestyle brand. But The Goop Lab is probably the only one to showcase vulvas, energy readings, and "vampire facials." Critics dismissed the show as a six-episode infomercial peddling junk science.

“What’s disturbing about the show is that when you combine Gwyneth’s aura of trustworthiness with a mishmash of real science, New Age nonsense, vague female empowerment rhetoric, naked commercialism and some startling knowledge gaps in areas where Goop claims expertise, the result has its unique dangers. ... Some episodes are more than just distasteful.” —Judy Berman, Time

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