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.

4 of 11 photo by NBCUniversal

35 #4 (tie): In Deep With Ryan Lochte (Peacock)

As Gertrude Stein once said of Olympic swimmer turned reality show star Ryan Lochte (or was it about Oakland? Who can remember), "There is no there there." But this chronicle of his attempt to revive his scandal-marred career and return to the Olympics in Tokyo will forever live on as the answer to the trivia question, "What was Peacock's worst launch series?" (Another trivia question for future years: "What was Peacock?")

“A shallow and self-pitying vanity project. ... It doesn't help that Lochte is as inarticulate and unreflective as you remember him.” —Inkoo Kang, The Hollywood Reporter

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