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.

5 of 11 photo by Simon Ridgway/Netflix

35 #4 (tie): The Duchess (Netflix)

Comedian Katherine Ryan created and starred in this six-episode Netflix comedy series in which she played a single mother searching for a man to father her second child. Critics found Ryan's character wholly unlikable and the show crass and exhausting.

“At its worst, The Duchess is a disastrous Catastrophe copycat. At its best, it's a deranged mother-daughter love story. But nothing can erase the stink lines radiating off this alleyway dumpster.” —Robyn Bahr, The Hollywood Reporter

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