These Are The 15 Worst Netflix Original Shows Right Now
Netflix has come a long way since it was founded in 1997. It started out renting and selling DVDs by mail before entering into the online streaming business. They have gone on to revolutionize the way we watch television. No longer do we need to wait until a certain time to watch our favorite shows on network television. Now we just access Netflix on our television sets and stream what we want to watch at any time of the day or night. They offer everything from classic movies to new releases as well as loads of television shows such as Breaking Bad and its spin-off, Better Call Saul. There are hundreds of old and new shows available.
In 2013, Netflix started making their own movies and television series. House of Cards, Narcos, and Orange is the New Black are examples of very popular Netflix original television series while movies like ARQ, Beasts of No Nation, and Spectral earned rave reviews. There are also a lot of great documentaries, concerts, and other specialty programming to keep viewers binge watching.
Needless to say, not all of their shows are great. With a push to fill up their viewing menu with more programs, there are bound to be a few duds. Here are the 15 worst Netflix TV shows right now.
15. Love
Netflix originally signed on for two seasons of this television romantic comedy and they just ordered a third season prior to the start of the second which is currently running. It seems that some people are watching this “down-to-earth look at dating”. In a familiar premise, Love follows Mickey and Gus as the progress through their relationship. Each character has their flaws such as Mickey’s alcohol and drug use. Naturally, these issues cause arguments but the pair always makes up and move on to the next episode.
What makes this show so hard to watch is that it just doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. The first season succeeds in developing a story line but the second season is rather aimless. Who knows what the third season will bring and one has to also wonder if it will return for a fourth.
14. Iron Fist
Marvel Comics has certainly inspired a lot of big budget and highly-successful action flicks in recent years. They have also saturated the television market with several ongoing and developing shows. Iron Fist is one such show. In this prequel to the upcoming Defenders series, Danny Rand is a billionaire monk and martial artist that can summon the power of the Iron Fist. He resurfaces in New York to get his business back after it was thought he had died 15 years earlier. During the series, Danny attempts to prove his identity while he makes both friends and enemies along the way. He kicks a lot of butt too as you may have guessed.
Unfortunately, the script isn’t well written and characters are not all that interesting. The story line is telegraphed and the finale is disappointing. Marvel has given us some great shows but this isn’t one of them.
13. Anne
Some things never get old. Unfortunately, some things do and Anne might be one of them. Just when we thought that a character had run its course, along comes yet another incarnation. Anne’s exuberant and strong character is pretty consistent with who she was in previous movies and television series but the story lines are much different. While struggling to fit in, Anne must also face contemporary issues such as prejudice, bullying, and, of course, feminism. She will also have to deal with her first menstrual cycle, as will the viewing audience. Marvelous!!
This show could gain a bit of an audience in Canada, where Anne of Green Gables has been a staple for years, but it might struggle to get much viewership in the US and elsewhere around the world.
12. Friends From College
This new offering, which will be released this summer, is about a group of friends that went to university together. The characters have achieved different levels of success and are all facing various challenges as they approach their forties. Not surprisingly, the characters have complex relationships with each other. We will see romances develop and fall apart as well as tensions between the characters. We will also see a bit of drug use and partying that will be good for a few laughs.
The big problem is that we have seen this before. It’s nothing new. It has a pretty good cast which features Cobie Smulders, Keegan-Michael Key, and that Kevin Arnold guy from The Wonder Years but it’s like putting lipstick on a pig. So far, Netflix has just ordered the one 8-episode season so it appears that they are taking a wait-and-see approach.
11. Real Rob
If you are one of the 17 Rob Schneider fans in this world, you may want tune in for a few episodes of this Netflix series that has been renewed for a second season. If you aren’t particularly crazy about the veteran comedian then you will be challenged to sit through an episode. It is part reality, part mockumentary, and has also been referred to being similar to Curb Your Enthusiasm and Louie only not nearly as clever. The show focuses on Rob as he tries to strike a balance between work and family. Yawn. There are scenes of him performing stand-up comedy as well as the usual gross-out and predictable antics that have defined his career.
The show has no real structure. In some parts, the characters are giving interviews a la The Office and Parks and Recreation while other parts try to develop quick-to-pass plots and joke setups.
10. Flaked
Will Arnett was very good in Arrested Development and he obviously has some great comedic chops. However, Flaked does not really display his genius. Arnett created the show with the help of Mitch Hurwitz who was also the creator and producer of Arrested Development. In Flaked, Arnett plays the role of Chip who is a recovering alcoholic, although he takes a little nip here and there. He changed his life after killing a man and is now a manager at a furniture store. He is somewhat of an icon in the neighborhood who is known to dispense sound advice.
The first season consists of 8 mind-numbing episodes and Netflix has ordered a second season that consists of 6 episodes. Hopefully, Flaked is a passing phase for Arnett because he has too much talent to be mired in such a disaster.
9. Marco Polo
Inspired by the hit series Game of Thrones and the fact that Netflix paid $90 million for the first season, Marco Polo had some pretty high expectations. The series is about the famous Venetian explorer’s exploits in China. The real Marco Polo’s life was certainly interesting but this show seems to make him a lot less interesting. He endures being taken prisoner by Kublai Khan, falls in love, and takes part in many battles. Unfortunately, the show’s slow pace, dull characters, and questionable acting failed to draw viewers and the show was canceled after the second season. It’s worth noting that Netflix had to eat about $200 on the failed experiment. At least this series wins a spot on the 15 worst Netflix TV shows right now. You can see for yourself as it is still available for streaming.
8. Haters Back Off
Colleen Ballinger started posting videos on her YouTube channel in 2008. She portrays a character named Miranda Sings who is obsessed with fame. Despite having little true talent, the self-absorbed Miranda believes that she is the greatest thing since sliced bread. One of her YouTube videos, “Free Voice Lesson”, went viral in 2009 and her channel now has over a billion views and over 7 million subscribers.
She has now taken Miranda to television. Netflix aired an 8-episode first season and has renewed it for a second season. Despite some truly funny moments, this show is hard to watch. Being funny in short YouTube snippets is one thing but it’s an entirely different beast when it becomes 30-minute segments. It’s almost like those Saturday Night Live characters that turned a somewhat funny skit into a painful Night at the Roxbury.
7. Chelsea
Chelsea Handler is relatively smart although she can come across as a little dim-witted and abrasive at times. The veteran of television can also be quite funny. Hopes were high when Netflix announced that she would be hosting the streaming service’s first ever talk show. It was going to be different than other talk shows. There were fresh ideas and the show promised to be “innovative”. What we got in the first season was the same old song and dance as we’ve been getting from other late night shows. Sure, the outspoken hostess has had some funny moments but the overall product is noticeably inferior to other similar programs. Maybe it’s just growing pains that the show will grow out of in its second season. Until that happens, Chelsea is one of the 15 worst Netflix TV shows right now.
6. The Ranch
Ashton Kutcher is back and he has his old That 70s Show co-star Danny Masterson with him on The Ranch. The show is a comedy about a washed up semi-pro football player who, after 15 years, returns to Colorado to help his brother and father at the family ranch. There are a few similarities in Kutcher and Masterson’s That 70s Show and The Ranch characters. Kutcher’s character, Colt, isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed while Masterson’s character, Rooster, enjoys stirring the pot. While this Netflix series is one of the 15 worst Netflix TV shows on right now, it does have its moments and is not as bad as some of the other entries. Netflix has renewed it for a second 20-episode season. Hopefully, there will be a few more laughs and a lot less predictability.
5. Between
This Canadian drama was recently renewed for a second season but one must wonder how much longer the plot can be dragged out. This series is set in the fictional town of Pretty Lake where a mystery viral outbreak has killed everyone over 21. That’s got to be tough on the local tavern!! The town is in quarantine and the young survivors are left to their own devices. Thank goodness one of the teens is a sophisticated computer hacker. To add a dramatic twist, star Jennette McCurdy’s character is about to give birth.
As good, yet unoriginal, as the overall plot is, the story lines are weak and the acting is far from great. Add in boring dialogue and you have one of the 15 worst Netflix TV shows on right now.
4. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is a Tina Fey creation that is in its third season on Netflix. It is about a woman who was saved from a doomsday cult where she was kept for 15 years. With her pretty looks and can-do attitude, Kimmy starts a new life in New York City where she gets a job as a nanny and meets all sorts of eccentric characters. The first season of this sitcom was, admittedly, pretty good. The series lost a bit of steam in season 2 and it appears to have run out of gas in its third season. It has gone from fresh to stale. Even though it has a great cast including Carol Kane and Jane Krakowski along with regular appearances from Tina Fey and John Hamm, the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt has worn thin.
3. Richie Rich
Richie Rich was a very popular comic book among kids many years ago. So popular that it inspired an animated TV series in 1980 and a couple of movies that were, coincidentally, horrible. Instead of the character evolving, the character has become entirely unbearable in Netflix’s Richie Rich. In this ridiculous series, Richie Rich became a trillionaire after inventing a clean energy source from vegetables. He lives in a sprawling mansion with his family and has a robot maid. His father is an absolute idiot who doesn’t have the ability to reign in the little brat. In Richie’s world, money buys happiness, friends, and anything else. He is such an unlikable character that it’s surprising that anyone could watch this awful show. What is even more surprising is the fact that Netflix ran a second season.
2. One Day at a Time
Why? Was there actually a demand to dig up this long-dead and buried horse and beat the rotting corpse a bit more? In this Netflix reboot of the original show that ran between 1975 and 1984, they have replaced Bonnie Franklin with Justina Muchado and added a bit of Cuban flavor including having Gloria Estefan sing the theme song. Of course, the single mother and her two daughters are dealing with edgier modern issues like diversity, feminism, religion, porn, and dating.
The show originally aired 13 episodes in the first season and has been renewed for a second season. There have been quite a few reboots of old television shows and the bulk of them have not fared well. This dead horse’s carcas should be put back in the ground and left to rest in peace.
1. Fuller House
The more things change, the more they stay the same. D.J. Tanner is a veterinarian with three young boys. Her sister, Stephanie, and her best friend move in as well as the friend’s daughter to lend a hand. Fuller House relies on the same types of storylines and weak humor as the original series. Inexplicably, this show has become one of Netflix’s most-watched shows. Mind-blowing!!
Through their regular appearances, we are reminded how annoying Bob Saget is, how tragically unfunny Dave Coulier is, and how John Stamos and his fabulous hair never seems to age. It also brings to mind how irrelevant the Olsen twins are. Contrived story lines are the order of the day and the cheesy attempts at “cute” and cheap laughs is hard to take. At least Lori Loughlin is still sorta hot in a soccer mom kind of way.