10 Most Disappointing TV Shows Of 2018

6. The Romanoffs

Matthew Weiner's first TV series since Mad Men ended, with an all-star cast including John Slattery, Christina Hendricks, Aaron Eckhart, Diane Lane, and many, many more. That alone was enough of a hook, while its premise - an anthology series focusing on global stories of people who believe themselves to be descendants of the Russian Royal Family - was slightly odd but intriguing, especially given who was doing it.

As you'd expect, the series looks great and is well-acted, with Weiner putting his bigger budget to use. But with that opulence also comes an incredible amount of indulgence. Weiner here is allowed free rein to do as he pleases, and that's not actually a good thing.

The series is ambitious, but it never gives you anything to invest in - and certainly not its characters. There's the potential here for an analysis of human connections, of our history, of identity. The Romanoffs is simply more concerned with being lavish, a style over substance affair that needed someone to cut it right down and focus on the meat of the story and its characters. With episodes running to 90 minutes in length, it becomes less ambitious, and more just greedy.