Overrated, Overhyped: 10 TV Shows of 2023 Reddit Actually Hated

But sometimes that hype leads to major disappointment.

1. Invasion (Apple TV )

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 56%

With a stellar cast, great concept, and award-winning producers, Invasion should have been a hit. Even the trailer sent a chill down our spines. But all that hype led to… well, not much.

When Earth is visited by an alien species, the fallout spreads quickly. The invasion is seen through the eyes of 5 strangers from around the planet, all trying to survive as chaos erupts.

Reddit users agreed that Invasion wasn't the worst show of 2023, but with expectations sky-high to begin with it was one of the most disappointing.

2. Velma (Max)

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 39%

Scooby Doo is an iconic part of many childhoods, and in the age of reboots it makes sense to bring back the series and focus on the underappreciated character of Velma. HBO Max had nostalgia on its side, but critics and audiences alike seem to agree that they bobbled pretty hard with this show.

While Scooby Doo was the epitome of sincere, wholesome storytelling, Velma went the other way by being crass, meta ('How do you do, fellow kids' style), and all-around cynical. Even an all-star voice cast couldn't stop audiences from rolling their eyes.

3. Citadel (Prime Video )

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 51%

They don't get more hyped up than this spy thriller starring Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. Prime had to hype the series up – even though the first season was only six episodes long it was one of the most expensive shows of all time, with a budget of $300 million.

But money doesn't always equal quality, and Citadel doesn't have anything new to offer the spy genre. It's bland to the point of silliness, and the more 'intense' plot twists they try to pull off the more it feels like someone trying to imitate another, better series.

Reddit commenter 2ndHandTardis said, 'As some who likes cheesy spy content I couldn't even make it through the first episode. It was really bad.'

4. The Flash ( The CW)

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: N/A

The final season of The CW's long-running Flash series doesn't just represent the end of this show: it also represents the end of the entire Arrowverse. So the anticipation was high. Unfortunately, fans hated this final season even more than the much-reviled Season 7.

Season 9 of The Flash stopped even pretending to honor the previously established timelines. It dropped several major plot threads, like that return of Ralph Dibney that kept getting teased. The season is full of boring filler episodes, and many of the previously cool villains are undercut when they return only to be easily defeated.

5. Big Brother (CBS)

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: N/A

It's possible that they've just run out of ways to create interesting drama over at Big Brother. Although Season 24 was hyped as being more edgy than ever before, all that really meant was that we had to sit through a lot of a) racism, and b) people whining about racism.

Not saying those two things are equivalent sins, but they sure are boring.

As Reddit user BuffaloWilliamses said: 'I love Big Brother but man the show has just become unwatchable.'

6. Alert: Missing Persons Unit (Fox)

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 29%

Fox knows there's big money in police procedurals, and they sure made us excited about this project starring Scott Caan and Dania Ramirez. The two play cops whose marriage fell apart when their son went missing: now they spend their days investigating missing persons cases while still hoping to solve their own mystery.

There are a million police procedurals out there, and the main problem with Alert is that it's just so incredibly bland. On top of that, it has a strange tone issue that makes it hard to pin down exactly what we're supposed to be watching. More than one Redditor commented that they really wanted to like this show, but just couldn't get into it.

7. Mayfair Witches (Prime)

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 43%

Fans of the Anne Rice books were super pumped for Mayfair Witches. The series follows a promising young neurosurgeon who discovers that she is the heir to a family of – you guessed it – witches.

Unfortunately the series is bogged down by its own emo self-importance, casting a weirdly glossy Gothic shadow over itself whenever it seems like some levity might appear.

8. Secret Invasion ( Disney+ )

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 53%

Even in the glut of MCU content, Secret Invasion managed to scare up a fair amount of hype, mostly because it focuses on fan favorite Nick Fury.

Unfortunately the series wasn't popular with critics or audiences, many of whom found the show tedious rather than exciting. Plus, The Marvels just ignored it all anyway.

9. Fear the Walking Dead ( AMC)

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 60%

Yes, this show went on for eight seasons. No, it didn't need to.

Redditor Manderspls blames the showrunner change that happened after Season 4, saying FTWD has become 'an entirely different show not worth watching. Absolute hot f****** trash.' Fellow commentator MingusVonHavamalt agreed, saying of Season 8: 'This is really the first time I've quit watching a show only 4 episodes before the very end. It was that bad.'

10. The Idol ( HBO)

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 19%

It's hard to overstate the excitement around this show. It came from HBO, starred The Weeknd, and was created by Sam Levinson – the man who made the sublime Euphoria. Everyone expected The Idol to live up to Euphoria's gritty tone and fantastic writing, but instead it's a hilariously self-indulgent disaster. Critics went to town on the sloppy show, and audiences were just as savage. The word 'mess' is the one you'll see most often on Reddit.