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Looking back, we reflect on the television offerings of the past year, a selection of series emerge not for their excellence, but for their notable failures. From awkward spin-offs to bafflingly poor documentaries, here are the productions that had us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

Where to begin with this divisive spin-off? Burdened with dreadful scripts, painful arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the show fought to find its footing. For a moment, as the third season started, it looked like it had finally hit its stride. Then came an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner announced this would be the last series. It concluded on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too symbolic. Yet, viewers certainly had a hoot picking apart every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't let out a little sob?

All’s Fair

‘Can Kim Kardashian act? Of course she can’t.’

But that was almost the smallest of this show's issues. The recipient of a very rare zero star review, it was difficult to know where to begin listing the flaws. The hilariously leaden writing? The mind-numbing veneration of affluence and consumption? The seemingly deliberate procession of tropes? Acting so bad they felt borderline malicious? Let’s just say “each and every one” and forget about this show again. However, a second season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the legal troubles, abuse claims and fatherly failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not you’d really have gleaned it from this multi-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive hedonism while failing to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon was being indulged, so any pity this series might induce should be saved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charismatic but dismissive egotist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we understood it was ridiculous from the get-go: a drama about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or destroy all of humanity. We persevered out of sheer love for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One scarcely cared when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat.

MobLand

Dodgy characters meeting in deserted boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its gangland drama back.

Actually, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a little dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the embarrassment of having to accommodate baffling dialects. But there were many other problems. Primarily that it was just profoundly boring; a conflict over narcotics territory between various cockney picaresques which seemed a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the degree to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into twee lifestyle as intentional statements. But then you watch them and are compelled to admit that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue come to life; a poster for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark platitudes and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by immense, largely unearned wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly fascinating things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, identity, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this documentary series opted not to say them. Rather, the viewing was like consuming a sales brochure. She clearly has good reason to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any helps with this guarded letdown of a series.

The Inheritance

It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a glamorous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you want? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and arguing. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too confusing to detail what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up reeking of a production that was straining desperately to live up to something far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How does one succeed a show that defined a generation? The expectation was enormous for this glitzy romantic comedy about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The lead actress seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the smart recruitment of gifted emerging comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a one-note joke milked to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a familiar irate mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the idea that they should probably have stayed in there a bit longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively presented the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be treated sensitively. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lumbering from oddly jaunty, somewhat stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A complete mess? Very much so.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so intelligent he’s on the verge of a discovery that could destabilise society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services spying on – and eliminating – academics frankly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the online personality renowned for explicit exploits as she prepared for her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we craved was far greater examination of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who showed up to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and zero interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.