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As we reflect on the television offerings of the past year, a selection of series emerge not for their excellence, but for their notable failures. Ranging from cringe-inducing sequels to bafflingly poor docuseries, here are the productions that had us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

Where to begin with this divisive spin-off? Burdened with woeful scripts, painful character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series fought to justify its existence. Briefly, as the third series began, it looked like it had finally found its groove. Then came an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator announced this would be the final series. It ended on a bum note; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was just way too on-the-nose. Yet, viewers certainly had a hoot dissecting every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a small sob?

All’s Fair

‘Can Kim Kardashian act? The answer is a resounding no.’

But that was practically the smallest of this drama's problems. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon no-star review, it was difficult to know where to begin enumerating the problems. The hilariously wooden writing? The tedious glorification of wealth and consumption? The almost wilful parade of cliches? Performances so poor they felt borderline malicious? Let’s just say “each and every one” and never speak of this show again. Except, a new season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the legal troubles, abuse allegations and parental shortcomings, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that you’d truly have known it from this multi-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless hedonism while failing to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any sympathy this series might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charming but dismissive narcissist.

The Iris Affair

Of course we understood it was preposterous from the get-go: a thriller about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or destroy all of humanity. We persevered out of pure admiration for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One barely reacted when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. Talk about giving up the ghost.

MobLand

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

In truth, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a little dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to accommodate unconvincing accents. But there were plenty of other issues. Primarily that it was just really boring; a dispute over narcotics territory between various cockney rogues which felt rather simplistic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Considering the extent to which she grinds the gears of certain performatively angry commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into twee homemaking as intentional statements. But then you view 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 meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark sayings and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by immense, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly fascinating things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, identity, self-worth. But for some reason, this documentary series chose not to explore them. Rather, the experience was akin to reading a marketing catalogue. She clearly has every right to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any helps with this guarded letdown of a series.

The Inheritance

It had the potential to be the next big hit – except even more extravagant, with a glamorous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality managing her estate. What more could you ask for? As players competed, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too confusing to detail what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via filmed videos. The series ended up smelling of a production that was straining desperately to live up to something far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you succeed a show that captured a generation? The expectation was enormous for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was a delight to watch, embodying Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

The Sketch Show Return

Not good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of gifted emerging comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a single joke stretched to a dry pulp but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar irate mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the thought that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively presented the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an compelling drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The material needed to be treated sensitively. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lurching from oddly jaunty, slightly mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A total mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We love the star … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a discovery that could destabilise society? No! This international thriller about secret services targeting – and killing off – intellectuals honestly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This hagiography followed the content creator notorious for explicit escapades as she prepared for her biggest feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was far greater examination of her actual psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have interviewed the now-famous mum who appeared to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific shots and absolutely no interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.