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Looking back, we reflect on the TV landscape of the past year, a handful of shows emerge not for their excellence, but for their notable failures. Ranging from awkward sequels to bafflingly bad docuseries, here are the productions that left us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this love/hate follow-up? Plagued with dreadful writing, painful arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series fought to justify its existence. For a moment, as the final season began, it looked like it had finally hit its stride. Then came an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the final series. It concluded on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was just way too symbolic. Yet, fans certainly found joy dissecting every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a small sob?

All’s Fair

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

But that was practically the least of this drama's issues. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon zero star assessment, it was difficult to know where to begin enumerating the flaws. The hilariously leaden writing? The tedious veneration of affluence and consumption? The almost wilful procession of cliches? Performances so poor they felt borderline malicious? Suffice it to say “each and every one” and forget about this series again. Except, a second season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the legal troubles, domestic violence allegations and parental shortcomings, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d really have gleaned it from this multi-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless excess while failing to tell us a single thing we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any pity this show might induce should be saved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charming but flippant egotist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we knew it was ridiculous from the outset: a drama about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of pure love for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely reacted when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost.

The Gangster Drama

Shady characters meeting in deserted boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its crime drama back.

In truth, that is harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to indulge baffling dialects. But there were plenty of other problems. Primarily that it was just profoundly boring; a dispute over narcotics territory between various London rogues which seemed rather simplistic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the degree to which she provokes the ire of certain performatively enraged commentators, it’s almost tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into quaint homemaking as deliberate provocations. But then you view them and are forced to concede that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine animated; a poster for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental sayings and forgettable crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All underpinned by immense, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly interesting things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, self-image, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this three-part series chose not to say them. Rather, the viewing was akin to reading a marketing brochure. She obviously has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any favours with this guarded letdown of a series.

The Inheritance

It had the potential to be the next big hit – except even camper, with a glamorous star playing dead and a well-known personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As players battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too confusing to explain what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up reeking of a production that was straining desperately to emulate 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 romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the smart recruitment of gifted younger comics, expectations were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a single joke stretched to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the thought that they should probably have stayed in there a bit longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively showcased the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be treated sensitively. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lurching from strangely breezy, slightly stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A total mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We admire the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could ruin society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services spying on – and eliminating – academics honestly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This hagiography followed the content creator renowned for sexual exploits as she prepared for her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was far greater interrogation of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the now-famous mum who showed up to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was horrific shots and absolutely no interrogation of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.