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Looking back, we reflect on the TV landscape of the past year, a handful of series emerge not for their brilliance, but for their notable failures. Ranging from awkward spin-offs to confusingly poor docuseries, here are the productions that left us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this love/hate spin-off? Plagued with woeful scripts, cringe-inducing character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the show fought to find its footing. Briefly, as the third season started, it seemed as if it had finally found its groove. Then arrived an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the last season. It concluded on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was simply too on-the-nose. Still, viewers undeniably had a hoot picking apart every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a small sob?

All’s Fair

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

But that was practically the smallest of this drama's issues. The subject of a very rare zero star assessment, it was difficult to know where to start listing the problems. The hilariously leaden dialogue? The mind-numbing glorification of wealth and consumption? The almost deliberate procession of tropes? Performances so poor they felt almost malicious? Suffice it to say “each and every one” and never speak of this show again. Except, a new season has been ordered, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the restraining orders, abuse allegations and parental shortcomings, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d really have known it from this three-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless hedonism while failing to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any sympathy this show might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charismatic but flippant egotist.

The Iris Affair

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

The Gangster Drama

Shady figures meeting in empty boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its crime drama back.

In truth, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the embarrassment of having to indulge unconvincing dialects. But there were many other issues. Primarily that it was just really boring; a dispute over narcotics territory between various cockney picaresques which felt rather simplistic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the extent to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into quaint homemaking as deliberate provocations. But then you watch them and are compelled to concede that in this case, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue animated; a meme for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark sayings and forgettable crafting “tips” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by vast, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly fascinating things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, identity, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this documentary series opted not to explore them. Rather, the viewing was like reading a sales catalogue. She obviously has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any helps with this cagey letdown of a series.

The Game Show

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 ask for? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too complicated to explain what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up reeking of a production that was straining desperately to live up to something far greater than it.

Too Much

How does one follow a show that defined a generation? The pressure was immense for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of celebrity cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

The Sketch Show Return

Not good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of talented younger comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar irate mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have stayed 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 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 subject matter needed to be handled with care. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lumbering from strangely jaunty, somewhat mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A total mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius since, a man so intelligent he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could ruin society? Nope! This international thriller about government agencies spying on – and eliminating – academics frankly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the content creator renowned for sexual exploits as she prepared for her biggest feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was way more interrogation of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who showed up to haul her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.