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Looking back, we consider the television landscape of the recent year, a handful of series stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable failures. Ranging from cringe-inducing spin-offs to confusingly bad docuseries, here are the programmes that had us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this love/hate follow-up? Burdened with dreadful writing, painful character development (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show struggled to justify its existence. Briefly, as the third season started, it looked like it had at last hit its stride. Then came an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator declared this would be the last series. It concluded on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was simply too on-the-nose. Still, viewers undeniably had a hoot picking apart every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a small sob?

All’s Fair

‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? The answer is a resounding no.’

But that was practically the smallest of this show's problems. The subject of a very rare zero star assessment, it was difficult to know where to begin listing the problems. The laughably wooden writing? The mind-numbing veneration of affluence and consumption? The almost deliberate parade of tropes? Acting so poor they felt almost malicious? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and forget about this series again. Except, a new season has been ordered, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the legal troubles, domestic violence claims and parental failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that you’d truly have gleaned it from this multi-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless excess while struggling to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any pity this show might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charming but dismissive egotist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we knew 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 sheer admiration for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One barely cared when his character died, and the other ultimately hacking Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

MobLand

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

In truth, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to accommodate unconvincing dialects. But there were plenty of other issues. Mainly that it was just really boring; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various London rogues which felt rather simplistic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of certain performatively angry commentators, it’s temptingly easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into quaint homemaking as deliberate provocations. But then you watch them and are forced to concede that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue animated; a poster for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental platitudes and forgettable crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by immense, largely unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are obviously interesting things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, identity, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this three-part series chose not to explore them. Instead, the experience was like reading a marketing catalogue. She clearly has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any favours with this cagey non-event of a series.

The Inheritance

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

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you succeed a show that captured a generation? The expectation was immense for this starry romantic comedy about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. The lead actress seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, embodying Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of famous cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of talented emerging comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, 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 behind-the-scenes sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the thought that they should probably have stayed in there a while longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely showcased the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The material needed to be handled sensitively. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from oddly breezy, somewhat stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A complete mess? Absolutely.

Prime Target

We admire the star … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a discovery that could ruin society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services targeting – and killing off – academics honestly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This hagiography followed the online personality notorious for sexual escapades as she undertook her biggest feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was way more interrogation of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who appeared to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and absolutely no interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.