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As we reflect on the television offerings of the past year, a handful of shows emerge not for their excellence, but for their notable failures. From cringe-inducing sequels to bafflingly bad docuseries, here are the productions that left us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

Where to begin with this divisive follow-up? Plagued with woeful writing, painful arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series struggled to justify its existence. For a moment, as the third series began, it seemed as if it had finally hit its stride. Then arrived an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner announced this would be the final series. It ended on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too symbolic. Still, viewers certainly 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 almost the least of this drama's problems. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon zero star review, it was difficult to know where to start enumerating the problems. The laughably leaden dialogue? The tedious glorification of affluence and materialism? The seemingly wilful procession of tropes? Performances so bad they felt borderline spiteful? Let’s just say “each and every one” and forget about this show again. However, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the legal troubles, domestic violence claims and parental failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d really have gleaned it from this three-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive hedonism while struggling to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any pity this series might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charming but dismissive egotist.

The Iris Affair

Of course we knew it was preposterous 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 love for its stars … 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 admitting defeat.

The Gangster Drama

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

In truth, 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 indulge unconvincing dialects. But there were plenty of other problems. Primarily that it was just really boring; a dispute over narcotics territory between various cockney rogues which felt rather simplistic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the extent to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s ostentatiously enraged commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into twee homemaking as intentional provocations. But then you view them and are forced to admit that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine animated; a meme for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by vast, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly interesting things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, identity, self-worth. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to say them. Instead, the viewing was akin to reading a sales catalogue. She obviously has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any helps with this cagey non-event of a series.

The Inheritance

It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a glamorous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality overseeing her estate. What more could you want? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too confusing to detail what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up reeking of a programme that was straining desperately to emulate something way beyond it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you succeed a show that defined a generation? The expectation was immense for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of celebrity friends involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of talented younger comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known irate mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the idea that they should probably have stayed in there a while longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This dramatisation 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 subject matter needed to be handled with care. Rather, 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 love the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a discovery that could destabilise society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services spying on – and killing off – intellectuals 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 explicit exploits as she undertook her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we craved was way more interrogation of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have interviewed the now-famous mum who showed up to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and zero interrogation of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.