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As we consider the television landscape of the past year, a handful of series emerge not for their brilliance, but for their notable failures. From awkward spin-offs to bafflingly poor documentaries, 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 follow-up? Plagued with woeful scripts, cringe-inducing character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series fought to find its footing. Briefly, as the final season started, it seemed as if it had at last hit its stride. Then arrived an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner announced this would be the final season. It concluded on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too symbolic. Still, fans undeniably found joy dissecting every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? Of course she can’t.’

But that was practically the least of this drama's problems. The recipient of a very rare no-star assessment, it was hard to know where to start enumerating the problems. The laughably wooden dialogue? The mind-numbing veneration of wealth and consumption? The seemingly deliberate parade of tropes? Acting so poor they felt borderline spiteful? Let’s just say “each and every one” and never speak of this series again. Except, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the restraining orders, abuse allegations and fatherly shortcomings, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d really have gleaned it from this three-part documentary which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive hedonism while failing to tell us a single thing we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any sympathy this show might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charismatic but flippant egotist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we understood it was ridiculous from the outset: a thriller about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or annihilate all of humanity. We stuck with it out of sheer admiration for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. 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 characters convening in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its gangland drama back.

Actually, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to accommodate baffling dialects. But there were plenty of other problems. Primarily that it was just really dull; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various London picaresques which felt a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the degree to which she provokes the ire of certain ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into quaint homemaking as deliberate provocations. But then you watch them and are forced to concede that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue come to life; a meme for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental platitudes and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All underpinned by vast, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are obviously interesting things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, self-image, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this documentary series opted not to say them. Rather, the experience was like consuming a sales brochure. She clearly has good reason to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any helps with this guarded non-event of a series.

The Inheritance

It had the potential to be the next big hit – except even camper, with a glamorous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality managing her estate. What more could you want? As players battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too confusing to detail what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The series ended up smelling of a programme that was trying way too hard to live up to something far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you follow a show that defined a generation? The pressure was enormous for this starry romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The star took her biggest role by the horns and was a delight to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, paradoxically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of celebrity friends involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even 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 one-note joke stretched to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the idea 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 solely presented the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The material needed to be handled with care. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lumbering from oddly jaunty, somewhat mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A total mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire the star … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a discovery that could destabilise society? Nope! This international thriller about government agencies targeting – and eliminating – academics honestly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This uncritical portrait followed the content creator notorious for sexual escapades as she undertook her biggest feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was far greater interrogation of her true psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the now-famous mum who appeared to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and zero critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.