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As we consider the television offerings of the past year, a handful of series stand out not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular failures. From awkward spin-offs to bafflingly poor 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 spin-off? Burdened with woeful writing, cringe-inducing character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series fought to find its footing. Briefly, as the third season started, it looked like 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 final series. It ended on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was just way too symbolic. Yet, fans undeniably found joy picking apart every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her sprawling 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 problems. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon no-star assessment, it was difficult to know where to begin enumerating the problems. The laughably wooden dialogue? The tedious glorification of wealth and consumption? The almost deliberate procession of tropes? Performances so bad they felt almost malicious? Let’s just say “all of the above” and forget about this series again. Except, a second season has been ordered, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the restraining orders, domestic violence allegations and parental shortcomings, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d truly have gleaned it from this multi-part documentary which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless excess while failing to tell us anything 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 proximity with this charismatic but flippant egotist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we understood it was preposterous from the get-go: 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 admiration for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One barely reacted when his character died, and the other ultimately hacking Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. Talk about giving up the ghost.

MobLand

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

Actually, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a little dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to indulge unconvincing accents. But there were plenty of other issues. Mainly that it was just profoundly boring; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various London rogues which seemed rather simplistic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Considering the extent to which she provokes the ire of certain performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into quaint lifestyle as deliberate statements. But then you watch them and are compelled to admit that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine come to life; a poster for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark sayings and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All underpinned by immense, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

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

The Game Show

It should have been the next big hit – except even camper, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality managing her estate. What more could you ask for? As players battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal 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 show ended up reeking of a production that was trying way too hard to live up to something far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you succeed a show that captured a generation? The expectation was enormous for this starry romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was a delight to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of gifted emerging comics, expectations were high. But sadly, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a one-note joke milked to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the thought that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen 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 tragic 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be treated sensitively. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lumbering from oddly breezy, slightly mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A total 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 verge of a breakthrough that could ruin society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies spying on – and killing off – academics frankly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This hagiography followed the content creator notorious for sexual exploits as she prepared for her biggest challenge 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 showed up to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and zero critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.