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Looking back, we reflect on the television landscape of the past year, a handful of shows emerge not for their brilliance, but for their notable failures. Ranging from awkward sequels to bafflingly bad documentaries, here are the productions that had us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

Where to begin with this love/hate follow-up? Burdened with woeful writing, cringe-inducing arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series struggled to find its footing. Briefly, as the final series began, it seemed as if it had at last hit its stride. Then arrived an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator declared this would be the last season. It concluded on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was simply too symbolic. Still, viewers undeniably found joy picking apart every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a little 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 issues. The recipient of a very rare zero star review, it was hard to know where to begin listing the problems. The hilariously wooden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of wealth and consumption? The seemingly deliberate procession of tropes? Acting so poor they felt borderline spiteful? Suffice it to say “all of the above” 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

Given the restraining orders, abuse allegations and parental shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that you’d truly have gleaned it from this three-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless excess while failing to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon was being indulged, so any pity this series might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charming but flippant egotist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we understood it was ridiculous from the outset: a thriller about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or annihilate all of humanity. We stuck with it out of pure love 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 painfully slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat.

MobLand

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

Actually, that is harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to indulge unconvincing accents. But there were plenty of other problems. Primarily that it was just profoundly boring; a dispute over narcotics territory between various London rogues which seemed a bit basic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Considering the extent to which she grinds the gears of certain performatively angry commentators, it’s temptingly easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into quaint lifestyle 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 magazine come to life; a meme for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported 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 vocation, self-image, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this documentary series chose not to explore them. Rather, the experience was akin to consuming a sales catalogue. She obviously has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any favours with this cagey non-event of a series.

The Inheritance

It should have been the next big hit – except even camper, with a glamorous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you want? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too complicated to explain what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up smelling of a programme that was trying way too hard to emulate something far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you follow a show that captured a generation? The expectation was enormous for this starry romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. The star took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity friends involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of talented emerging comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A particular sketch was a single joke stretched to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known irate mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, 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 presented the perspective 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 with care. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lurching from oddly breezy, somewhat mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A total mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We admire the star … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a discovery that could destabilise society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services spying on – and killing off – intellectuals honestly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This uncritical portrait followed the content creator renowned for sexual escapades as she prepared for her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was far greater examination 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 drag her son out of the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and zero interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.