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As we reflect on the TV landscape of the past year, a selection of series stand out not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular failures. From awkward spin-offs to confusingly bad docuseries, here are the productions that had us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

How to start with this divisive spin-off? Plagued with dreadful writing, painful character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the show struggled to justify its existence. Briefly, as the third season began, it seemed as if it had finally hit its stride. Then came an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner declared this would be the last season. It ended on a bum note; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was just way too on-the-nose. Still, fans undeniably had a hoot dissecting every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘Can Kim Kardashian act? Of course she can’t.’

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

AKA Charlie Sheen

Considering the legal troubles, domestic violence claims and fatherly failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d truly have gleaned it from this multi-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive excess while struggling to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any pity this show might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charming but flippant narcissist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we knew it was preposterous from the outset: a thriller about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of pure admiration for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One barely reacted when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

MobLand

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

In truth, that is harsh on the crime shows 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 many other issues. Primarily that it was just really dull; a conflict over narcotics territory between various London picaresques which seemed rather simplistic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the extent to which she grinds the gears of certain performatively angry commentators, it’s almost easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into quaint lifestyle as deliberate statements. But then you watch them and are forced to concede that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine come to life; a poster for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental sayings and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by immense, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly fascinating things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, identity, self-worth. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to explore them. Instead, the experience was like reading a marketing catalogue. She obviously has every right 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 Inheritance

It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a famous star playing dead and a well-known personality managing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too confusing to detail what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The show 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 succeed a show that captured a generation? The expectation was enormous for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands 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 insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity friends involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the smart inclusion of gifted emerging comics, expectations were high. But sadly, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a single joke stretched to a dry pulp but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known ranting mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, meanwhile, 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 exclusively showcased the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be handled sensitively. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lurching from strangely jaunty, somewhat mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A complete mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire the star … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so intelligent he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could ruin society? Nope! This international thriller about secret services spying on – and eliminating – intellectuals frankly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the online personality notorious for explicit escapades as she undertook her biggest challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was far greater examination of her actual psychology, 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 out of the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and zero interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.