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As we reflect on the television landscape of the past year, a handful of series emerge not for their brilliance, but for their notable failures. From awkward sequels to confusingly bad docuseries, here are the productions that left us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

How to start with this divisive spin-off? Burdened with woeful scripts, painful character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series struggled to find its footing. For a moment, as the final series started, it looked like it had finally found its groove. Then arrived an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the last series. It concluded on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was just way too on-the-nose. Yet, fans undeniably found joy dissecting every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was practically the smallest of this drama's issues. The subject of a very rare no-star assessment, it was difficult to know where to start enumerating the flaws. The laughably leaden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of wealth and consumption? The almost wilful parade of tropes? Performances so poor they felt almost spiteful? Suffice it to say “each and every one” 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 claims and parental failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not you’d truly have known it from this three-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive excess while struggling to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any pity this show might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charismatic but dismissive narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Of course we understood it was preposterous from the get-go: a thriller about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of sheer love 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 slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about giving up the ghost.

MobLand

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

In truth, that is harsh on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a little dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to indulge unconvincing dialects. But there were many other issues. Mainly that it was just really boring; a conflict over narcotics territory between various cockney rogues which felt a bit basic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Considering the extent to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into twee homemaking as intentional provocations. But then you view them and are forced to admit that in this case, they might have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle magazine come to life; a meme for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental platitudes and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by vast, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly interesting things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, self-image, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this documentary series opted not to explore them. Instead, the experience was like consuming a marketing catalogue. She clearly has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any favours with this guarded non-event of a series.

The Game Show

It should have been the next big hit – except even more extravagant, with a glamorous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? 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 detail what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up smelling of a production that was straining desperately to emulate something far greater than it.

Too Much

How does one succeed a show that defined a generation? The pressure was enormous for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who lands in London with a shattered romance. The star took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of celebrity cameos involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the smart inclusion of talented emerging comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a single joke stretched to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, meanwhile, simply inspired the idea that they should probably have stayed in there a while longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively presented 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 material needed to be treated with care. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lumbering from strangely breezy, somewhat stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A complete mess? Very much so.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire the star … but did we believe him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a discovery that could destabilise society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies spying on – and killing off – intellectuals honestly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the content creator renowned for explicit exploits as she undertook her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was way more 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 away from the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and zero interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.