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Looking back, we reflect on the TV landscape of the past year, a handful of shows emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. From awkward spin-offs to bafflingly poor docuseries, here are the productions that left us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this love/hate spin-off? Burdened with dreadful writing, cringe-inducing arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series fought to find its footing. Briefly, as the third season began, it looked like it had finally hit its stride. Then arrived an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator declared this would be the last season. It concluded on a bum note; the closeup of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too on-the-nose. Still, fans certainly found joy dissecting every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? The answer is a resounding no.’

But that was practically the least of this show's issues. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon zero star assessment, it was hard to know where to begin listing the problems. The laughably wooden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of wealth and materialism? The almost wilful parade of cliches? Performances so poor they felt borderline malicious? Let’s just say “each and every one” and never speak of this series again. However, a second season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given 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 known it from this multi-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive hedonism while failing to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any sympathy this series might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charming but flippant egotist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Of course we understood it was ridiculous from the outset: a drama about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or destroy all of humanity. We stuck with it out of pure admiration for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely cared when his character died, and the other ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat.

The Gangster Drama

Shady characters meeting in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its crime drama back.

Actually, that is harsh on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to indulge baffling accents. But there were many other problems. Primarily that it was just really dull; a conflict over narcotics territory between various cockney rogues which felt rather simplistic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s performatively angry commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into quaint homemaking as intentional statements. But then you view them and are compelled to concede that in this case, they might have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue animated; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental sayings and forgettable crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by vast, largely unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are obviously fascinating things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, identity, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this three-part series opted not to explore them. Instead, the viewing was like reading a marketing catalogue. She obviously has good reason to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any helps with this cagey letdown of a series.

The Inheritance

It should have been the next big hit – except even more extravagant, with a famous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality managing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too confusing to detail what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up smelling of a programme that was straining desperately to live up to something far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you follow a show that defined a generation? The expectation was enormous for this starry romcom about Jessica, a hopeful 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, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of talented emerging comics, expectations were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A particular sketch was a one-note joke milked to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known ranting mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This retelling 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 interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be handled sensitively. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lumbering from strangely jaunty, slightly stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A complete mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We love 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 globe-trotting thriller about government agencies targeting – and killing off – academics honestly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the online personality notorious for explicit exploits as she undertook her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would possess her? What we craved was way more examination of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who appeared to haul her son out of the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.