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Looking back, we consider the television offerings of the past year, a handful of shows emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. Ranging from awkward sequels 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 divisive spin-off? Plagued with dreadful writing, cringe-inducing character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series fought to find its footing. Briefly, as the third season began, it seemed as if it had at last found its groove. Then arrived an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner declared this would be the final series. It ended on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was just way too on-the-nose. Still, fans undeniably found joy dissecting every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was practically the smallest of this drama's issues. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon no-star review, it was hard to know where to begin enumerating the flaws. The hilariously leaden dialogue? The tedious glorification of wealth and materialism? The almost deliberate parade of tropes? Performances so bad they felt borderline spiteful? Suffice it to say “each and every one” and never speak of this show again. Except, a second season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Considering the legal troubles, abuse allegations and fatherly failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d really have known it from this multi-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless excess while failing to tell us a single thing we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any pity this series might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charming but flippant narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

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

The Gangster Drama

Shady characters convening in deserted boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its crime drama back.

In truth, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to accommodate baffling accents. But there were many other problems. Mainly that it was just profoundly dull; a conflict over narcotics territory between various London rogues which seemed a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the degree to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s ostentatiously enraged commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into quaint lifestyle as deliberate statements. But then you view them and are forced to concede that in this case, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue come to life; a meme for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark sayings and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by immense, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly fascinating things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, identity, self-worth. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to say them. Instead, the viewing was akin to consuming a marketing catalogue. She clearly 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 letdown of a series.

The Inheritance

It should have been the next big hit – except even more extravagant, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality managing her estate. What more could you want? As players battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s even now too confusing to explain what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up smelling of a production that was trying way too hard to emulate something far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How does one succeed a show that defined a generation? The pressure was immense for this starry romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, embodying Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, paradoxically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of celebrity cameos involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of gifted younger comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a one-note 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 writing room sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the idea 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 showcased the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be handled with care. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from strangely jaunty, somewhat stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A total mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire the star … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius since, a man so intelligent he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could destabilise society? Nope! This international thriller about government agencies targeting – and killing off – intellectuals frankly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This uncritical portrait followed the online personality renowned for sexual exploits as she prepared for her biggest feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we craved was far greater interrogation of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who showed up to haul her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and absolutely no interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.