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Looking back, we consider the TV offerings of the past year, a selection of shows stand out not for their excellence, but for their spectacular failures. Ranging from awkward spin-offs to confusingly bad documentaries, here are the productions that had us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this love/hate follow-up? Burdened with dreadful scripts, cringe-inducing character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series struggled to find its footing. For a moment, as the third season started, it seemed as if it had finally hit its stride. Then came an installment 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 toilet flooded with poo was just way too on-the-nose. Yet, fans undeniably had a hoot picking apart every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a small sob?

All’s Fair

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

But that was almost the least of this show's issues. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon zero star assessment, it was hard to know where to start enumerating the flaws. The hilariously leaden writing? The mind-numbing veneration of affluence and materialism? The seemingly wilful parade of cliches? Performances so bad they felt almost malicious? Let’s just say “each and every one” and never speak of this series again. Except, a second season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the restraining orders, domestic violence allegations and fatherly failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d truly have known it from this multi-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless excess while failing to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon 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 charismatic but dismissive narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Of course we knew it was preposterous from the outset: a drama about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or destroy all of humanity. We stuck with it out of pure love for its stars … 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 painfully slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat.

The Gangster Drama

Shady characters convening in deserted boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its crime drama back.

Actually, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t endure the embarrassment of having to indulge baffling dialects. But there were many other problems. Primarily that it was just really dull; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various London picaresques which felt a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the extent to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into quaint homemaking as intentional statements. But then you view them and are forced to concede that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle magazine animated; a poster for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by immense, largely unearned wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are obviously interesting things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, identity, self-worth. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to say them. Rather, the viewing was like consuming a sales brochure. She obviously has good reason to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any helps with this cagey letdown of a series.

The Inheritance

It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a famous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality managing her inheritance. 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 still too confusing to explain what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up smelling of a production that was straining desperately to live up to something far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How does one follow a show that defined a generation? The pressure was enormous for this glitzy romantic comedy about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a shattered romance. 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 slick and, paradoxically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of celebrity cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of talented emerging comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A recurring 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 writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply inspired the idea that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This dramatisation 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 handled with care. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lurching from strangely jaunty, somewhat mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A complete mess? Very much so.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We love 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 globe-trotting thriller about secret services spying on – and eliminating – intellectuals honestly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the online personality notorious for explicit escapades as she prepared for her biggest challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was way more examination of her actual psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have spoken to the now-famous mum who appeared to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and zero critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.