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Looking back, we reflect on the TV landscape of the past year, a handful of series stand out not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. From cringe-inducing spin-offs to bafflingly poor docuseries, here are the programmes that left us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this love/hate spin-off? Plagued with woeful scripts, painful arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series fought to find its footing. Briefly, as the final series began, it looked like it had at last found its groove. Then arrived an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the last season. It concluded on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too on-the-nose. Yet, fans certainly found joy picking apart every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a little sob?

All’s Fair

‘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 hard to know where to start listing the problems. The laughably leaden writing? The tedious veneration of wealth and materialism? The seemingly wilful procession of cliches? Performances so bad they felt borderline malicious? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and forget about this show again. However, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the restraining orders, abuse claims and fatherly failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d really have known it from this three-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless hedonism while struggling to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any pity this series might evoke should be reserved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charismatic but flippant egotist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Naturally we knew it was preposterous from the outset: a drama about a AI 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 leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely reacted when his character died, and the other ultimately hacking Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat.

The Gangster Drama

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

Actually, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a little dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to indulge unconvincing accents. But there were plenty of other problems. Primarily that it was just profoundly dull; 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 certain performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into twee lifestyle as deliberate provocations. But then you view them and are forced to concede that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue animated; a poster for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark platitudes and forgettable crafting “tips” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by immense, largely unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are obviously fascinating things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, self-image, self-worth. But for some reason, this documentary series chose not to explore them. Instead, the viewing was like reading a marketing catalogue. She obviously has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any favours with this cagey letdown of a series.

The Inheritance

It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a glamorous star playing dead and a well-known personality managing her estate. What more could you want? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still 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 reeking of a production that was trying way too hard to live up to something far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you succeed a show that captured a generation? The pressure was enormous for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The lead actress 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, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of celebrity friends involved felt uncomfortable.

The Sketch Show Return

Not good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the smart inclusion of talented emerging comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a single joke stretched to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a familiar irate mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply inspired the thought that they should probably have stayed in there a while longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced 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 tragic 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be treated sensitively. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lurching from strangely breezy, somewhat stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A complete mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so intelligent he’s on the brink of a discovery that could ruin society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies spying on – and eliminating – intellectuals honestly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

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 motivate her? What we wanted was far greater interrogation of her actual psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the now-famous mum who showed up to haul her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific shots and zero interrogation of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.