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Looking back, we reflect on the TV landscape of the recent year, a selection of shows stand out not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. Ranging from awkward sequels to confusingly poor documentaries, here are the programmes that had us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this divisive spin-off? Burdened with woeful writing, painful arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the show struggled to justify its existence. Briefly, as the third series began, it seemed as if it had at last hit its stride. Then came an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner announced this would be the last season. It ended on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was just way too on-the-nose. Still, fans certainly had a hoot dissecting every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a small sob?

All’s Fair

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

But that was almost the smallest of this drama's issues. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon no-star review, it was difficult to know where to start listing the problems. The hilariously wooden writing? The tedious veneration of wealth and consumption? The almost deliberate parade of cliches? Acting so bad they felt borderline malicious? Let’s just say “all of the above” and forget about this show again. Except, a second season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the restraining orders, domestic violence claims and fatherly shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not you’d really have gleaned it from this multi-part documentary which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless hedonism while failing to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any pity this series might evoke should be reserved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charming but flippant egotist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Of course we knew it was preposterous from the get-go: 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 admiration for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One scarcely cared when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost.

The Gangster Drama

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

In truth, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to accommodate baffling accents. But there were plenty of other problems. Primarily that it was just profoundly boring; a dispute over narcotics territory between various London rogues which felt rather simplistic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the degree to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into twee homemaking 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 lifestyle catalogue come to life; a meme for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark platitudes and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All underpinned by immense, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are obviously fascinating things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, identity, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this three-part series chose not to say them. Rather, the experience was like consuming a marketing brochure. She clearly has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any helps with this guarded non-event of a series.

The Inheritance

It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too complicated to detail what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up reeking of a production that was straining desperately to emulate something far greater than it.

Too Much

How do you succeed a show that captured a generation? The pressure was immense for this starry romantic comedy 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 Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the smart inclusion of talented emerging comics, expectations were high. But sadly, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a single joke milked to a dry pulp but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply inspired the thought that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

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 undoubtedly is an interesting drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be treated sensitively. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lumbering from strangely breezy, somewhat stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A total mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We admire 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 breakthrough that could destabilise society? No! This international thriller about secret services targeting – and eliminating – academics honestly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the content creator notorious for explicit escapades as she undertook her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was way more interrogation 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 shots and absolutely no critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.