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Looking back, we reflect on the television landscape of the recent year, a selection of series emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular failures. From awkward spin-offs to bafflingly poor docuseries, here are the programmes that had us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this love/hate follow-up? Plagued with dreadful scripts, cringe-inducing character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the show fought to find its footing. Briefly, as the third season began, it seemed as if it had at last hit its stride. Then arrived an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner declared this would be the last series. It ended on a bum note; the closeup of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too on-the-nose. Still, fans undeniably had a hoot dissecting every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a little sob?

All’s Fair

‘Can Kim Kardashian act? 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 listing the flaws. The laughably wooden dialogue? The mind-numbing glorification of affluence and consumption? The seemingly deliberate parade of tropes? Acting so poor they felt borderline malicious? Let’s just say “all of the above” and never speak of this show again. However, a second season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Given the legal troubles, abuse allegations and fatherly failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d truly have gleaned it from this three-part documentary which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless excess while struggling to tell us anything we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any sympathy this show might evoke should be reserved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charismatic but flippant egotist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Naturally we knew it was preposterous from the outset: a thriller about a AI 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 given up trying. One barely reacted when his character died, and the other ended up slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost.

MobLand

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

Actually, that is harsh on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to accommodate unconvincing dialects. But there were plenty of other problems. Mainly that it was just really dull; a conflict over narcotics territory between various London picaresques which seemed rather simplistic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Considering the degree to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s performatively angry commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into twee lifestyle as intentional provocations. But then you view them and are compelled to admit that in this case, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue animated; a meme for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental sayings and forgettable crafting “tips” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by immense, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly fascinating things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, identity, self-worth. But for some reason, this three-part series chose not to say them. Instead, the viewing was akin to reading a sales catalogue. She clearly has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any helps with this cagey non-event of a series.

The Inheritance

It had the potential to be the next big hit – except even camper, with a glamorous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you want? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s even now too confusing to explain what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The series ended up smelling of a production that was straining desperately to emulate something far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How does one follow a show that captured a generation? The pressure was immense for this glitzy romantic comedy about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. The star took her biggest role by the horns and was a delight to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of famous friends involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the smart recruitment of gifted emerging comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a single joke stretched to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known irate mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply inspired the thought that they should probably have remained 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 presented the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be handled sensitively. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lumbering from strangely jaunty, somewhat stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A complete mess? Absolutely.

Prime Target

We love the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could ruin society? Nope! This international thriller about government agencies targeting – and eliminating – intellectuals honestly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the content creator notorious for explicit escapades as she undertook her biggest challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was far greater examination of her true psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who showed up to haul her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and zero interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.