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Looking back, we consider the television landscape of the past year, a handful of series stand out not for their brilliance, but for their notable failures. Ranging from cringe-inducing sequels to bafflingly poor documentaries, here are the productions that had us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

Where to begin with this divisive spin-off? Plagued with woeful writing, painful arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series struggled to find its footing. For a moment, as the final series started, it looked like it had at last hit its stride. Then arrived an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the last season. It concluded on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo full of poo was simply too on-the-nose. Still, viewers undeniably had a hoot picking apart every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? The answer is a resounding no.’

But that was practically the smallest of this show's problems. The subject of a very rare zero star assessment, it was hard to know where to begin enumerating the flaws. The laughably leaden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of affluence and materialism? The almost deliberate procession of tropes? Performances so bad they felt borderline malicious? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and never speak of this show again. Except, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Considering the legal troubles, abuse claims and parental 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 chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless hedonism while struggling to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any sympathy this series might induce should be saved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charming but dismissive egotist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Of course we knew it was ridiculous from the outset: a thriller 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 pure admiration for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One barely cared when his character died, and the other ultimately hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost.

MobLand

Shady characters convening in empty 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 harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a little dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to indulge baffling dialects. But there were many other problems. Primarily that it was just profoundly boring; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various London picaresques which seemed a bit basic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Considering the degree to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into twee homemaking as intentional statements. But then you view them and are compelled to admit that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue come to life; a meme for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental platitudes and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by immense, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are obviously interesting things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, self-image, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this documentary series chose not to explore them. Instead, the viewing was akin to consuming a sales catalogue. She clearly has every right to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any favours with this guarded non-event of a series.

The Game Show

It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a famous 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 arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too confusing to detail what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via filmed videos. The series ended up smelling of a production that was trying way too hard to live up to something way beyond it.

Too Much

How does one follow a show that captured a generation? The pressure was enormous for this glitzy romantic comedy about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of famous cameos involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the smart recruitment of talented younger comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A particular sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the idea that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen 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 handled with care. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lumbering from oddly breezy, slightly mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A complete 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 intelligent he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could ruin society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services spying on – and eliminating – academics frankly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This uncritical portrait followed the online personality renowned for explicit exploits as she undertook her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was way more 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 away from the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and absolutely no interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.