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Looking back, we consider the television landscape of the past year, a selection of series emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. From awkward spin-offs to confusingly poor documentaries, here are the productions that had us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this love/hate spin-off? Burdened with woeful writing, painful character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series fought to justify its existence. For a moment, as the third season started, it seemed as if it had finally found its groove. Then came an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the last series. It ended on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too symbolic. Still, fans certainly had a hoot picking apart every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘Can Kim Kardashian act? The answer is a resounding no.’

But that was practically the smallest of this show's problems. The subject of a very rare no-star review, it was hard to know where to begin listing the problems. The laughably leaden dialogue? The tedious veneration of affluence and materialism? The seemingly wilful parade of cliches? Performances so poor they felt borderline spiteful? Suffice it to say “each and every one” and never speak of this series again. Except, a new season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the restraining orders, abuse claims and fatherly shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that you’d really have known it from this multi-part documentary which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive hedonism while failing to tell us anything we weren't already aware of. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any pity this show might evoke should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charming but flippant narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Of course we knew it was preposterous from the outset: a thriller 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 sheer love for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely cared when his character died, and the other ended up slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

MobLand

Dodgy figures convening in empty boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its gangland drama back.

In truth, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a little dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to accommodate baffling accents. But there were plenty of other problems. Mainly that it was just really boring; a dispute over narcotics territory between various cockney rogues which seemed a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the degree to which she grinds the gears of certain performatively enraged commentators, it’s almost easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into twee homemaking as intentional statements. But then you view them and are compelled to admit that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine animated; a meme for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark platitudes and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All underpinned by immense, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are obviously interesting things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, self-image, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this documentary series chose not to say them. Instead, the viewing was like consuming a marketing brochure. She obviously has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any favours with this cagey non-event of a series.

The Inheritance

It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – 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 contestants competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too complicated to detail what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via filmed videos. The series ended up smelling of a programme that was straining desperately to emulate something far greater than it.

Too Much

How do you succeed a show that defined a generation? The expectation was enormous for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The lead actress seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity friends involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of talented younger comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a one-note joke milked to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively showcased the perspective 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 sensitively. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from strangely jaunty, somewhat mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A complete mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We admire the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could ruin society? Nope! This international thriller about secret services spying on – and eliminating – intellectuals frankly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This uncritical portrait followed the online personality renowned for sexual exploits as she undertook her biggest feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was far greater interrogation of her actual psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who appeared to haul her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and zero critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.