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Looking back, we consider the TV offerings of the past year, a selection of shows emerge not for their excellence, but for their spectacular shortcomings. Ranging from awkward spin-offs to bafflingly bad docuseries, here are the productions that left us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this divisive follow-up? Plagued with woeful scripts, painful arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show struggled to justify its existence. Briefly, as the third season started, it seemed as if it had finally found its groove. Then arrived an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator declared this would be the last series. It concluded on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo full of poo was just way too on-the-nose. Still, viewers undeniably had a hoot picking apart every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was practically the least of this show's problems. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon zero star assessment, it was hard to know where to begin listing the problems. The laughably wooden dialogue? The tedious glorification of wealth and materialism? The almost wilful parade of tropes? Performances so poor they felt almost spiteful? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and forget about this series again. However, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Given the legal troubles, domestic violence claims and parental shortcomings, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d really have known it from this multi-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless excess while struggling to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon 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 charismatic but flippant narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Naturally we understood it was preposterous from the outset: a drama 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 sheer love for its stars … 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 slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat.

MobLand

Shady characters meeting 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 gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to indulge unconvincing dialects. But there were many other problems. Primarily that it was just really boring; a conflict over narcotics territory between various London rogues which felt a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the extent to which she provokes the ire of certain performatively enraged commentators, it’s almost tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into twee lifestyle as deliberate provocations. 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 magazine animated; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark platitudes and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by immense, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly interesting things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, identity, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this three-part series opted not to explore them. Rather, the experience was like consuming a marketing catalogue. She obviously has good reason to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any favours with this guarded letdown of a series.

The Inheritance

It had the potential to be the next big hit – except even camper, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality managing her estate. What more could you ask for? As players competed, there was plenty of betrayal and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too complicated to detail what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up reeking 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 expectation was immense for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who lands in London with a shattered romance. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of famous friends involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of gifted emerging comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A particular sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply inspired the thought that they should probably have stayed 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 solely presented the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an compelling drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be handled sensitively. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lurching from strangely jaunty, slightly stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A complete mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We love the star … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a discovery that could ruin society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies 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 prepared for her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was way more interrogation of her actual psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who appeared to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.