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As we reflect on the television offerings of the recent year, a handful of shows emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. Ranging from awkward sequels to confusingly poor documentaries, here are the programmes that left 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 scripts, cringe-inducing arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series struggled to justify its existence. For a moment, as the final series began, it seemed as if it had at last hit its stride. Then came an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the last series. It ended on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo full of poo was just way too on-the-nose. Still, fans certainly found joy picking apart every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was almost the least of this drama's problems. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon zero star review, it was hard to know where to start enumerating the problems. The laughably leaden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of wealth and consumption? The almost deliberate parade of tropes? Performances so poor they felt almost spiteful? Let’s just say “all of the above” and forget about this series again. However, a second season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the legal troubles, domestic violence allegations and fatherly shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d truly have gleaned it from this multi-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive excess while failing to tell us a single thing we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any pity this series might evoke should be reserved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charismatic but dismissive egotist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Naturally we knew it was ridiculous from the get-go: a drama about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or destroy all of humanity. We stuck with it out of sheer admiration for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One scarcely reacted when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat.

MobLand

Dodgy figures meeting in empty boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its crime drama back.

In truth, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to indulge unconvincing dialects. But there were plenty of other problems. Mainly that it was just profoundly dull; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various London rogues which felt rather simplistic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of certain performatively enraged commentators, it’s almost easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into twee homemaking as intentional provocations. But then you watch them and are forced to admit that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue come to life; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental sayings and forgettable crafting “tips” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by vast, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are obviously fascinating things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, self-image, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this three-part series chose not to say them. Instead, the viewing was akin to consuming a marketing catalogue. She clearly has every right to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any helps with this guarded letdown of a series.

The Game Show

It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a glamorous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality managing her estate. What more could you ask for? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and arguing. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too complicated to detail what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up reeking of a production that was straining desperately to emulate something way beyond it.

Too Much

How do you succeed a show that captured a generation? The expectation was enormous for this starry romantic comedy about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. 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 celebrity cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

The Sketch Show Return

Not good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of gifted younger comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. 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 irate mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked 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 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 treated sensitively. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lumbering from strangely jaunty, somewhat stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A complete mess? Absolutely.

Prime Target

We admire the lead actor … 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 destabilise society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies spying on – and killing off – intellectuals frankly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This hagiography followed the online personality renowned for explicit exploits as she prepared for her biggest challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was way more interrogation of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the now-famous mum who appeared to haul her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.