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Looking back, we reflect on the television landscape of the past year, a handful of shows stand out not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular failures. Ranging from cringe-inducing sequels to confusingly poor docuseries, here are the programmes that had us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this love/hate follow-up? Burdened with woeful writing, cringe-inducing character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series struggled to justify its existence. For a moment, as the third series started, it looked like it had finally hit its stride. Then arrived an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator declared this would be the last series. It concluded on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was just way too symbolic. Yet, fans undeniably had a hoot picking apart every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a small sob?

All’s Fair

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

But that was practically the least of this drama's problems. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon no-star assessment, it was hard to know where to begin enumerating the flaws. The laughably wooden dialogue? The tedious glorification of wealth and materialism? The almost deliberate parade of tropes? Acting so poor they felt almost spiteful? Let’s just say “each and every one” and forget about this show again. However, a new season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the restraining orders, abuse allegations and fatherly failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d truly have known it from this three-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive hedonism while struggling to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Rather, 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 charming but flippant narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Naturally we knew it was ridiculous from the get-go: a drama about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of pure admiration for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. 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

Shady figures meeting in deserted boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its crime drama back.

Actually, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to accommodate unconvincing accents. But there were many other problems. Mainly that it was just profoundly dull; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various cockney rogues which felt a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the extent to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s performatively angry commentators, it’s temptingly easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into quaint lifestyle as intentional statements. But then you watch them and are forced to admit that in this case, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine come to life; a poster for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, sentimental sayings and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by vast, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly fascinating things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, identity, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this documentary series opted not to explore them. Rather, the viewing was like consuming a marketing catalogue. She clearly has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “stern” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any helps with this cagey letdown of a series.

The Inheritance

It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a glamorous star playing dead and a well-known personality managing her estate. What more could you ask for? As players battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too confusing to detail what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up smelling of a programme that was straining desperately to live up to something way beyond it.

Too Much

How does one succeed a show that captured a generation? The expectation was immense for this starry romantic comedy about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of famous friends involved felt uncomfortable.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of talented emerging comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known ranting mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the thought that they should probably have remained in there a while longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This retelling 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 probably is an interesting drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be treated sensitively. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lurching from strangely jaunty, somewhat stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A total 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 discovery that could destabilise society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies targeting – and killing off – intellectuals honestly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This uncritical portrait followed the online personality renowned for sexual escapades as she prepared for her biggest feat 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 interviewed the now-famous mum who showed up to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and absolutely no interrogation of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.