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As we reflect on the television landscape of the past year, a handful of series stand out not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. From awkward spin-offs to bafflingly poor docuseries, here are the productions that left us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

Where to begin with this love/hate spin-off? Burdened with woeful scripts, painful character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series fought to find its footing. Briefly, as the final series started, it seemed as if it had at last hit its stride. Then arrived an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner announced this would be the last series. It ended on a bum note; the closeup of Miranda’s loo full of poo was just way too symbolic. Yet, fans undeniably had a hoot dissecting every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a small sob?

All’s Fair

‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? Of course she can’t.’

But that was practically the least of this drama's issues. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon zero star assessment, it was hard to know where to start listing the problems. The hilariously leaden dialogue? The tedious veneration of wealth and materialism? The almost wilful parade of cliches? Performances so poor they felt borderline spiteful? Let’s just say “all of the above” and forget about this series again. However, a new season has been ordered, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the restraining orders, domestic violence allegations and parental failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not you’d truly have known it from this multi-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive hedonism while failing to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any sympathy this series might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charming but dismissive narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Of course we knew it was preposterous from the outset: a drama about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or destroy all of humanity. We stuck with it out of pure admiration for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One barely reacted when his character died, and the other ultimately hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat.

The Gangster Drama

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

In truth, that is harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t endure 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 drug-selling territory between various London picaresques which felt a bit basic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Considering the extent to which she grinds the gears of certain ostentatiously enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into twee homemaking as deliberate statements. But then you view them and are compelled to admit that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine animated; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All underpinned by immense, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly fascinating things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, self-image, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to explore them. Rather, the viewing was like reading 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 letdown of a series.

The Game Show

It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a glamorous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you want? As contestants competed, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s even now too confusing to explain what exactly 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 trying way too hard to emulate something far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you follow a show that captured a generation? The expectation was enormous for this starry romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, embodying Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of celebrity friends involved felt uncomfortable.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of talented younger comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A particular sketch was a single joke stretched to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known irate mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply inspired 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 solely showcased the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an interesting drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be treated sensitively. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lurching from oddly breezy, somewhat stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A complete mess? Very much so.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the greatest maths genius since, a man so intelligent he’s on the verge of a discovery that could ruin society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies targeting – and killing off – academics honestly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the content creator notorious for sexual exploits as she undertook her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was way more examination of her true 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 horrific shots and absolutely no interrogation of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.