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Looking back, we reflect on the TV landscape of the past year, a selection of shows stand out not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular failures. Ranging from awkward spin-offs to bafflingly poor documentaries, here are the programmes that left us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this divisive follow-up? Plagued with dreadful 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 final season started, it looked like it had finally found its groove. Then arrived an episode all about 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. Yet, fans undeniably had a hoot picking apart every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? The answer is a resounding no.’

But that was almost the smallest of this drama's problems. The recipient of a very rare zero star review, it was difficult to know where to start enumerating the problems. The laughably wooden dialogue? The mind-numbing veneration of affluence and materialism? The almost deliberate procession of tropes? Performances so bad they felt borderline malicious? Let’s just say “all of the above” and never speak of this series again. However, a new season has been ordered, so we’re probably going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Considering the legal troubles, abuse claims and parental failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d truly have known it from this three-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless excess while struggling to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any sympathy this show might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charismatic but dismissive narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Naturally we knew it was ridiculous from the outset: a thriller about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of sheer love for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One barely reacted when his character died, and the other ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

MobLand

Dodgy figures convening in deserted boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter blaring 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 seem a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to indulge baffling accents. But there were plenty of other issues. Primarily that it was just really boring; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various London rogues which seemed a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the degree to which she grinds the gears of certain performatively angry commentators, it’s almost easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into quaint homemaking as intentional provocations. 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 poster for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental sayings and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All underpinned by vast, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are obviously fascinating things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, self-image, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to say them. Instead, the experience was like reading a sales catalogue. She clearly has good reason to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any helps with this guarded non-event of a series.

The Game Show

It had the potential to be the next big hit – except even camper, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you want? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s even now too complicated to detail what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up reeking of a programme that was trying way too hard to emulate something far greater than it.

Too Much

How do you succeed a show that captured a generation? The expectation was immense for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was a delight to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of celebrity friends involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the smart recruitment of talented younger comics, expectations 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 well-known irate mode. The behind-the-scenes 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 exclusively showcased the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an interesting drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be treated with care. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lumbering from oddly breezy, somewhat mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A total mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We love the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could ruin society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services targeting – and eliminating – intellectuals honestly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This uncritical portrait followed the online personality renowned for sexual escapades as she undertook her biggest challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was way more interrogation of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have spoken to the now-famous mum who showed up to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.