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Looking back, we consider the TV landscape of the past year, a handful of series emerge not for their excellence, but for their spectacular shortcomings. Ranging from awkward sequels to confusingly bad docuseries, here are the productions that had us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

Where to begin with this love/hate follow-up? Burdened with woeful writing, cringe-inducing character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show fought to find its footing. Briefly, as the final season started, it looked like it had finally found its groove. Then came an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner announced this would be the last season. It concluded on a bum note; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was simply too symbolic. Still, fans undeniably had a hoot dissecting every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a small sob?

All’s Fair

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

But that was practically the least of this show's issues. The recipient of a very rare no-star assessment, it was hard to know where to start enumerating the problems. The laughably wooden dialogue? The tedious veneration of wealth and materialism? The almost deliberate procession of tropes? Acting so bad they felt borderline malicious? Suffice it to say “each and every one” and forget about this show again. However, a second season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Given the restraining orders, abuse allegations and fatherly failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d truly have gleaned it from this three-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless excess while struggling to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any sympathy this series might evoke should be reserved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charismatic but flippant narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Of course we knew it was preposterous from the get-go: a drama about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or annihilate all of humanity. We stuck with it out of pure love for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely cared when his character died, and the other ended up slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

The Gangster Drama

Shady characters convening in deserted boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its gangland drama back.

In truth, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to indulge baffling accents. But there were plenty of other problems. Mainly that it was just profoundly dull; a dispute over narcotics territory between various cockney rogues which felt a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the degree to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into quaint homemaking as deliberate provocations. But then you watch them and are compelled to admit that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue animated; a meme for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark sayings and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by vast, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly interesting things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, self-image, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to say them. Rather, the viewing was akin to consuming a sales catalogue. She obviously has good reason to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any favours with this cagey 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 playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality managing her estate. What more could you want? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too confusing to explain what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up reeking of a programme that was straining desperately to live up to something way beyond it.

Too Much

How does one follow a show that defined a generation? The pressure was enormous for this starry romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

The Sketch Show Return

Not good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the smart inclusion of gifted younger comics, expectations were high. But sadly, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a dry pulp but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known irate mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the thought that they should probably have stayed in there a while longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively showcased the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be handled with care. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lurching from oddly jaunty, somewhat stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A total mess? Very much so.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We love the star … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so intelligent he’s on the brink of a discovery that could ruin society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies targeting – and eliminating – intellectuals honestly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This uncritical portrait followed the online personality notorious for explicit escapades as she prepared for her biggest feat yet. What on earth would possess 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 spoken to 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 infamy whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.