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Looking back, we consider the TV landscape of the recent year, a handful of shows emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular failures. Ranging from awkward sequels to bafflingly poor documentaries, here are the productions that had us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

Where to begin with this divisive follow-up? Burdened with dreadful scripts, painful arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show fought to justify its existence. For a moment, as the third series started, it looked like it had at last hit its stride. Then came an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the last series. It concluded on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too on-the-nose. Still, fans certainly found joy picking apart every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was almost the smallest of this show's issues. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon zero star review, it was difficult to know where to begin listing the flaws. The laughably leaden writing? The tedious glorification of affluence and materialism? The seemingly deliberate parade of cliches? Acting so poor they felt almost spiteful? Suffice it to say “each and every one” and never speak of this show again. However, a second season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the legal troubles, abuse allegations and fatherly 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 chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive excess while struggling to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being indulged, so any pity this show might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charismatic but flippant egotist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Of course we knew it was ridiculous from the get-go: a thriller about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or destroy all of humanity. We stuck with it out of pure 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 hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

The Gangster Drama

Dodgy characters meeting in deserted boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its gangland 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 plenty of other issues. Primarily that it was just profoundly boring; a dispute over narcotics territory between various London rogues which seemed a bit basic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Considering the extent to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s temptingly easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into twee lifestyle as deliberate statements. But then you view them and are forced to concede that in this case, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine come to life; a poster for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by immense, largely 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 whatever reason, this three-part series opted not to say them. Instead, the experience was like reading a sales catalogue. She obviously has good reason to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any favours with this guarded non-event 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 want? As players competed, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too complicated to detail what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses 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.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How does one follow a show that defined a generation? The expectation was immense for this glitzy 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, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the smart inclusion of gifted emerging comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a one-note joke milked to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the idea that they should probably have remained in there a while longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely 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 sensitively. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from strangely breezy, slightly stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A total mess? Very much so.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We love the star … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius since, a man so intelligent he’s on the brink of a discovery that could ruin society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services spying on – and killing off – intellectuals frankly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This uncritical portrait followed the online personality notorious for sexual escapades as she prepared for her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was far greater interrogation of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who showed up to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and zero interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.