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As we reflect on the TV offerings of the recent year, a selection of series stand out not for their excellence, but for their spectacular shortcomings. From cringe-inducing sequels to confusingly poor docuseries, here are the productions that left us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this love/hate spin-off? Plagued with woeful scripts, painful character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series fought to justify its existence. Briefly, as the final season started, it seemed as if it had at last hit its stride. Then came an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner declared this would be the last series. It concluded on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too on-the-nose. Still, fans certainly found joy dissecting every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was almost the least of this drama's issues. The subject of a very rare no-star assessment, it was difficult to know where to start enumerating the problems. The hilariously leaden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of affluence and materialism? The seemingly wilful procession of tropes? Acting so poor they felt borderline spiteful? Let’s just say “each and every one” 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 legal troubles, abuse allegations and fatherly shortcomings, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d truly have gleaned it from this three-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless hedonism while failing to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any pity this series might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charismatic but dismissive narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Of course we knew it was preposterous from the outset: a drama about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered 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 giving up the ghost.

MobLand

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

Actually, that is harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to indulge baffling dialects. But there were plenty of other problems. Mainly that it was just profoundly boring; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various London rogues which felt a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the degree to which she grinds the gears of certain performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into quaint homemaking as deliberate provocations. But then you watch them and are compelled to concede that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine animated; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, sentimental platitudes and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by immense, largely unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are obviously interesting things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, self-image, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this documentary series opted not to say them. Rather, the experience was like reading a marketing catalogue. She clearly has good reason 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 big hit – except even more extravagant, with a glamorous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality managing her inheritance. What more could you want? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too complicated to detail what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up reeking of a programme that was straining desperately to live up to something way beyond it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

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 broken heart. The lead actress seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous to watch, embodying Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of celebrity friends involved felt uncomfortable.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the smart inclusion of talented emerging comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A particular sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar irate mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively presented the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an interesting drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be handled with care. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lumbering from strangely breezy, somewhat stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. 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 in history, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could destabilise society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services targeting – and killing off – academics frankly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the online personality notorious for explicit exploits as she prepared for her biggest feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was far greater 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 zero critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.