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Looking back, we consider the TV offerings of the recent year, a selection of series emerge not for their brilliance, but for their notable shortcomings. From cringe-inducing sequels to confusingly bad documentaries, here are the productions that had us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this divisive follow-up? Plagued with dreadful writing, painful character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show struggled to justify its existence. For a moment, as the final season began, it looked like it had at last hit its stride. Then came an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator announced this would be the last season. It concluded on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was simply too symbolic. Still, viewers certainly found joy picking apart every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't let out a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘Can Kim Kardashian act? Of course she can’t.’

But that was practically the least of this show's issues. The recipient of a very rare zero star assessment, it was difficult to know where to begin listing the flaws. The hilariously wooden writing? The tedious glorification of affluence and consumption? The seemingly wilful parade of tropes? Acting so poor they felt borderline spiteful? Let’s just say “all of the above” and never speak of this show again. However, a new 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 fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d truly have known it from this three-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless excess while failing to tell us a single thing we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any pity this series might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charming but dismissive egotist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Naturally we understood it was preposterous from the outset: a thriller about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or destroy all of humanity. We persevered out of sheer admiration for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely cared 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 blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its crime drama back.

Actually, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the embarrassment of having to accommodate baffling dialects. But there were plenty of other problems. Mainly that it was just really dull; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various cockney picaresques which felt rather simplistic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the degree to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s almost tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into quaint homemaking as intentional provocations. But then you view them and are forced to concede that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue come to life; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark sayings and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by immense, largely unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are obviously fascinating things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, self-image, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this three-part series chose not to say them. Rather, the viewing was akin to consuming a marketing brochure. She clearly has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any helps with this guarded letdown of a series.

The Inheritance

It had the potential to be the next big hit – except even more extravagant, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality managing her inheritance. What more could you want? As players battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s even now too complicated to explain what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up reeking of a production 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 romantic comedy about Jessica, a hopeful 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, reveling in Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of celebrity friends involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of talented younger comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known irate mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the idea that they should probably have stayed in there a bit longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively presented the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The material needed to be treated sensitively. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lurching from oddly breezy, somewhat mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A total mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We love the star … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so intelligent he’s on the verge of a discovery that could destabilise society? No! This international thriller about government agencies targeting – and killing off – intellectuals honestly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

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 wanted was way more interrogation of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the now-famous mum who showed up to haul her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.