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Looking back, we reflect on the television offerings of the recent year, a handful of series stand out not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular failures. Ranging from awkward spin-offs to confusingly poor documentaries, here are the productions that had us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this love/hate spin-off? Burdened with woeful scripts, cringe-inducing arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series struggled to justify its existence. Briefly, as the third season began, it looked like it had finally hit its stride. Then arrived an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the final season. It ended on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was just way too symbolic. Yet, fans certainly had a hoot dissecting every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was almost the smallest of this drama's issues. The recipient of a very rare no-star review, it was hard to know where to start listing the problems. The hilariously leaden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of wealth and consumption? The almost wilful parade of tropes? Performances so bad they felt borderline spiteful? Suffice it to say “each and every one” and never speak of this show again. However, a new season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Considering the restraining orders, domestic violence claims and parental failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d truly have known it from this three-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive excess while struggling to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon was being indulged, so any pity this show might evoke should be reserved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charming but dismissive narcissist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we knew it was ridiculous from the get-go: a drama about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or destroy all of humanity. We stuck with it out of pure admiration for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely reacted when his character died, and the other ended up slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about giving up the ghost.

The Gangster Drama

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

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

The Meghan Markle Series

Given the degree to which she grinds the gears of certain performatively angry commentators, it’s almost tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into quaint lifestyle as deliberate statements. But then you watch them and are forced to admit that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine animated; a poster for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark platitudes and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by immense, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are obviously interesting things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, identity, self-worth. But for some reason, this documentary series chose not to say them. Rather, the viewing was akin to reading a sales catalogue. She obviously has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any favours with this guarded non-event of a series.

The Inheritance

It had the potential to be the next big hit – except even camper, with a glamorous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality managing her estate. What more could you want? As players battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s even now too confusing to detail what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up reeking of a programme that was trying way too hard to live up to something far greater than it.

Too Much

How does one follow a show that captured a generation? The expectation was immense for this starry romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous to watch, embodying Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity friends involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of talented emerging comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the idea that they should probably have stayed in there a while longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This dramatisation 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 probably is an interesting drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be handled sensitively. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lumbering from oddly breezy, slightly mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A complete mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire 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 breakthrough that could ruin society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies spying on – and killing off – intellectuals frankly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This uncritical portrait followed the online personality notorious for explicit escapades as she prepared for her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would possess 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 out of the queue. What we got was horrific shots and zero interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.