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Looking back, we consider the TV landscape of the recent year, a selection of shows emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular failures. Ranging from awkward spin-offs to confusingly poor docuseries, here are the programmes that left us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this love/hate follow-up? Burdened with dreadful scripts, cringe-inducing character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series struggled to find its footing. Briefly, as the final series started, it looked like it had at last hit its stride. Then arrived an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner announced this would be the last series. It ended on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was just way too symbolic. Still, viewers certainly found joy dissecting every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a little sob?

All’s Fair

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

But that was almost the smallest of this drama's problems. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon zero star assessment, it was hard to know where to start listing the flaws. The hilariously wooden dialogue? The tedious glorification of affluence and materialism? The almost deliberate procession of tropes? Performances so bad they felt borderline spiteful? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and forget about this show again. However, a new season has been ordered, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the restraining orders, abuse allegations and parental shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that you’d truly have gleaned it from this multi-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless hedonism while struggling to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any pity this show might evoke should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charismatic but flippant narcissist.

The Iris Affair

Of course we knew it was preposterous from the get-go: a thriller about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – 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 reacted when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

MobLand

Shady characters convening in empty boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its gangland drama back.

In truth, that is harsh on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a bit old-fashioned 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 really boring; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various London picaresques which seemed a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the extent to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into quaint homemaking as intentional provocations. But then you view them and are compelled to concede that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue come to life; a poster for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark sayings and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by immense, largely unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly fascinating things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, self-image, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this documentary series opted not to explore them. Rather, the viewing was like reading a marketing brochure. She clearly has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any favours with this cagey letdown of a series.

The Inheritance

It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a glamorous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too confusing to detail what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up reeking of a programme that was straining desperately to live up to something way beyond it.

Too Much

How do you follow a show that defined a generation? The expectation was immense for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a shattered romance. The star took her biggest role by the horns and was a delight to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of gifted emerging comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a one-note joke milked to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a familiar irate mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the thought that they should probably have stayed in there a bit longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively presented the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be handled with care. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lurching from strangely jaunty, somewhat stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A total mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could destabilise society? Nope! This international thriller about secret services spying on – and eliminating – intellectuals honestly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This uncritical portrait followed the online personality renowned for explicit exploits as she undertook her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was way more interrogation of her actual psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have interviewed the now-famous mum who appeared to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and absolutely no interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.