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As we reflect on the television offerings of the past year, a handful of shows emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. From cringe-inducing spin-offs to confusingly bad docuseries, here are the programmes that had us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

Where to begin with this divisive follow-up? Burdened with dreadful scripts, cringe-inducing character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the show struggled to justify its existence. For a moment, as the final season started, it looked like it had finally hit its stride. Then came an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator declared this would be the final series. It ended on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo full of poo was simply too symbolic. Yet, fans certainly found joy picking apart every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a small sob?

All’s Fair

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

But that was almost the least of this show's issues. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon no-star assessment, it was hard to know where to start listing the flaws. The laughably leaden writing? The tedious veneration of wealth and materialism? The seemingly deliberate procession of tropes? Acting so bad they felt almost spiteful? Suffice it to say “each and every one” and never speak of this show again. However, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the restraining orders, domestic violence allegations and fatherly shortcomings, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d really have gleaned it from this multi-part documentary which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive hedonism while failing to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon was being indulged, so any pity this show might induce should be saved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charming but dismissive egotist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we understood 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 stuck with it out of sheer love for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One scarcely cared when his character died, and the other ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost.

MobLand

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

Actually, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to indulge baffling dialects. But there were plenty of other issues. Mainly that it was just really dull; a conflict over narcotics territory between various London picaresques which felt rather simplistic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Considering the extent to which she provokes the ire of certain ostentatiously enraged commentators, it’s almost tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into quaint homemaking as intentional statements. But then you watch them and are compelled to concede that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle magazine come to life; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark platitudes and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by vast, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly interesting things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, identity, self-worth. But for some reason, this three-part series chose not to explore them. Rather, the viewing was akin to consuming a sales brochure. She clearly has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any helps with this guarded non-event of a series.

The Inheritance

It should have been 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 bewildering: it’s still too confusing to explain what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The series ended up smelling of a programme that was trying way too hard to emulate something way beyond it.

Too Much

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

The Sketch Show Return

Not good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of gifted emerging comics, hopes were high. But sadly, 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 familiar ranting mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the thought 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 executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively presented 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 subject matter needed to be treated with care. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lumbering from strangely jaunty, slightly stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A total mess? Absolutely.

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 verge of a discovery that could ruin society? No! This international thriller about secret services spying on – and killing off – academics honestly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the content creator notorious for sexual escapades as she undertook her biggest challenge 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 drag 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.