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Looking back, we reflect on the television landscape of the recent year, a selection of shows stand out not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. Ranging from cringe-inducing spin-offs to bafflingly bad 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 follow-up? Plagued with dreadful scripts, cringe-inducing character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series fought to justify its existence. For a moment, as the final season started, it seemed as if it had at last hit its stride. Then arrived an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the final season. It concluded on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was simply too on-the-nose. Yet, viewers undeniably found joy dissecting every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was practically the smallest of this show's problems. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon zero star assessment, it was hard to know where to start listing the flaws. The laughably leaden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of affluence and consumption? 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 series again. Except, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re likely 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 you’d truly have gleaned it from this multi-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive hedonism while struggling to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any sympathy this show might induce should be saved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charming but dismissive egotist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Of course we knew it was ridiculous 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 stuck with it out of pure admiration 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 ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about giving up the ghost.

MobLand

Dodgy figures meeting in deserted boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter jackhammering away 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 look a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to indulge baffling accents. But there were plenty of other issues. Mainly that it was just profoundly boring; a dispute over narcotics territory between various London picaresques which seemed rather simplistic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Given the extent to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s almost easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into quaint lifestyle as deliberate provocations. But then you view them and are forced to admit that in this case, they might have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle magazine animated; a poster for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark platitudes and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by vast, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly fascinating things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, self-image, self-worth. But for some reason, this three-part series chose not to say them. Instead, the viewing was like reading a marketing brochure. She clearly has good reason to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any helps with this cagey letdown of a series.

The Game Show

It had the potential to be the next big hit – except even camper, with a glamorous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality managing her estate. What more could you ask for? As players battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too confusing to explain what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up smelling of a production that was straining desperately to live up to something way beyond it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you follow a show that defined a generation? The expectation was enormous for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of famous friends involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even 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 recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known ranting mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the thought that they should probably have remained in there a while 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 undoubtedly is an compelling 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 voice, lurching from oddly breezy, slightly mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A complete mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We admire the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could ruin society? Nope! This international thriller about government agencies targeting – and killing off – academics frankly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This uncritical portrait followed the content creator renowned for sexual exploits as she prepared for her biggest challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was way more interrogation of her true psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who showed up to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and zero interrogation of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.