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Looking back, we consider the TV offerings of the recent year, a selection of shows stand out not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. Ranging from cringe-inducing sequels to confusingly poor documentaries, 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 spin-off? Plagued with woeful scripts, painful arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show fought to justify its existence. Briefly, as the third series started, it seemed as if it had at last hit its stride. Then came an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner announced this would be the last season. It concluded on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was just way too on-the-nose. Yet, fans certainly found joy dissecting every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn'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 very rare zero star assessment, it was hard to know where to start listing the flaws. The laughably leaden dialogue? The tedious glorification of wealth and materialism? The almost deliberate parade of tropes? Performances 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.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Considering the legal troubles, abuse allegations and fatherly failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d truly have gleaned it from this three-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive excess while failing to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any sympathy this series might evoke should be reserved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charismatic but dismissive egotist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we understood it was preposterous from the outset: a thriller about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or destroy all of humanity. We persevered out of sheer admiration for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One barely cared when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost.

The Gangster Drama

Dodgy characters convening in empty boxing gyms? A certain band'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 little dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to indulge baffling accents. But there were plenty of other issues. Primarily that it was just profoundly boring; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various cockney picaresques which seemed a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the extent to which she grinds the gears of certain ostentatiously enraged commentators, it’s almost tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into quaint lifestyle as deliberate provocations. But then you view them and are forced to concede that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine come to life; a meme for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark platitudes and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by vast, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly interesting things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, identity, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this three-part series chose not to say them. Instead, the viewing was akin to consuming a marketing catalogue. She clearly has good reason to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any favours with this guarded letdown of a series.

The Inheritance

It should have been the next big hit – except even more extravagant, with a famous star playing dead and a well-known personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you want? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too complicated to detail what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via filmed videos. The series ended up reeking of a production that was trying way too hard to live up to something far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How does one follow a show that defined a generation? The pressure was immense for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The star 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 glossy and, paradoxically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of famous cameos involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of talented younger comics, expectations were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a single joke milked to a dry pulp but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known irate mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply provoked 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 viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be handled sensitively. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lurching from strangely jaunty, somewhat mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A complete mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

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 breakthrough that could ruin society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services spying on – and killing off – academics honestly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This hagiography followed the content creator renowned for sexual exploits as she undertook her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was far greater interrogation of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who showed up to haul her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.