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Looking back, we consider the TV landscape of the past year, a selection of series stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable failures. Ranging from awkward spin-offs to confusingly 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 spin-off? Plagued with woeful writing, painful arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series fought to find its footing. Briefly, as the third series began, it seemed as if it had at last hit its stride. Then came an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator announced this would be the last season. It concluded on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was simply too symbolic. Yet, viewers certainly found joy picking apart every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a little sob?

All’s Fair

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

But that was practically the least of this drama's issues. The subject of a very rare zero star review, it was difficult to know where to start listing the flaws. The hilariously leaden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of affluence and materialism? The almost wilful parade of tropes? Acting so poor they felt almost malicious? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and never speak of this show again. However, a new season has been ordered, so we’re probably going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Given the legal troubles, abuse allegations and parental failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that you’d really have gleaned it from this three-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless excess 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 series might induce should be saved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charismatic but flippant narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Of course we understood it was ridiculous from the outset: a thriller about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or destroy all of humanity. We stuck with it out of pure love for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely cared when his character died, and the other ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost.

The Gangster Drama

Dodgy figures convening in deserted boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its gangland drama back.

In truth, that is harsh on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t endure the embarrassment of having to accommodate baffling accents. But there were plenty of other problems. Primarily that it was just profoundly boring; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various cockney picaresques which felt rather simplistic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Considering the degree to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s performatively angry commentators, it’s temptingly easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into twee homemaking as deliberate statements. But then you view them and are compelled to admit that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue animated; a meme for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by immense, largely unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are obviously interesting things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, self-image, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this three-part series opted not to say them. Instead, the viewing was like consuming a marketing brochure. She obviously has every right to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any favours with this cagey non-event of a series.

The Game Show

It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – 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 competed, there was plenty of betrayal and arguing. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s even now too complicated to detail what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up smelling of a programme that was straining desperately to live up to something way beyond it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you follow a show that captured a generation? The pressure was enormous for this glitzy romantic comedy about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. The star 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, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the smart inclusion of talented emerging comics, expectations were high. But sadly, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a single joke stretched to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known ranting mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the thought that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

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 isn’t it. The material needed to be treated sensitively. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lumbering from strangely jaunty, somewhat stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A total mess? Absolutely.

Prime Target

We love the lead actor … but did we believe 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 government agencies spying on – and eliminating – academics honestly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the online personality renowned for sexual exploits as she undertook her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was far greater interrogation of her true psychology, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who appeared to haul her son out of the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and absolutely no interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.