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Looking back, we consider the TV offerings of the past year, a handful of shows emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular failures. Ranging from cringe-inducing sequels to confusingly poor documentaries, here are the programmes that left us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this love/hate spin-off? Burdened with woeful writing, cringe-inducing character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series fought to justify its existence. Briefly, as the third season started, it seemed as if it had at last found its groove. Then arrived an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner announced this would be the last season. It concluded on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too on-the-nose. Still, viewers 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 release a small sob?

All’s Fair

‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? Of course she can’t.’

But that was practically the smallest of this drama's issues. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon no-star assessment, it was difficult to know where to begin listing the problems. The hilariously leaden dialogue? The tedious glorification of affluence and materialism? The almost wilful procession of cliches? Performances so poor they felt borderline malicious? Let’s just say “each and every one” and forget about this show again. Except, a second season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the restraining orders, domestic violence claims and parental shortcomings, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that you’d truly have known it from this three-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless hedonism while failing to tell us anything 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 endure proximity with this charismatic but dismissive egotist.

The Iris Affair

Of course we knew it was preposterous from the get-go: a drama about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or destroy all of humanity. We persevered out of sheer admiration for its leads … 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 slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. Talk about giving up the ghost.

The Gangster Drama

Shady figures meeting in deserted boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its gangland drama back.

In truth, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to accommodate unconvincing dialects. But there were plenty of other issues. Primarily that it was just profoundly boring; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various cockney rogues which felt rather simplistic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the extent to which she provokes the ire of certain performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into quaint homemaking as intentional statements. But then you view them and are forced to admit that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue come to life; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental platitudes and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by vast, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly interesting things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, identity, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this documentary series chose not to say them. Rather, the experience was like reading 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 cagey letdown of a series.

The Inheritance

It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a glamorous star playing dead and a well-known personality overseeing her estate. What more could you want? As players battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and arguing. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too confusing to detail what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up reeking of a programme that was trying way too hard to live up to something far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you succeed a show that defined a generation? The pressure was enormous for this starry romantic comedy about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of famous friends involved felt uncomfortable.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the smart recruitment of talented younger comics, expectations were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a one-note joke milked to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar irate mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have remained in there a while 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 probably is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be handled sensitively. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lumbering from strangely breezy, slightly stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A total mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

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

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the online personality notorious for sexual exploits as she undertook her biggest challenge yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was way more interrogation of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who showed up to haul her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and absolutely no interrogation of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.