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Looking back, we reflect on the TV offerings of the recent year, a handful of shows emerge not for their excellence, but for their spectacular failures. Ranging from cringe-inducing spin-offs to bafflingly poor documentaries, here are the programmes that had us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

Where to begin with this love/hate spin-off? Burdened with dreadful scripts, cringe-inducing arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series fought to justify its existence. Briefly, as the third series began, it looked like it had at last found its groove. Then came an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator announced this would be the last season. It concluded on a bum note; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was just way too on-the-nose. Yet, viewers certainly found joy picking apart every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a little sob?

All’s Fair

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

But that was practically the smallest of this show's issues. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon zero star review, it was hard to know where to begin listing the flaws. The laughably wooden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of wealth and consumption? The almost wilful parade of cliches? Performances so poor they felt borderline malicious? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and forget about this series again. Except, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

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

The Iris Affair

Naturally we understood it was preposterous from the outset: a drama about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or destroy all of humanity. We persevered out of pure love for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One barely cared when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat.

The Gangster Drama

Shady figures convening in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its crime drama back.

In truth, that is harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a little dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to indulge unconvincing dialects. But there were many other problems. Mainly that it was just profoundly dull; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various cockney picaresques which felt rather simplistic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Given the degree to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s performatively enraged commentators, it’s almost easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into quaint homemaking as intentional statements. But then you watch them and are compelled to admit that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue come to life; a poster for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark platitudes and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by immense, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly fascinating things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, self-image, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to explore them. Rather, the experience was like consuming a sales brochure. She clearly has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any favours with this cagey non-event of a series.

The Inheritance

It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a glamorous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality managing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too confusing to detail what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up reeking of a production that was straining desperately to live up to something far greater than it.

Too Much

How does one follow a show that defined a generation? The pressure was enormous for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. The lead actress seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, embodying Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of celebrity friends involved felt uncomfortable.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the smart recruitment of gifted emerging comics, expectations were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a single joke milked to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a familiar irate mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the thought 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 solely showcased the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an interesting drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be treated sensitively. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lurching from oddly jaunty, slightly mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A complete mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We love the star … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so intelligent he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could ruin society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services spying on – and eliminating – academics honestly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the content creator notorious for explicit exploits as she undertook her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was way more examination of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the now-famous mum who appeared to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.