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As we consider the TV landscape of the recent year, a handful of series emerge not for their excellence, but for their spectacular shortcomings. Ranging from cringe-inducing sequels to confusingly bad docuseries, here are the productions that had us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this love/hate spin-off? Burdened with dreadful scripts, cringe-inducing arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show struggled to justify its existence. For a moment, as the third season began, it looked like it had finally hit its stride. Then arrived an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner declared this would be the last series. It concluded on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was simply too symbolic. Yet, viewers certainly had a hoot picking apart every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't let out a small sob?

All’s Fair

‘Can Kim Kardashian act? The answer is a resounding no.’

But that was practically the smallest of this show's problems. The subject of a very rare zero star review, it was hard to know where to start enumerating the flaws. The hilariously wooden dialogue? The mind-numbing glorification of wealth and consumption? The seemingly wilful procession of tropes? Performances so poor they felt borderline spiteful? Let’s just say “each and every one” and never speak of this series again. Except, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the legal troubles, abuse allegations and fatherly shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d truly have known it from this three-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless hedonism while failing to tell us a single thing we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any pity this show might induce should be saved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charming but flippant egotist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Naturally we understood it was ridiculous from the get-go: a thriller about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of sheer admiration for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One barely reacted when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

The Gangster Drama

Dodgy figures meeting in deserted boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its gangland drama back.

In truth, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a little dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to accommodate baffling dialects. But there were many other issues. Primarily that it was just really boring; a conflict over narcotics territory between various cockney picaresques which felt rather simplistic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the degree to which she provokes the ire of certain performatively angry commentators, it’s almost tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into quaint homemaking as deliberate provocations. But then you watch them and are compelled to admit that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine animated; a poster for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark sayings and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by immense, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly interesting things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, self-image, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to explore them. Rather, the viewing was akin to reading a sales catalogue. She clearly has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any helps with this cagey non-event of a series.

The Inheritance

It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a famous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As contestants competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too complicated to detail what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via filmed videos. The series ended up smelling of a programme that was straining desperately to emulate 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 rosy-eyed 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, reveling in Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity friends involved felt uncomfortable.

The Sketch Show Return

Not good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the smart recruitment of gifted younger comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A particular sketch was a single joke milked to a dry pulp but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the idea 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 overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely showcased the perspective 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 with care. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from oddly breezy, somewhat mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A complete mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We love the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the greatest maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a discovery that could ruin society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services targeting – and eliminating – intellectuals frankly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This uncritical portrait followed the online personality notorious for explicit escapades as she undertook her biggest challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was way more examination of her actual psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the now-famous mum who showed up to haul her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and zero critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.