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Looking back, we consider the television landscape of the recent year, a handful of shows stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable shortcomings. Ranging from awkward sequels to confusingly bad documentaries, here are the productions that left us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

Where to begin with this divisive spin-off? Plagued with woeful scripts, painful character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show struggled to find its footing. For a moment, as the third season began, it looked like it had finally found its groove. Then arrived an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner declared this would be the last series. It ended on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too on-the-nose. Still, viewers certainly found joy picking apart every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't let out a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was almost the least of this drama's issues. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon zero star assessment, it was difficult to know where to start enumerating the problems. The hilariously leaden dialogue? The mind-numbing glorification of wealth and consumption? The almost deliberate parade of cliches? Acting so bad they felt borderline spiteful? Let’s just say “each and every one” and forget about this series again. However, a new season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Considering the restraining orders, abuse allegations and fatherly shortcomings, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d really have gleaned it from this multi-part documentary which smirked its way at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive excess while failing to tell us anything 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 reserved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charming but flippant narcissist.

The Iris Affair

Of course we knew it was ridiculous from the outset: 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 pure love for its leads … 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. Talk about admitting defeat.

MobLand

Dodgy characters convening in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its crime drama back.

Actually, that is harsh on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to accommodate baffling accents. But there were many other issues. Mainly that it was just really boring; a conflict over narcotics territory between various cockney picaresques which seemed a bit basic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Considering the degree to which she provokes the ire of certain performatively enraged commentators, it’s almost easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into twee homemaking as intentional statements. But then you view them and are forced to admit that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue animated; a poster for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by immense, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are obviously fascinating things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, self-image, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this documentary series chose not to say them. Rather, the viewing was like reading a sales catalogue. She obviously has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any favours with this cagey non-event of a series.

The Game Show

It had the potential to be the next big hit – except even more extravagant, with a glamorous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality managing her estate. What more could you want? As players battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too confusing to explain what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up reeking of a production 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 enormous for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was a delight to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of famous friends involved felt uncomfortable.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of talented younger comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a single joke milked to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply inspired 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 overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively presented the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an interesting drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be handled sensitively. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from oddly jaunty, somewhat stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A complete mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We admire the star … but did we believe him playing the greatest maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could ruin society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services spying on – and killing off – academics honestly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This uncritical portrait followed the content creator notorious for explicit escapades as she prepared for her biggest feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was far greater examination 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 disturbing imagery and zero critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.