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Looking back, we consider the television landscape of the recent year, a selection of series stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable shortcomings. From awkward spin-offs to confusingly bad docuseries, here are the programmes that had us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this love/hate follow-up? Plagued with dreadful writing, cringe-inducing arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series struggled to justify its existence. Briefly, as the final series started, it seemed as if it had at last found its groove. Then came an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner declared this would be the last series. It concluded on a bum note; the closeup of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too on-the-nose. Yet, viewers certainly had a hoot picking apart every single “wtf?” episode. 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

‘Can Kim Kardashian act? 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 begin listing the flaws. The hilariously wooden writing? The mind-numbing veneration of affluence and consumption? The seemingly wilful parade of cliches? Performances so poor they felt borderline spiteful? Let’s just say “all of the above” and forget about this show again. However, a new season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the legal troubles, abuse allegations and fatherly failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d truly have gleaned it from this multi-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive hedonism while struggling to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any pity this series might evoke should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charming but flippant narcissist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we understood it was ridiculous from the outset: a thriller about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or destroy all of humanity. We stuck with it out of sheer admiration for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely reacted when his character died, and the other ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about giving up the ghost.

MobLand

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

Actually, that is harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a little 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. Mainly that it was just profoundly boring; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various cockney rogues which felt a bit basic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into twee homemaking as intentional provocations. But then you watch them and are forced to concede that in this case, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue come to life; a meme for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental sayings and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by vast, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are obviously interesting things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, identity, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this three-part series opted not to explore them. Instead, the experience was akin to consuming a marketing catalogue. She obviously has every right to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any favours with this guarded letdown of a series.

The Game Show

It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a glamorous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality managing her estate. What more could you want? As players competed, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too confusing to detail what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The series ended up smelling of a production that was straining desperately to live up to something way beyond it.

Too Much

How do you succeed a show that defined a generation? The pressure was enormous for this glitzy romantic comedy about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, embodying Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of celebrity cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of talented younger comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A particular sketch was a one-note joke milked to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known irate mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the idea that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely showcased the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be treated with care. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lurching from oddly breezy, somewhat stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A complete mess? Absolutely.

Prime Target

We love the star … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could ruin society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies targeting – and eliminating – intellectuals honestly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This uncritical portrait followed the content creator renowned for sexual escapades as she undertook her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was way more examination of her actual 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 away from the queue. What we got was horrific shots and zero interrogation of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.