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Looking back, we reflect on the television offerings of the recent year, a selection of series stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable shortcomings. Ranging from awkward sequels to confusingly poor docuseries, here are the programmes that had us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

Where to begin with this divisive spin-off? Burdened with woeful scripts, painful arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the show fought to justify its existence. For a moment, as the final series began, it seemed as if it had finally hit its stride. Then arrived an episode centered on 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 toilet flooded with poo was simply too on-the-nose. Yet, viewers certainly had a hoot picking apart every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't let out a little 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 recipient of a exceedingly uncommon no-star review, it was difficult to know where to start listing the flaws. The hilariously wooden dialogue? The tedious glorification of affluence and materialism? The almost deliberate procession of cliches? Acting so bad they felt almost spiteful? Let’s just say “all of the above” and never speak of this series again. Except, a second season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the restraining orders, domestic violence allegations and fatherly failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not you’d truly have known it from this three-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive hedonism while failing to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any pity this show might evoke should be reserved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charming but flippant narcissist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we understood it was ridiculous 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 stuck with it out of pure admiration for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One scarcely 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

Dodgy characters convening in empty boxing gyms? The Prodigy’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 look a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to accommodate baffling dialects. But there were plenty of other issues. Mainly that it was just really dull; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various cockney rogues which seemed rather simplistic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the degree to which she grinds the gears of certain performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into quaint homemaking as deliberate provocations. But then you view them and are compelled to admit that in this case, they might have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue come to life; a poster for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental sayings and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All underpinned by immense, largely unearned wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly interesting things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, self-image, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this documentary series opted not to say them. Rather, the viewing was like consuming a marketing brochure. She clearly has good reason to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any favours with this guarded letdown of a series.

The Inheritance

It had the potential to be the next big hit – except even camper, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality managing her inheritance. What more could you want? As players battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too complicated to detail what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, 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.

Too Much

How do you follow a show that captured a generation? The expectation was enormous for this starry romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, paradoxically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the smart inclusion of talented younger comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a dry pulp but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known irate mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the thought that they should probably have stayed in there a bit longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely presented the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be treated sensitively. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lurching from strangely breezy, slightly stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A total mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We love the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could ruin society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies spying on – and eliminating – intellectuals frankly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the online personality renowned for sexual exploits as she prepared for her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was far greater interrogation of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the now-famous mum who appeared to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.