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Looking back, we consider the television landscape of the recent year, a selection of shows emerge not for their excellence, but for their notable shortcomings. Ranging from cringe-inducing spin-offs to confusingly bad docuseries, here are the productions that had us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this love/hate spin-off? Plagued with woeful scripts, painful arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show struggled to justify its existence. Briefly, as the final series started, it looked like it had at last hit its stride. Then arrived an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator declared this would be the final series. It ended on a bum note; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was just way too symbolic. Yet, fans certainly had a hoot dissecting every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was almost the smallest of this show's problems. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon no-star assessment, it was hard to know where to start enumerating the problems. The hilariously leaden dialogue? The mind-numbing glorification of affluence and consumption? The seemingly wilful procession of tropes? Performances so poor they felt almost spiteful? Let’s just say “all of the above” and never speak of this series again. Except, a new season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the restraining orders, domestic violence allegations and parental failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not you’d really have known it from this three-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless excess while struggling to tell us anything we weren't already aware of. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being indulged, so any pity this show might induce should be saved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charismatic but flippant narcissist.

The Iris Affair

Of course 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 annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of pure love 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 ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost.

MobLand

Shady figures meeting in deserted 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 gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to indulge baffling dialects. But there were plenty of other issues. Primarily that it was just profoundly dull; a conflict over narcotics territory between various London rogues which seemed a bit basic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Given the extent to which she grinds the gears of certain ostentatiously enraged commentators, it’s almost easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into quaint lifestyle as intentional provocations. But then you watch them and are compelled to concede that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine come to life; a meme for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark sayings and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by vast, largely unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly fascinating things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, self-image, self-worth. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to explore them. Rather, the experience was like reading a sales catalogue. She clearly has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any helps with this guarded non-event of a series.

The Game Show

It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As players battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too confusing to explain what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up smelling of a production that was trying way too hard to live up to something far greater than it.

Too Much

How do you follow a show that captured a generation? The expectation was immense for this glitzy romantic comedy about Jessica, a hopeful 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 Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of celebrity cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

The Sketch Show Return

Not good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of gifted younger comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a single joke milked to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the thought that they should probably have stayed in there a bit longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely presented the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be treated sensitively. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lurching from strangely jaunty, slightly mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A total mess? Very much so.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire the star … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could destabilise society? No! This international thriller about secret services targeting – and killing off – academics honestly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This uncritical portrait followed the content creator renowned for sexual escapades as she undertook her biggest feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was far greater 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 drag her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific shots and absolutely no critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.