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Looking back, we reflect on the television offerings of the past year, a handful of series emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. From awkward spin-offs to bafflingly bad docuseries, here are the productions that left us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this divisive follow-up? Plagued with dreadful scripts, cringe-inducing character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series struggled to justify its existence. For a moment, as the third season began, it seemed as if it had finally found its groove. Then came an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner announced this would be the final season. It concluded on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was just way too on-the-nose. Yet, viewers certainly found joy dissecting every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was practically the smallest of this show's problems. The subject of a very rare zero star assessment, it was hard to know where to start enumerating the problems. The hilariously wooden writing? The tedious glorification of affluence and consumption? The almost deliberate procession of cliches? Performances so bad they felt borderline spiteful? Suffice it to say “each and every one” and forget about this show again. Except, a second season has been ordered, so we’re probably going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Given the legal troubles, domestic violence claims and parental failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that you’d really have gleaned it from this multi-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive hedonism while struggling 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 sympathy this series might induce should be saved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charming but dismissive narcissist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we understood it was ridiculous from the get-go: a thriller about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – 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 ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about giving up the ghost.

MobLand

Dodgy figures meeting in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its crime drama back.

Actually, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to accommodate baffling dialects. But there were many other problems. Primarily that it was just profoundly boring; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various cockney rogues which felt rather simplistic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the degree to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into quaint homemaking as intentional provocations. But then you view them and are compelled to concede that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue come to life; a meme for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental sayings and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by immense, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly interesting things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, identity, self-worth. But for whatever 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 resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any helps with this guarded non-event of a series.

The Game Show

It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a glamorous star playing dead and a well-known personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too confusing to detail what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via filmed videos. The series ended up reeking of a programme that was straining desperately to live up to something way beyond it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you follow a show that captured a generation? The expectation was immense for this starry romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The lead actress seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of celebrity friends involved felt uncomfortable.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of gifted younger comics, expectations were high. But sadly, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a one-note joke milked to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a familiar irate mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the thought that they should probably have stayed in there a while 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 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 handled sensitively. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lumbering from oddly jaunty, slightly mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A complete mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We love the star … but did we believe him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a discovery that could ruin society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services spying on – and killing off – intellectuals frankly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the online personality notorious for sexual escapades as she prepared for her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was way more examination of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who showed up to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and absolutely no interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.