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Looking back, we reflect on the television landscape of the past year, a selection of shows emerge not for their brilliance, but for their notable shortcomings. From awkward spin-offs to bafflingly bad documentaries, here are the programmes that had us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this divisive spin-off? Burdened with dreadful writing, painful character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series struggled to find its footing. Briefly, as the final season began, it seemed as if it had finally hit its stride. Then came an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator declared this would be the last series. It concluded on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was simply too symbolic. Yet, fans undeniably found joy picking apart every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was almost the smallest of this drama's issues. The subject of a very rare no-star review, it was hard to know where to start listing the flaws. The hilariously wooden writing? The mind-numbing veneration of wealth and consumption? The seemingly wilful parade of cliches? Performances so poor they felt almost malicious? Let’s just say “each and every one” and never speak of this series again. Except, a new season has been ordered, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the legal troubles, domestic violence claims and parental shortcomings, 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 smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive excess while struggling to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any pity this series might induce should be saved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charming but dismissive egotist.

The Iris Affair

Of course we understood it was ridiculous from the get-go: a thriller about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of sheer love for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely reacted when his character died, and the other ended up slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat.

MobLand

Shady figures meeting in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its gangland drama back.

In truth, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to accommodate unconvincing accents. But there were plenty of other problems. Primarily that it was just really boring; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various London rogues which felt rather simplistic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the degree to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s performatively angry commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into twee lifestyle as intentional statements. But then you watch them and are forced to admit that in this case, they might have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue animated; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark platitudes and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All underpinned by vast, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are obviously fascinating things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, self-image, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to say them. Instead, the viewing was akin to reading a marketing 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 Inheritance

It had the potential to be 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 ask for? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and arguing. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s even now too confusing to detail what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up reeking of a production that was trying way too hard to emulate something way beyond it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How does one succeed a show that captured a generation? The pressure was enormous for this starry romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The star took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, embodying Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of famous cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the smart inclusion of gifted emerging comics, expectations were high. But sadly, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a single joke milked to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known ranting mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the thought that they should probably have stayed in there a bit longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely showcased the viewpoint 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 sensitively. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lumbering from oddly breezy, slightly mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A total 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 verge of a discovery that could destabilise society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services spying on – and eliminating – intellectuals honestly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the content creator notorious for explicit exploits as she undertook her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was way more interrogation of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have spoken to the now-famous mum who showed up to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and zero critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.