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As we reflect on the television landscape of the past year, a handful of series emerge not for their brilliance, but for their notable shortcomings. Ranging from awkward sequels to confusingly poor docuseries, here are the productions that left us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

Where to begin with this love/hate follow-up? Burdened with woeful scripts, cringe-inducing character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series fought to justify its existence. For a moment, as the third series began, it looked like it had finally hit its stride. Then arrived an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner announced this would be the final season. It concluded on a bum note; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was just way too on-the-nose. Still, viewers certainly had a hoot dissecting every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't let out a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘Can Kim Kardashian act? The answer is a resounding no.’

But that was practically the smallest of this show's issues. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon no-star assessment, it was hard to know where to start listing the problems. The laughably wooden dialogue? The mind-numbing veneration of wealth and materialism? The seemingly deliberate parade of cliches? Performances so bad they felt borderline spiteful? Let’s just say “all of the above” and never speak of this show again. However, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Considering the restraining orders, abuse allegations and parental failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that you’d truly have gleaned it from this three-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive hedonism while struggling to tell us anything we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any pity this series might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charismatic but flippant egotist.

The Iris Affair

Of course we understood it was ridiculous from the outset: a drama about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of pure love for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One barely reacted when his character died, and the other ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about giving up the ghost.

The Gangster Drama

Dodgy characters convening in deserted boxing gyms? The Prodigy’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 dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to indulge unconvincing dialects. But there were plenty of other problems. Primarily that it was just profoundly dull; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various London picaresques which seemed a bit basic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Given the extent to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s 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 watch them and are forced to concede that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine animated; a meme for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark sayings and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by vast, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are obviously fascinating things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, identity, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this documentary series opted not to say them. Rather, the viewing was akin to consuming a sales catalogue. She obviously has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “stern” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any favours with this guarded letdown of a series.

The Game Show

It should have been the next big hit – except even more extravagant, with a famous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you want? As players battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too complicated to detail what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The series ended up reeking of a programme 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 immense for this glitzy romantic comedy 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 a delight to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of famous friends involved felt uncomfortable.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of talented younger comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a single joke milked to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply inspired the idea that they should probably have stayed in there a bit longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely presented the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be handled sensitively. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lumbering from strangely breezy, somewhat mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A complete mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We admire the lead actor … 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 government agencies spying on – and killing off – intellectuals frankly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the online personality renowned for explicit escapades as she prepared for her biggest feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was far greater interrogation of her actual psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who appeared to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was horrific shots and zero critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.