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As we reflect on the television landscape of the recent year, a selection of shows emerge not for their excellence, but for their spectacular shortcomings. Ranging from awkward sequels to confusingly poor docuseries, here are the programmes 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 dreadful scripts, painful arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the show struggled to find its footing. Briefly, as the final season began, it looked like it had finally found its groove. Then arrived an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner declared this would be the final series. It concluded on a bum note; the closeup of Miranda’s loo full of poo was simply too symbolic. Yet, fans certainly found joy picking apart every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? Of course she can’t.’

But that was almost the least of this show's issues. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon no-star assessment, it was difficult to know where to begin listing the problems. The laughably leaden dialogue? The mind-numbing glorification of affluence and consumption? The almost wilful parade of tropes? Performances so poor they felt borderline spiteful? Let’s just say “each and every one” and never speak of this series again. However, a new season has been ordered, so we’re probably going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Considering the legal troubles, abuse allegations and fatherly failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d truly have known it from this three-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless excess while failing to tell us anything we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon was being indulged, so any pity this series might induce should be saved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charismatic but dismissive egotist.

The Iris Affair

Of course we understood it was ridiculous from the outset: a thriller about a AI 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 hacking Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

MobLand

Shady characters meeting in empty boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its gangland drama back.

Actually, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to indulge baffling accents. But there were many other problems. Primarily that it was just profoundly boring; a dispute over narcotics territory between various London rogues which seemed a bit basic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Given the degree to which she grinds the gears of certain performatively angry commentators, it’s almost tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into twee 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 wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental platitudes and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by immense, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are obviously interesting things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, identity, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this documentary series opted not to say them. Instead, the experience was like reading a marketing catalogue. She obviously has every right to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any favours with this cagey letdown of a series.

The Inheritance

It should have been the next big hit – except even more extravagant, with a glamorous star playing dead and a well-known personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you want? 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 glimpses of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up reeking of a production that was trying way too hard to emulate something far greater than it.

Too Much

How do you follow a show that captured a generation? The expectation was immense for this starry romantic comedy about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The lead actress 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 glossy and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of celebrity friends involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of talented younger comics, expectations were high. But sadly, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a single joke stretched to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a familiar irate mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the thought that they should probably have remained 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 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 struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from oddly breezy, somewhat mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A total mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We love the star … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so intelligent he’s on the brink of a discovery that could destabilise society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services spying on – and eliminating – academics honestly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This hagiography followed the online personality notorious for sexual escapades as she undertook her biggest feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was way more interrogation of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who appeared to haul her son out of the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and zero interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.