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Looking back, we consider the television landscape of the past year, a selection of series stand out not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. Ranging from awkward spin-offs to confusingly poor docuseries, here are the programmes that left us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

Where to begin with this love/hate spin-off? Plagued with dreadful writing, painful character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the show fought to justify its existence. Briefly, as the final season began, it seemed as if it had at last hit its stride. Then came an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner announced this would be the last series. It concluded on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was just way too on-the-nose. Still, viewers certainly had a hoot picking apart every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't let out a small sob?

All’s Fair

‘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 review, it was hard to know where to start listing the problems. The laughably wooden writing? The mind-numbing veneration of wealth and materialism? The almost deliberate parade of cliches? Acting so bad they felt borderline malicious? Suffice it to say “each and every one” and forget about this show again. Except, a new season has been ordered, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the restraining orders, abuse claims and parental failures, it’s reasonable 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 bouts of self-destructive excess while struggling to tell us a single thing we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any pity this show might induce should be saved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charming but flippant narcissist.

The Iris Affair

Of course we knew it was preposterous from the outset: a drama about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or destroy all of humanity. We persevered out of sheer admiration for its stars … 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 super slow-motion. Talk about giving up the ghost.

MobLand

Dodgy characters convening in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter blaring 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 seem a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to indulge baffling dialects. But there were plenty of other issues. Mainly that it was just really boring; a conflict over narcotics territory between various cockney picaresques which felt rather simplistic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the extent to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s performatively enraged commentators, it’s almost tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into twee lifestyle as intentional provocations. But then you view them and are compelled to admit that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue animated; a meme for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark sayings and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by immense, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly fascinating things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, identity, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this documentary series chose not to explore them. Instead, the viewing was like reading a sales catalogue. She obviously has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any favours with this cagey letdown of a series.

The Inheritance

It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a famous star playing dead and a well-known personality managing 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 complicated to detail what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up reeking of a programme that was straining desperately to emulate something way beyond it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How does one follow a show that captured a generation? The expectation was immense for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was a delight to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very slick and, paradoxically, was not enough. 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 emerging comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a one-note joke milked to a dry pulp but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known ranting mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have stayed in there a bit longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively showcased the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an interesting drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be treated with care. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lurching from oddly breezy, somewhat stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A complete mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We admire the star … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a discovery that could ruin society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies spying on – and killing off – academics honestly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This uncritical portrait followed the content creator renowned for explicit exploits as she prepared for her biggest feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we craved was far greater examination of her true psychology, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have interviewed the now-famous mum who appeared to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.