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Looking back, we consider the television landscape of the past year, a selection of series emerge not for their brilliance, but for their notable shortcomings. From cringe-inducing sequels to bafflingly bad documentaries, 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? Plagued with woeful scripts, painful character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the show struggled to find its footing. For a moment, as the third series started, it looked like it had at last hit its stride. Then came an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator announced this would be the final season. It ended on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too symbolic. Still, fans undeniably found joy picking apart every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was almost the smallest of this show's problems. The recipient of a very rare zero star assessment, it was difficult to know where to start enumerating the problems. The hilariously wooden dialogue? The tedious glorification of wealth and materialism? The seemingly wilful procession of tropes? Performances so poor they felt almost spiteful? Let’s just say “all of the above” and never speak of this show again. However, a new season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the restraining orders, abuse claims and fatherly shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not you’d really have known it from this multi-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless hedonism while failing to tell us a single thing we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any sympathy this series might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charming but flippant narcissist.

The Iris Affair

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

MobLand

Shady figures convening in empty boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its crime drama back.

In truth, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment 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 London rogues which felt a bit basic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s ostentatiously enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into quaint homemaking as intentional statements. But then you view them and are compelled to admit that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue animated; a poster for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental sayings and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by vast, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are obviously fascinating things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, identity, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this documentary series opted not to explore them. Instead, the viewing was akin to consuming a marketing brochure. She clearly has every right to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, 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 camper, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her estate. What more could you want? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too complicated to explain what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up reeking of a production that was trying way too hard to live up to something far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you follow a show that captured a generation? The pressure was immense for this glitzy romantic comedy 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 joyous to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of famous cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the smart recruitment of gifted emerging comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known irate mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have stayed in there a while longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced 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 tragic 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be handled sensitively. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lumbering from oddly breezy, slightly stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A total mess? Absolutely.

Prime Target

We admire the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a discovery that could destabilise society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies targeting – and killing off – academics honestly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This hagiography followed the content creator notorious for sexual exploits as she undertook her biggest feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we craved was way more interrogation of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who showed up to haul her son out of the queue. What we got was horrific shots and absolutely no interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.