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Looking back, we consider the television offerings of the recent year, a handful of series stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable shortcomings. From cringe-inducing spin-offs to confusingly bad documentaries, here are the productions that had 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, cringe-inducing arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series struggled to find its footing. For a moment, as the third series started, it seemed as if it had at last found its groove. Then arrived an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the final series. It ended on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was just way too on-the-nose. Still, fans undeniably had a hoot dissecting every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't let out a little sob?

All’s Fair

‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? 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 review, it was hard to know where to begin enumerating the flaws. The hilariously wooden dialogue? The mind-numbing veneration of wealth and consumption? The seemingly wilful procession of tropes? Acting so poor they felt borderline malicious? Let’s just say “all of the above” and forget about this series again. However, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the restraining orders, abuse allegations and fatherly failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d truly have known it from this multi-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive hedonism while failing to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any sympathy this series might induce should be saved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charismatic but dismissive narcissist.

The Iris Affair

Of course we knew it was ridiculous from the get-go: 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 reacted when his character died, and the other ended up slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

MobLand

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

Actually, that is harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to indulge baffling dialects. But there were many other problems. Primarily that it was just really dull; a dispute over narcotics territory between various London rogues which seemed rather simplistic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the extent to which she provokes the ire of certain performatively angry commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into quaint homemaking as intentional provocations. But then you view them and are forced to concede that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue come to life; a poster for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark platitudes and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by vast, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are obviously fascinating things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, identity, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this documentary series opted not to say them. Rather, the viewing was like consuming a marketing catalogue. She clearly has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any favours with this guarded non-event of a series.

The Game Show

It should have been the next big hit – except even more extravagant, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too confusing to detail what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The series ended up smelling of a programme that was straining desperately to live up to something way beyond it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you succeed a show that captured a generation? The expectation was immense for this starry romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who lands in London with a shattered romance. The star took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous 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.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of gifted emerging comics, hopes 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 well-known ranting mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply inspired 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 overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely showcased the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an compelling drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The material needed to be handled sensitively. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lurching from strangely jaunty, somewhat mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A total mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

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

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the content creator renowned for explicit exploits as she undertook her biggest feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was far greater 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 drag her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and absolutely no interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.