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Looking back, we reflect on the TV offerings of the past year, a selection of series emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. Ranging from cringe-inducing sequels to confusingly bad documentaries, here are the programmes that left us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this divisive follow-up? Burdened with woeful scripts, painful arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series struggled to justify its existence. For a moment, as the third series started, it looked like it had finally hit its stride. Then came an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator declared this would be the final season. It concluded on a bum note; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was simply too symbolic. Yet, fans certainly found joy dissecting every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't let out a little 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 issues. The subject of a very rare zero star assessment, it was difficult to know where to start listing the flaws. The hilariously wooden dialogue? The mind-numbing glorification of affluence and materialism? The seemingly deliberate parade of tropes? Acting so bad they felt almost malicious? Let’s just say “all of the above” and never speak of this show again. However, a second season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the restraining orders, domestic violence claims and parental failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not you’d really have known it from this three-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless excess while failing to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any sympathy this show might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charming but dismissive narcissist.

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 stuck with it out of sheer love for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One scarcely reacted when his character died, and the other ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost.

MobLand

Dodgy characters meeting in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands 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 suffer the ignominy of having to accommodate baffling dialects. But there were plenty of other problems. Mainly that it was just really dull; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various London picaresques which seemed rather simplistic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the extent to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s performatively angry commentators, it’s almost easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into quaint homemaking as intentional statements. But then you view them and are forced to admit that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue come to life; a poster for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting “tips” 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 both Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, identity, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this documentary series opted not to explore them. Rather, the experience was like reading a marketing 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 guarded non-event of a series.

The Game Show

It should have been the next big hit – except even camper, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality managing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s even now too confusing to explain what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up reeking of a production that was trying way too hard to live up to something way beyond it.

Too Much

How does one follow a show that captured a generation? The expectation was immense for this starry romantic comedy about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a shattered romance. The lead actress seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous to watch, embodying Jane 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 icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of gifted younger comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a single joke stretched to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar irate mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the thought that they should probably have stayed in there a bit longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively presented the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an compelling drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be handled with care. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lumbering from oddly breezy, somewhat stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A complete mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We admire the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a discovery that could ruin society? Nope! 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 uncritical portrait followed the online personality renowned for explicit exploits as she undertook her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would possess her? What we craved was far greater examination of her actual psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who appeared to haul her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific shots and absolutely no interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.