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Looking back, we consider the TV landscape of the recent year, a handful of series stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable failures. From cringe-inducing spin-offs to bafflingly poor docuseries, here are the programmes that left us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

Where to begin with this love/hate follow-up? Plagued with dreadful writing, cringe-inducing character development (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show struggled to justify its existence. Briefly, as the final season started, it looked like it had finally found its groove. Then arrived an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner announced this would be the last series. It concluded on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too on-the-nose. Yet, viewers certainly had a hoot picking apart every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her sprawling 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 practically the least of this show's issues. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon no-star review, it was difficult to know where to start listing the flaws. The hilariously wooden dialogue? The tedious glorification of wealth and consumption? The seemingly deliberate procession of tropes? Performances so bad they felt borderline malicious? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and forget about this series again. Except, a new season has been ordered, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the legal troubles, abuse claims and parental shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d truly have gleaned it from this three-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive excess while failing to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any sympathy this series might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charismatic but flippant egotist.

The Iris Affair

Of course we understood it was preposterous 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 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 slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

MobLand

Dodgy characters meeting in deserted 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 harsh on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to accommodate unconvincing dialects. But there were plenty of other issues. Mainly that it was just profoundly boring; a conflict over narcotics territory between various London rogues which felt rather simplistic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Given the degree to which she grinds the gears of certain performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into quaint homemaking as intentional statements. But then you watch them and are compelled to concede that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine come to life; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark platitudes and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by immense, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are obviously fascinating things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, self-image, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this three-part series chose not to say them. Rather, the viewing was like consuming a sales catalogue. She clearly has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “stern” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any helps with this cagey non-event of a series.

The Game Show

It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a glamorous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her estate. What more could you ask for? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too complicated to detail what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up smelling of a programme that was trying way too hard to emulate something far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you succeed a show that captured a generation? The expectation was enormous for this starry romantic comedy about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives 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 ideals. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of famous cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the smart recruitment of talented emerging comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a single joke stretched to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known ranting mode. The behind-the-scenes 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 executive produced 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 horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be handled sensitively. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lumbering from oddly breezy, slightly stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A total mess? Very much so.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We love the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so intelligent he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could ruin society? Nope! This international thriller about secret services targeting – and eliminating – intellectuals frankly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This uncritical portrait followed the content creator notorious for sexual escapades as she prepared for her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was far greater examination of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who showed up to haul her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and zero critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.