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Looking back, we reflect on the television offerings of the recent year, a handful of shows stand out not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. Ranging from awkward sequels to bafflingly bad documentaries, here are the programmes that left us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this love/hate spin-off? Burdened with dreadful writing, painful character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series struggled to justify its existence. For a moment, as the final season began, it seemed as if it had finally hit its stride. Then arrived an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner announced this would be the last season. It concluded on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo full of poo was just way too symbolic. Yet, viewers undeniably found joy picking apart every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘Can Kim Kardashian act? Of course she can’t.’

But that was almost the smallest of this drama's issues. The recipient of a very rare zero star assessment, it was difficult to know where to begin listing the problems. The laughably leaden writing? The tedious glorification of wealth and materialism? The almost wilful procession of tropes? Acting so bad they felt borderline spiteful? Let’s just say “all of the above” and never speak of this show again. Except, a second season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the legal troubles, domestic violence allegations and parental failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that you’d really have known it from this three-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless excess while failing to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any sympathy this series might induce should be saved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charming but dismissive egotist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we understood it was preposterous from the outset: 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 given up trying. One scarcely reacted when his character died, and the other ultimately hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about giving up the ghost.

The Gangster Drama

Shady figures convening in deserted boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its gangland drama back.

Actually, that is harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a little dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to accommodate unconvincing accents. But there were plenty of other issues. Primarily that it was just profoundly dull; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various cockney picaresques which seemed a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s ostentatiously enraged commentators, it’s almost tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into twee lifestyle as deliberate statements. But then you view them and are forced to concede that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle magazine come to life; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark platitudes and forgettable crafting “tips” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by immense, largely unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are obviously fascinating things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, self-image, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this three-part series opted not to explore them. Instead, the viewing was akin to consuming a marketing brochure. 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 Inheritance

It had the potential to be the next big hit – except even camper, with a glamorous star playing dead and a well-known personality managing her inheritance. What more could you want? As players battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and arguing. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s even now too complicated to detail what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up reeking of a programme that was straining desperately to emulate something far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you follow a show that defined a generation? The pressure was immense for this starry romantic comedy about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a shattered romance. The star took her biggest role by the horns and was a delight to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of talented younger comics, expectations 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 Knox Dramatisation

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively showcased the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The material needed to be handled sensitively. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lumbering from oddly breezy, slightly mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A total mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We admire the star … but did we believe him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could destabilise society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services targeting – and killing off – intellectuals honestly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This hagiography followed the content creator renowned for explicit escapades as she undertook her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would possess her? What we craved was far greater interrogation of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the now-famous mum who showed up to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was horrific shots and absolutely no critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.