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Looking back, we reflect on the television offerings of the recent year, a selection of shows emerge not for their brilliance, but for their notable shortcomings. From awkward sequels to bafflingly poor docuseries, here are the productions that had us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

Where to begin with this love/hate follow-up? Burdened with dreadful scripts, painful character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series struggled to justify its existence. For a moment, as the final season started, it seemed as if it had at last found its groove. Then came an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator announced this would be the last season. It ended on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was simply too on-the-nose. Still, viewers undeniably had a hoot picking apart every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘Can Kim Kardashian act? The answer is a resounding no.’

But that was almost the least of this drama's problems. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon no-star assessment, it was hard to know where to start listing the flaws. The hilariously leaden writing? The mind-numbing veneration of wealth and consumption? The seemingly deliberate parade of cliches? Performances so poor they felt almost malicious? Let’s just say “each and every one” and never speak of this show again. Except, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Given the restraining orders, domestic violence claims and fatherly shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not you’d truly have known it from this three-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless hedonism while failing to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any sympathy this series might evoke should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charismatic but dismissive egotist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we understood it was ridiculous from the outset: a drama about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of sheer love for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. 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.

MobLand

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

Actually, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to accommodate unconvincing dialects. But there were many other problems. Mainly that it was just profoundly boring; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various cockney picaresques which seemed a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the degree to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into twee homemaking as deliberate statements. But then you watch them and are compelled to admit that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine animated; a meme for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark sayings and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by immense, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are obviously interesting things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, identity, self-worth. But for some reason, this documentary series chose not to say them. Instead, the experience was like reading a sales brochure. She obviously 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 non-event 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 managing her estate. What more could you want? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too confusing to explain what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up smelling of a programme that was trying way too hard to emulate something way beyond 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 rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The star took her biggest role by the horns and was a delight to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of famous friends involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the smart recruitment of talented younger comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a single joke stretched to a dry pulp but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known irate mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply inspired 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 overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively showcased the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be handled with care. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lumbering from oddly breezy, slightly mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A total mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so intelligent he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could ruin society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services targeting – and killing off – intellectuals honestly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the content creator notorious for explicit exploits as she prepared for her most extreme feat 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 queue. 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 zero critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.