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Looking back, we reflect on the television landscape of the past year, a selection of series stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable shortcomings. From cringe-inducing spin-offs to bafflingly poor docuseries, here are the productions that had us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this love/hate spin-off? Burdened with woeful writing, cringe-inducing character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show struggled to justify its existence. Briefly, as the final season started, it seemed as if it had at last hit its stride. Then arrived an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator declared this would be the last season. It ended on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too on-the-nose. Yet, fans certainly found joy picking apart every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a small sob?

All’s Fair

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

But that was practically the smallest of this drama's issues. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon zero star review, it was difficult to know where to start listing the problems. The laughably leaden writing? The tedious glorification of wealth and materialism? The seemingly deliberate parade of cliches? Performances so poor they felt almost spiteful? Let’s just say “each and every one” and forget about this series again. However, a new season has been ordered, so we’re probably going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Given the legal troubles, abuse allegations and parental failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d truly have gleaned it from this multi-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive excess while struggling to tell us a single thing we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any pity this show might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charismatic but flippant narcissist.

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 annihilate 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 ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost.

The Gangster Drama

Shady figures 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 unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a little dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to accommodate unconvincing accents. But there were plenty of other problems. Primarily that it was just profoundly dull; a conflict over narcotics territory between various London picaresques which felt a bit basic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Given the degree to which she grinds the gears of certain performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into twee lifestyle as deliberate statements. But then you view them and are compelled to concede that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue come to life; a poster for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental platitudes and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by immense, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly fascinating things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, identity, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this three-part series chose not to say them. Rather, the experience was like consuming a sales catalogue. She clearly has good reason to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any helps with this cagey letdown of a series.

The Game Show

It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality managing her inheritance. What more could you want? As players competed, there was plenty of betrayal and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too complicated to explain what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up reeking of a programme that was trying way too hard to emulate something far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you follow a show that defined a generation? The pressure was enormous for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of celebrity cameos involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd 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 dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known ranting mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the idea that they should probably have stayed in there a bit longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This dramatisation 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 probably is an interesting drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be handled sensitively. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lurching from strangely breezy, somewhat mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A total mess? Absolutely.

Prime Target

We love the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so intelligent he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could ruin society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies targeting – and killing off – intellectuals frankly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This uncritical portrait followed the online personality notorious for sexual escapades as she prepared for her biggest feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was far greater interrogation of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who showed up to haul her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and zero interrogation of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.