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Looking back, we consider the TV offerings of the past year, a selection of series stand out not for their brilliance, but for their notable shortcomings. From awkward spin-offs to confusingly bad documentaries, here are the programmes that left us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this love/hate spin-off? Plagued with woeful writing, cringe-inducing arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series struggled to find its footing. Briefly, as the third season started, it seemed as if it had finally hit its stride. Then came an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator declared this would be the last series. It ended on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too on-the-nose. Yet, fans undeniably had a hoot picking apart every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – danced 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 drama's problems. The subject of a very rare zero star review, it was difficult to know where to begin enumerating the problems. The hilariously wooden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of affluence and consumption? The seemingly wilful parade of tropes? Acting so poor they felt almost malicious? Let’s just say “all of the above” and never speak of this series again. Except, a second season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the restraining orders, abuse allegations and fatherly failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not you’d really have gleaned it from this three-part documentary which smirked its way at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless excess while struggling to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any pity this show might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charming but flippant egotist.

The Iris Affair

Of course we understood it was ridiculous 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 pure love for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One barely reacted when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat.

The Gangster Drama

Shady figures meeting in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its gangland drama back.

In truth, that is harsh on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a little dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to accommodate baffling accents. But there were plenty of other problems. Primarily that it was just profoundly boring; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various cockney picaresques which seemed a bit basic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Considering the extent to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s ostentatiously enraged commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into twee homemaking as deliberate provocations. But then you view them and are forced to concede 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 delusions of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark platitudes and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by vast, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are obviously fascinating things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, self-image, self-worth. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to say them. Instead, the experience was akin to consuming a marketing catalogue. She clearly has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any favours with this guarded letdown of a series.

The Game Show

It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a glamorous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality managing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As players battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too confusing to detail what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up smelling of a production that was straining desperately to live up to something far greater than it.

Too Much

How do you succeed a show that captured a generation? The pressure was enormous 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 joyous to watch, embodying Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of famous friends involved felt uncomfortable.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of gifted emerging comics, expectations were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a single joke milked to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The writing room 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 retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively presented the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The material needed to be handled with care. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lurching from oddly breezy, slightly mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A total mess? Very much so.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so intelligent he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could ruin society? Nope! This international thriller about government agencies targeting – and killing off – intellectuals frankly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This uncritical portrait followed the online personality notorious for sexual exploits as she prepared for her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was far greater interrogation of her true psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who appeared to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was horrific shots and absolutely no interrogation of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.