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As we consider the television landscape of the past year, a handful of series stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable shortcomings. From awkward sequels to bafflingly poor documentaries, here are the productions that had us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

How to start with this love/hate follow-up? Burdened with woeful writing, painful character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show struggled to find its footing. For a moment, as the final series started, it looked like it had finally hit its stride. Then came an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner announced this would be the final season. It ended on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was just way too symbolic. Still, fans undeniably had a hoot dissecting every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was practically the smallest of this drama's issues. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon no-star review, it was hard to know where to start enumerating the flaws. The hilariously wooden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of affluence and consumption? The almost wilful procession of cliches? Performances so poor they felt borderline spiteful? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and forget about this series again. However, a second season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the restraining orders, abuse claims and parental failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that you’d really have gleaned it from this multi-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive excess while failing to tell us anything we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any pity this show might induce should be saved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charismatic but dismissive narcissist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we understood it was preposterous from the get-go: a thriller 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 stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One scarcely reacted when his character died, and the other ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat.

MobLand

Dodgy characters 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 seem a little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to accommodate baffling dialects. But there were many other issues. Primarily that it was just really dull; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various London rogues which seemed a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the degree to which she grinds the gears of certain performatively enraged commentators, it’s almost easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into twee homemaking as intentional provocations. But then you view them and are forced to admit that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle magazine come to life; a meme for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by immense, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly fascinating things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, self-image, self-worth. But for some reason, this three-part series chose not to explore them. Instead, the viewing was like reading a marketing brochure. She obviously has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any helps with this guarded non-event of a series.

The Game Show

It should have been the next big hit – except even more extravagant, with a glamorous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality overseeing her estate. What more could you want? As players battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too complicated to detail what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up smelling of a programme that was straining desperately to live up to something far greater than it.

Too Much

How does one succeed a show that captured a generation? The expectation was immense for this glitzy romantic comedy about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of famous friends involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of gifted emerging comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a single joke stretched to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known irate mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the idea that they should probably have remained in there a bit 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 presented 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 subject matter needed to be handled with care. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lurching from oddly jaunty, slightly mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A total mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We love the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a discovery that could ruin society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services spying on – and killing off – academics honestly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This uncritical portrait followed the content creator notorious for explicit escapades as she prepared for her biggest feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we craved was way more examination of her actual psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have spoken to the now-famous mum who appeared to haul her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and absolutely no interrogation of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.