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As we reflect on the television landscape of the recent year, a handful of shows emerge not for their excellence, but for their notable shortcomings. From cringe-inducing sequels to confusingly bad docuseries, here are the productions that had us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote.

And Just Like That

Where to begin with this divisive follow-up? Burdened with woeful writing, painful character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series fought to find its footing. Briefly, as the final season started, it looked like it had finally hit its stride. Then arrived an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator declared this would be the final season. It concluded on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo full of poo was simply too symbolic. Still, viewers certainly had a hoot dissecting every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a little sob?

All’s Fair

‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? Of course she can’t.’

But that was practically the smallest of this show's problems. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon no-star review, it was hard to know where to start listing the flaws. The hilariously leaden writing? The tedious glorification of affluence and materialism? The almost deliberate parade of cliches? Acting so bad they felt borderline malicious? Let’s just say “all of the above” and forget about this show again. However, a new season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the restraining orders, domestic violence allegations and fatherly shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d really have known it from this three-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive excess while struggling to tell us anything we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon was being indulged, so any sympathy this show might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charismatic but dismissive narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Of course we knew it was ridiculous from the get-go: a thriller about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or destroy all of humanity. We stuck with it out of sheer love for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One barely cared when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

MobLand

Shady figures convening in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter jackhammering away 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 accents. But there were plenty of other issues. Mainly that it was just profoundly dull; a conflict over narcotics territory between various cockney rogues which felt a bit basic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into twee lifestyle as deliberate statements. But then you watch them and are forced to admit that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue come to life; a poster for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark sayings and forgettable crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All underpinned by vast, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are obviously interesting things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, identity, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this three-part series chose not to explore them. Instead, the experience was like reading a sales catalogue. She obviously has good reason to resent what she describes as her “stern” 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 sharp-tongued personality managing her estate. What more could you want? As players competed, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too complicated to detail what exactly 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.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How does one succeed a show that captured a generation? The expectation was immense for this starry romantic comedy about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The star took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, embodying Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity friends involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the smart recruitment of gifted emerging comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known ranting mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, meanwhile, simply inspired the thought that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely presented the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an interesting drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be treated sensitively. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lumbering from strangely jaunty, somewhat stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. 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 verge of a breakthrough that could destabilise society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies spying on – and eliminating – academics frankly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the content creator renowned for sexual exploits as she undertook her biggest challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was far greater examination of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the now-famous mum who appeared to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.