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Looking back, we reflect on the television offerings of the recent year, a selection of series emerge not for their excellence, but for their notable shortcomings. Ranging from awkward spin-offs to bafflingly bad documentaries, here are the programmes that had us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

Where to begin with this love/hate spin-off? Plagued with dreadful scripts, painful arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series struggled to find its footing. For a moment, as the final season began, it seemed as if it had at last hit its stride. Then arrived an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator announced this would be the final season. It ended on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was just way 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?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was almost the least of this show's issues. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon zero star assessment, it was hard to know where to start enumerating the problems. The hilariously wooden writing? The tedious veneration of wealth and materialism? The seemingly deliberate parade of cliches? Acting so poor they felt borderline malicious? Let’s just say “all of the above” and forget about this show again. Except, a new season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the restraining orders, abuse allegations and parental failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d truly have known it from this three-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless hedonism while struggling to tell us a single thing we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any pity this series might evoke should be reserved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charming but flippant narcissist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we knew it was preposterous from the get-go: a drama 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 pure love for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One barely cared when his character died, and the other ended up slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

MobLand

Shady figures convening in deserted boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its gangland drama back.

In truth, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t endure the embarrassment of having to indulge baffling accents. But there were plenty of other issues. Primarily that it was just really boring; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various London rogues which seemed a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the extent to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into twee homemaking as intentional provocations. But then you view them and are forced to admit that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue animated; a meme for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental sayings and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by vast, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly fascinating things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, self-image, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to say them. Instead, the viewing was like reading a sales catalogue. She clearly has every right to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any favours with this guarded 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 well-known personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you want? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too complicated to explain what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up smelling of a programme that was straining desperately to emulate something far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How does one follow a show that captured a generation? The pressure was immense for this starry romantic comedy about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The lead actress seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of famous cameos involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of talented emerging comics, expectations were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a one-note joke milked to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a familiar irate mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the thought that they should probably have stayed in there a bit longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively presented the viewpoint 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 treated sensitively. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lurching from oddly breezy, slightly mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A complete mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire the star … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a discovery that could ruin society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies spying on – and eliminating – intellectuals frankly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This uncritical portrait followed the content creator renowned for explicit exploits as she prepared for her biggest challenge yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was far greater examination of her actual psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who showed up 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 filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.