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Looking back, we reflect on the television offerings of the past year, a handful of series stand out not for their excellence, but for their spectacular failures. Ranging from awkward spin-offs to confusingly bad docuseries, here are the productions that left us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

How to start with this divisive follow-up? Plagued with woeful scripts, painful character development (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series fought to find its footing. Briefly, as the final series began, it seemed as if it had finally hit its stride. Then arrived an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator declared this would be the final season. It ended on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too symbolic. Still, viewers certainly found joy picking apart every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was practically the least of this show's issues. The recipient of a very rare no-star assessment, it was difficult to know where to begin enumerating the problems. The laughably wooden dialogue? The mind-numbing glorification of affluence and materialism? The seemingly wilful procession of tropes? Performances so poor they felt almost malicious? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and forget about this show again. Except, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the restraining orders, domestic violence claims and parental shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d really have known it from this multi-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless hedonism while failing to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any sympathy this show might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charming but dismissive egotist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we understood it was ridiculous from the outset: a drama about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or annihilate 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 scarcely reacted when his character died, and the other ended up slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat.

MobLand

Shady characters meeting in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its crime drama back.

In truth, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a little dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the embarrassment of having to indulge baffling dialects. But there were plenty of other issues. Primarily that it was just profoundly dull; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various cockney picaresques which seemed rather simplistic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Given the degree to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into twee homemaking as deliberate provocations. But then you watch them and are compelled to concede that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue come to life; a poster for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental sayings and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by immense, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are obviously interesting things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, identity, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to say them. Rather, the viewing was like reading a marketing brochure. She clearly has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any helps with this cagey non-event of a series.

The Inheritance

It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a glamorous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality managing her inheritance. What more could you want? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. 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 smelling of a programme that was trying way too hard to live up to something way beyond it.

Too Much

How does one follow a show that defined a generation? The expectation was immense for this glitzy romantic comedy about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a shattered romance. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was a delight to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of famous cameos involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of gifted emerging comics, hopes 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 familiar irate mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the thought that they should probably have remained in there a while longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively showcased 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 material needed to be treated sensitively. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lurching from strangely breezy, slightly stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A total mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

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

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This hagiography followed the online personality notorious for explicit escapades as she prepared for her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was way more examination of her actual psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the now-famous mum who appeared to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific shots and absolutely no critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.