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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 failures. From awkward spin-offs to bafflingly poor documentaries, here are the productions that left us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

How to start with this divisive spin-off? Plagued with woeful scripts, painful arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series fought to find its footing. Briefly, as the final series began, it looked like it had at last hit its stride. Then arrived an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner announced this would be the last season. It concluded on a bum note; the closeup of Miranda’s loo full of poo was just way too symbolic. Still, fans undeniably had a hoot dissecting every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – 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 almost the least of this show's problems. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon no-star assessment, it was hard to know where to begin enumerating the problems. The hilariously wooden writing? The mind-numbing veneration of wealth and materialism? The almost deliberate parade of cliches? Performances so poor they felt almost malicious? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and forget about this series again. However, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the legal troubles, domestic violence claims and fatherly failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d truly have known it from this three-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless hedonism while struggling to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any sympathy this series might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charismatic but flippant egotist.

The Supercomputer Drama

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

The Gangster Drama

Dodgy characters 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 harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to indulge baffling accents. But there were plenty of other problems. Primarily that it was just really dull; a dispute over narcotics territory between various cockney picaresques which felt rather simplistic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the extent to which she grinds the gears of certain ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into twee lifestyle as deliberate provocations. But then you view them and are compelled to concede that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine animated; a meme for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark platitudes and forgettable crafting “tips” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by immense, largely unearned wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are obviously fascinating things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, identity, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this three-part series opted not to explore them. Rather, the experience was akin to consuming a sales brochure. She obviously has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any helps with this guarded non-event of a series.

The Game Show

It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a glamorous star as a deceased benefactor 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 still too complicated to explain what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses 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 follow a show that captured a generation? The pressure was enormous for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The star took her biggest role by the horns and was a delight to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of famous friends involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the smart inclusion of talented emerging comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a single joke stretched to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a familiar irate mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This dramatisation 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 tragic 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be handled sensitively. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lurching from oddly jaunty, slightly stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A complete mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a discovery that could ruin society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies targeting – and killing off – intellectuals honestly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This uncritical portrait followed the content creator notorious for sexual escapades as she undertook her biggest feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was way more examination of her actual psychology, 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 out of the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and zero critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.