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As we reflect on the television offerings of the recent year, a handful of shows stand out not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. Ranging from awkward sequels to confusingly poor documentaries, here are the productions that left us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

Where to begin with this love/hate spin-off? Burdened with dreadful writing, cringe-inducing character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show fought to justify its existence. For a moment, as the third season started, it seemed as if it had at last found its groove. Then came an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator announced this would be the final season. It concluded on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was simply too symbolic. Yet, viewers certainly found joy picking apart every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was almost the smallest of this show's issues. The subject of a very rare zero star review, it was difficult to know where to begin enumerating the problems. The laughably wooden writing? The tedious glorification of affluence and materialism? The almost deliberate procession of cliches? Performances so bad they felt borderline malicious? Let’s just say “each and every one” and forget about this series again. However, a second season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the legal troubles, abuse allegations and fatherly failures, 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 bouts of reckless excess while struggling to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being indulged, so any pity this series might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charismatic but flippant egotist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Naturally we knew it was preposterous 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 pure admiration 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 ultimately hacking Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. Talk about giving up the ghost.

MobLand

Dodgy characters convening in empty boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its crime drama back.

Actually, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to accommodate unconvincing accents. But there were plenty of other problems. Primarily that it was just profoundly boring; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various cockney picaresques which seemed rather simplistic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Considering the degree to which she grinds the gears of certain ostentatiously enraged commentators, it’s almost tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into quaint homemaking as intentional statements. But then you view them and are compelled to concede that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle magazine come to life; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, sentimental sayings and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All underpinned by immense, largely unearned wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are obviously interesting things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, self-image, self-worth. But for some reason, this documentary series opted not to explore them. Instead, the experience was like consuming a marketing catalogue. She clearly has good reason to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any favours with this cagey 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 well-known personality managing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As players competed, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s even now too complicated to detail what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up smelling of a production that was straining desperately to live up to something way beyond 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 rosy-eyed New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, paradoxically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

The Sketch Show Return

Not good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of gifted younger comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known ranting mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the thought that they should probably have stayed 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 presented the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an interesting drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be treated sensitively. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from oddly jaunty, slightly stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A complete mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We love the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the greatest 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 secret services spying on – and killing off – academics honestly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This hagiography followed the content creator notorious for explicit exploits as she prepared for her biggest feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was far greater interrogation of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who showed up to haul her son out of the queue. What we got was horrific shots and absolutely no critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.