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Looking back, we reflect on the television offerings of the recent year, a selection of series emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. Ranging from cringe-inducing sequels to confusingly bad documentaries, here are the productions that had us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

How to start with this divisive follow-up? Burdened with dreadful scripts, cringe-inducing arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show struggled to find its footing. Briefly, as the third season started, it seemed as if it had at last hit its stride. Then came an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator declared this would be the last series. It concluded on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was simply too on-the-nose. Yet, fans undeniably had a hoot picking apart every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was almost the least of this show's problems. The subject of a very rare no-star assessment, it was hard to know where to begin enumerating the flaws. The laughably wooden dialogue? The tedious glorification of wealth and materialism? The seemingly wilful parade of tropes? Acting so poor they felt almost malicious? Let’s just say “all of the above” and never speak of this series again. However, a new season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Given the legal troubles, abuse allegations and parental shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d truly have gleaned it from this multi-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless hedonism while struggling to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any pity this series might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charming but dismissive narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Of course we understood it was ridiculous from the get-go: a drama about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or destroy all of humanity. We persevered out of pure 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 ultimately hacking Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost.

The Gangster Drama

Dodgy figures convening in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its crime drama back.

Actually, that is harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t endure the embarrassment of having to indulge baffling dialects. But there were many other issues. Primarily that it was just profoundly dull; a conflict over narcotics territory between various cockney rogues which felt a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of certain performatively angry commentators, it’s almost easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into quaint homemaking as deliberate provocations. But then you watch them and are forced to admit that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue animated; a poster for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental platitudes and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All underpinned by vast, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly interesting things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, identity, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this three-part series chose not to say them. Rather, the viewing was akin to reading a marketing brochure. She clearly has every right to bridle at 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 had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a glamorous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality managing her estate. What more could you want? As players battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too complicated to detail what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up reeking of a production that was trying way too hard to live up to something far greater than it.

Too Much

How does one succeed a show that captured a generation? The pressure was enormous for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the smart recruitment of gifted emerging comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a single joke milked to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, meanwhile, simply inspired the thought that they should probably have stayed in there a while longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively showcased the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an compelling drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The material needed to be handled sensitively. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lumbering from strangely breezy, slightly mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A complete mess? Very much so.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We love the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so intelligent he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could ruin society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services spying on – and killing off – intellectuals honestly got more farcical 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 undertook her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we craved was way more interrogation of her true psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who appeared to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific shots and absolutely no interrogation of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.