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Looking back, we consider the television offerings of the recent year, a handful of series stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable failures. From cringe-inducing sequels to bafflingly poor docuseries, here are the productions that left us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

Where to begin with this love/hate spin-off? Burdened with woeful scripts, cringe-inducing character development (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series struggled to justify its existence. Briefly, as the final series started, it seemed as if it had at last found its groove. Then came an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner declared this would be the final series. It concluded on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo full of poo was simply too symbolic. Yet, viewers undeniably 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 little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? The answer is a resounding no.’

But that was practically the smallest of this drama's problems. The recipient of a very rare no-star review, it was hard to know where to start listing the problems. The laughably wooden writing? The tedious veneration of wealth and consumption? The seemingly wilful procession of tropes? Acting so bad they felt almost malicious? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and never speak of this show again. Except, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the legal troubles, domestic violence allegations and fatherly failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d really have known it from this three-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless excess while struggling to tell us a single thing we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any pity this series might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charming but dismissive narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Of course we understood it was ridiculous from the outset: a drama about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or destroy all of humanity. We persevered out of sheer love 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 hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat.

The Gangster Drama

Shady figures convening in deserted boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its gangland drama back.

In truth, that is harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to accommodate unconvincing dialects. But there were many other problems. Mainly that it was just profoundly dull; a dispute over narcotics territory between various London picaresques which seemed rather simplistic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Considering the extent to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into quaint homemaking as intentional statements. But then you watch them and are compelled to admit that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine come to life; a poster for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark sayings and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All underpinned by immense, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are obviously interesting things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, identity, self-worth. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to explore them. Instead, the viewing was like reading a sales brochure. She clearly has good reason to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any favours with this cagey letdown of a series.

The Game Show

It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a famous star playing dead and a well-known personality managing her estate. What more could you want? As contestants competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s even now too confusing to explain what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up reeking 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 defined a generation? The pressure was immense for this starry romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a shattered romance. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous to watch, embodying Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of famous cameos involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of gifted emerging comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. 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 well-known ranting mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely showcased 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 tone, lumbering from oddly breezy, slightly mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A total mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We love the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so intelligent he’s on the verge of a discovery that could ruin society? Nope! This international thriller about government agencies spying on – and killing off – intellectuals frankly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the online personality renowned for explicit escapades as she undertook her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was way more examination of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who appeared to haul her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and zero interrogation of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.