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Looking back, we reflect on the television offerings of the past year, a handful of shows emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. Ranging from cringe-inducing spin-offs to confusingly bad docuseries, here are the productions that left us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

Where to begin with this divisive follow-up? Burdened with woeful scripts, painful character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the show fought to justify its existence. For a moment, as the third series began, it seemed as if it had finally hit its stride. Then arrived an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the last series. It concluded on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was simply too on-the-nose. Still, fans undeniably had a hoot dissecting every single “what on earth?” 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? The answer is a resounding no.’

But that was almost the smallest of this drama's issues. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon zero star assessment, it was hard to know where to begin enumerating the flaws. The hilariously leaden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of wealth and consumption? The almost wilful procession of tropes? Performances so poor they felt almost malicious? Let’s just say “all of the above” and never speak of this show again. However, a second season has been ordered, so we’re probably going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Given the legal troubles, abuse allegations and parental failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that you’d really have known it from this multi-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless hedonism while struggling to tell us anything we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any sympathy this series might evoke should be reserved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charismatic but dismissive egotist.

The Iris Affair

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 stuck with it out of sheer admiration for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One scarcely cared when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

The Gangster Drama

Shady figures meeting in empty boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its gangland drama back.

In truth, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a little dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to indulge baffling dialects. But there were plenty of other problems. Mainly that it was just profoundly dull; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various London rogues which felt a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the degree to which she provokes the ire of certain performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into quaint homemaking as intentional statements. But then you view them and are forced to concede that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue come to life; a meme for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark sayings and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by vast, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are obviously interesting things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, self-image, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this three-part series chose not to say them. Instead, the experience was akin to reading a sales catalogue. She clearly has every right to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she failed to 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 glamorous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality overseeing her estate. 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 confusing to detail what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up smelling of a production that was straining desperately to emulate something way beyond it.

Too Much

How does one succeed a show that captured a generation? The pressure was enormous for this glitzy romantic comedy about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The lead actress seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of famous friends involved felt uncomfortable.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of talented younger comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a single joke stretched 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, in contrast, simply inspired the thought that they should probably have stayed in there a bit 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 probably is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be treated with care. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from strangely jaunty, somewhat mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A complete mess? Absolutely.

Prime Target

We admire the star … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so intelligent he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could destabilise society? No! This international thriller about government agencies targeting – and killing off – academics frankly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This uncritical portrait followed the content creator notorious for explicit escapades as she undertook her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would possess 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 legendary mum who appeared to haul her son out of the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and zero critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.