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Looking back, we reflect on the television landscape of the recent year, a selection of series emerge not for their excellence, but for their notable shortcomings. Ranging from awkward spin-offs to confusingly bad docuseries, here are the programmes that had us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

How to start with this divisive follow-up? Plagued with woeful scripts, painful character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series struggled to justify its existence. For a moment, as the final season began, it looked like it had at last found its groove. Then came an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator announced this would be the final series. It concluded on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was simply too on-the-nose. Yet, viewers certainly had a hoot dissecting every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a little sob?

All’s Fair

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

But that was almost the smallest of this drama's issues. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon no-star assessment, it was hard to know where to begin enumerating the flaws. The hilariously leaden dialogue? The mind-numbing veneration of affluence and consumption? The almost wilful procession of tropes? Acting so poor they felt almost spiteful? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and forget about this show again. Except, a new season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the restraining orders, abuse allegations and parental failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not you’d truly have known it from this multi-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive excess while failing to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any pity this series might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charming but dismissive narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Naturally we understood 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 persevered out of sheer admiration for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely cared when his character died, and the other ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. Talk about giving up the ghost.

The Gangster Drama

Shady 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 harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to accommodate unconvincing accents. But there were many other problems. Primarily that it was just really boring; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various London rogues which felt a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of certain ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s almost tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into quaint homemaking as intentional provocations. But then you watch them and are forced to admit that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle magazine animated; a meme for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark sayings and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by vast, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are obviously fascinating things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, self-image, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this documentary series opted not to say them. Rather, the experience was akin to consuming a marketing brochure. She clearly has good reason to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any favours with this guarded letdown of a series.

The Inheritance

It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her estate. What more could you want? As contestants competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s even now too confusing to detail what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The series ended up smelling of a production that was straining desperately to live up to something far greater than it.

Too Much

How do you succeed a show that captured a generation? The expectation was enormous for this glitzy romantic comedy about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands 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 slick and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of gifted younger comics, expectations were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A particular sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a dry pulp but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready 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 while longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

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 undoubtedly is an compelling drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be handled sensitively. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lurching from strangely jaunty, slightly mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A complete mess? Very much so.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire the star … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius since, a man so intelligent he’s on the verge of a discovery that could destabilise society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services targeting – and killing off – intellectuals frankly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This uncritical portrait followed the online personality renowned for sexual escapades as she prepared for her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was far greater interrogation of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who appeared to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and absolutely no critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.