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Looking back, we consider the television offerings of the recent year, a selection of shows emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. Ranging from awkward sequels to bafflingly bad docuseries, here are the productions that left us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

How to start with this love/hate spin-off? Plagued with dreadful writing, painful character development (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series fought to justify its existence. For a moment, as the final season began, it seemed as if it had finally found its groove. Then arrived an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator announced this would be the last series. It concluded on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was just way too symbolic. Yet, viewers undeniably found joy dissecting every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a small sob?

All’s Fair

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

But that was almost the smallest of this drama's issues. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon no-star assessment, it was hard to know where to start enumerating the flaws. The laughably leaden dialogue? The mind-numbing glorification of wealth and materialism? The seemingly wilful procession of tropes? Performances so poor they felt borderline malicious? Let’s just say “all of the above” and forget about this show again. Except, a new season has been ordered, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the restraining orders, abuse claims and parental shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that you’d truly have gleaned it from this multi-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive hedonism while failing to tell us anything we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any sympathy this show might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charming but dismissive egotist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we understood it was preposterous from the get-go: a drama about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or annihilate all of humanity. We stuck with it out of pure admiration for its stars … 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. That's what you call giving up the ghost.

MobLand

Dodgy characters meeting in deserted boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its gangland drama back.

Actually, that is harsh on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem 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. Mainly that it was just really dull; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various cockney picaresques which felt a bit basic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Given the extent to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into quaint homemaking as intentional provocations. But then you view them and are compelled to admit that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle magazine animated; a meme for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark platitudes and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by immense, largely unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly fascinating things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, identity, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this three-part series chose not to explore them. Rather, the experience was like reading a marketing catalogue. She obviously has every right 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 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 managing her inheritance. What more could you want? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too complicated to explain what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up reeking of a programme that was trying way too hard to live up to something way beyond it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you follow a show that captured a generation? The expectation was enormous for this starry romantic comedy about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of celebrity friends involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of talented emerging comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A particular sketch was a one-note joke milked to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have stayed in there a while longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

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 probably is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The material needed to be treated sensitively. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lurching from oddly jaunty, slightly stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A complete mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We admire the star … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so intelligent he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could destabilise society? Nope! This international thriller about government agencies targeting – and eliminating – academics frankly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This uncritical portrait followed the content creator renowned for explicit exploits as she prepared for her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was way more interrogation of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who showed up to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific shots and absolutely no critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.