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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 failures. From cringe-inducing spin-offs to confusingly poor documentaries, here are the programmes that left us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

How to start with this love/hate spin-off? Plagued with dreadful scripts, cringe-inducing character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series fought to find its footing. For a moment, as the final season started, it looked like it had finally found its groove. Then came an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the last series. It ended on a bum note; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was simply too on-the-nose. Yet, fans undeniably had a hoot picking apart every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was practically the smallest of this show's issues. The recipient of a very rare no-star assessment, it was difficult to know where to begin listing the flaws. The hilariously wooden writing? The tedious veneration of affluence and consumption? The seemingly wilful parade of cliches? Acting so poor they felt borderline malicious? Suffice it to say “each and every one” and never speak of this series again. However, a second season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the legal troubles, abuse claims and fatherly failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d truly have gleaned it from this three-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless excess while struggling to tell us anything we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon was being indulged, so any pity this series might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charming but dismissive narcissist.

The Iris Affair

Of course we understood it was preposterous from the outset: a thriller about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or destroy all of humanity. We persevered out of pure admiration for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely cared when his character died, and the other ultimately hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost.

MobLand

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

In truth, that is harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a little dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the embarrassment of having to accommodate baffling dialects. But there were many other problems. Mainly that it was just profoundly dull; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various cockney rogues which seemed a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the extent to which she provokes the ire of certain ostentatiously enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into twee lifestyle as deliberate provocations. But then you watch them and are compelled to admit that in this case, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine animated; a poster for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental sayings and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by vast, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly interesting things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, identity, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this documentary series chose not to explore them. Instead, the viewing was akin to reading a sales catalogue. She clearly has every right to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any helps with this cagey letdown of a series.

The Game Show

It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality managing her estate. What more could you want? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. 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 filmed videos. The show ended up smelling of a production that was trying way too hard to live up to something way beyond it.

Too Much

How do you succeed a show that captured a generation? The pressure was enormous for this starry romantic comedy about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The lead actress seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very slick and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of famous cameos involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of gifted younger comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a single joke stretched to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, 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 presented the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be treated with care. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lumbering from oddly breezy, somewhat stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A complete mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We love the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could ruin society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies spying on – and eliminating – intellectuals frankly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the online personality renowned for sexual exploits as she prepared for her biggest challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was way more examination of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who showed up to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific shots and zero interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.