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Looking back, we reflect on the television offerings of the past year, a handful of series stand out not for their brilliance, but for their notable failures. Ranging from awkward sequels to bafflingly bad documentaries, here are the programmes 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 follow-up? 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 third series started, it looked like it had finally hit its stride. Then came an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator declared this would be the last season. It concluded on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was just way too symbolic. Yet, fans undeniably had a hoot picking apart every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘Can Kim Kardashian act? The answer is a resounding no.’

But that was practically the least of this drama's issues. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon no-star review, it was difficult to know where to begin enumerating the problems. The laughably leaden writing? The mind-numbing veneration of affluence and materialism? The almost wilful parade of tropes? Performances so bad they felt almost malicious? Suffice it to say “each and every one” and forget about this series again. Except, a second season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the legal troubles, domestic violence claims and parental shortcomings, it’s reasonable 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 episodes of self-destructive excess while struggling to tell us a single thing we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any sympathy this show might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charismatic but dismissive egotist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Naturally we understood it was ridiculous from the outset: a drama about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or annihilate 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 cared when his character died, and the other ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

MobLand

Shady characters meeting in empty boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its gangland drama back.

In truth, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many seem a little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to indulge unconvincing dialects. But there were many other problems. Primarily that it was just really dull; a conflict over narcotics territory between various cockney picaresques which seemed a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the extent to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into quaint lifestyle as intentional provocations. But then you view them and are forced to concede that in this case, they might have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle magazine come to life; a poster for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by vast, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly interesting things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, self-image, self-worth. But for some reason, this documentary series chose not to say them. Rather, the experience was akin to consuming a sales catalogue. She clearly has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” 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 big hit – except even camper, with a famous star playing dead and a well-known personality managing her estate. What more could you want? As players battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too complicated to detail what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up smelling of a programme that was trying way too hard to live up to something far greater than it.

Too Much

How does one follow a show that defined 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 seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

The Sketch Show Return

Not good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of gifted younger comics, expectations were high. But sadly, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a one-note joke milked to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar irate mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the thought that they should probably have remained in there a while longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively presented the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be handled sensitively. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lurching from strangely breezy, slightly stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A total mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so intelligent he’s on the verge of a discovery that could ruin society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services spying on – and eliminating – intellectuals honestly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the content creator notorious for sexual exploits as she undertook her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would possess her? What we craved was way more interrogation of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the now-famous mum who appeared to haul her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and absolutely no interrogation of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.