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Looking back, we consider the television landscape of the recent year, a handful of shows emerge not for their brilliance, but for their notable shortcomings. Ranging from awkward 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? Plagued with dreadful writing, cringe-inducing arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series fought to find its footing. For a moment, as the third season began, it looked like it had at last hit its stride. Then arrived an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner announced this would be the final season. It ended on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was simply too on-the-nose. Yet, fans undeniably had a hoot picking apart every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't let out a little sob?

All’s Fair

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

But that was practically the smallest of this drama's issues. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon zero star review, it was difficult to know where to begin listing the problems. The laughably leaden writing? The mind-numbing veneration of affluence and consumption? The seemingly wilful parade of tropes? Acting so bad they felt borderline malicious? Let’s just say “each and every one” and forget about this series again. However, a new season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Given the legal troubles, abuse allegations and fatherly failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d really have known it from this multi-part documentary which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless excess while failing to tell us anything we weren't already aware of. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being indulged, so any sympathy this series might induce should be saved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charming but flippant egotist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we understood it was preposterous 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 love 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 ended up slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost.

MobLand

Shady figures meeting in deserted boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its gangland drama back.

Actually, that is harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a little old-fashioned 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 really dull; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various cockney picaresques which felt a bit basic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Given the degree to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s performatively angry commentators, it’s temptingly easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into quaint homemaking as intentional statements. But then you watch them and are compelled 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 snoozing dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark platitudes and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by vast, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are obviously fascinating things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, identity, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this three-part series chose not to explore them. Rather, the experience was akin to consuming a marketing brochure. She clearly has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any favours with this guarded non-event of a series.

The Game Show

It should have been the next big hit – except even more extravagant, with a famous star playing dead and a well-known personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As players battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too complicated to explain 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 straining desperately to live up to something way beyond it.

Too Much

How does one 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 shattered romance. The lead actress 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 famous cameos involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the smart recruitment of talented emerging comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known irate mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply inspired the thought that they should probably have remained in there a while longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This dramatisation 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 interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be treated sensitively. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lumbering from strangely breezy, somewhat stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A complete mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We love the star … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a discovery that could ruin society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies spying on – and killing off – academics honestly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This hagiography followed the online personality renowned for sexual escapades as she undertook her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was far greater examination of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who appeared to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific shots and zero interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.