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Looking back, we reflect on the TV offerings of the recent year, a handful of shows emerge not for their brilliance, but for their notable shortcomings. From cringe-inducing sequels to confusingly bad documentaries, here are the productions that left us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

Where to begin with this love/hate spin-off? Plagued with woeful scripts, painful character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series fought to find its footing. Briefly, as the third series began, it looked like it had at last hit its stride. Then came an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner announced this would be the final season. It concluded on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was just way too on-the-nose. Still, fans certainly had a hoot picking apart every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a little sob?

All’s Fair

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

But that was almost the least of this drama's issues. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon no-star review, it was hard to know where to begin enumerating the problems. The laughably wooden writing? The mind-numbing veneration of affluence and materialism? The almost wilful parade of tropes? Acting so bad they felt borderline spiteful? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and forget about this series again. Except, a second season has been ordered, so we’re probably going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Given the restraining orders, abuse allegations and fatherly shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d truly have known it from this multi-part documentary which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive excess while failing to tell us a single thing we didn’t already know. Rather, 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 proximity with this charismatic but flippant egotist.

The Iris Affair

Of course we understood it was ridiculous from the get-go: a thriller about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of pure love for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One barely reacted when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat.

The Gangster Drama

Shady figures meeting in deserted boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its crime drama back.

In truth, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to indulge unconvincing accents. But there were plenty of other issues. Mainly that it was just really dull; a conflict over drug-selling territory between various cockney picaresques which felt a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the extent to which she grinds the gears of certain ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s temptingly easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into quaint homemaking as intentional provocations. 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 animated; a poster for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark sayings and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by vast, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly fascinating things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, identity, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this three-part series chose not to explore them. Instead, the viewing was akin to reading a sales brochure. She obviously has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any favours with this guarded non-event of a series.

The Game Show

It had the potential to be the next big hit – except even camper, with a glamorous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality managing her estate. What more could you ask for? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too complicated to detail what exactly was happening. Even more regrettably, 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.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you succeed a show that captured a generation? The pressure was enormous for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was a delight to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy 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 ‘uneven’.

Given the smart inclusion of gifted younger comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known 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 retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely presented the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an interesting drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be handled with care. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lurching from oddly breezy, somewhat mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A total mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We love the star … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a discovery that could ruin society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services spying on – and killing off – intellectuals honestly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This uncritical portrait followed the content creator notorious for sexual exploits as she undertook her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we craved was way more examination of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the now-famous mum who showed up to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and zero critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.