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Looking back, we reflect on the television landscape of the recent year, a selection of series emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular shortcomings. Ranging from cringe-inducing spin-offs to confusingly poor docuseries, here are the productions that left us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

Where to begin with this love/hate follow-up? Plagued with dreadful scripts, cringe-inducing character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show struggled to justify its existence. Briefly, as the third season began, it seemed as if it had finally found its groove. Then came an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the last season. It ended on a bum note; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was just way too symbolic. Yet, fans certainly found joy dissecting every single “wtf?” moment. 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 least of this show's problems. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon zero star review, it was hard to know where to start listing the problems. The laughably wooden dialogue? The mind-numbing glorification of wealth and materialism? The seemingly wilful procession of tropes? Performances so bad they felt almost malicious? Let’s just say “each and every one” and never speak of this show again. However, a second season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the restraining orders, domestic violence claims and fatherly failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d really have known it from this three-part documentary which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless excess while failing to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any pity this show might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charming but dismissive narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

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

The Gangster Drama

Dodgy characters meeting in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its gangland drama back.

In truth, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t endure the embarrassment of having to indulge unconvincing dialects. But there were many other problems. Mainly that it was just profoundly boring; a dispute over narcotics territory between various cockney picaresques which felt a bit basic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Given the degree to which she grinds the gears of certain performatively angry commentators, it’s temptingly easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into quaint lifestyle as deliberate statements. But then you watch them and are compelled to concede that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue animated; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, sentimental sayings and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by immense, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are obviously interesting things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, self-image, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this documentary series opted not to explore them. Instead, the experience was akin to consuming a sales catalogue. She clearly has every right to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any helps with this cagey letdown of a series.

The Inheritance

It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a glamorous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality managing her estate. What more could you want? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s even now too confusing to detail what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up reeking of a production that was straining desperately to emulate something way beyond it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you succeed a show that defined a generation? The pressure was immense for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives 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 ideals. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of celebrity cameos involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of talented emerging comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a single joke stretched to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a familiar irate mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have stayed in there a bit 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 compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The material needed to be treated sensitively. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from oddly breezy, slightly mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A complete mess? Very much so.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We love the star … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a breakthrough that could ruin society? No! This international thriller about government agencies targeting – and eliminating – academics honestly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the content creator notorious 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 psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have spoken to the now-famous mum who showed up to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and absolutely no interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.