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Looking back, we consider the television offerings of the recent year, a selection of series stand out not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular failures. From awkward spin-offs 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 dreadful scripts, cringe-inducing character development (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show fought to justify its existence. For a moment, as the third season started, it seemed as if it had finally found its groove. Then came an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator declared this would be the last series. It concluded on a bum note; the closeup of Miranda’s loo full of poo was just way too symbolic. Still, viewers undeniably found joy dissecting every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was practically the smallest of this drama's issues. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon no-star assessment, it was difficult to know where to begin enumerating the flaws. The laughably leaden writing? The mind-numbing veneration of wealth and materialism? The seemingly wilful parade of tropes? Acting so bad they felt borderline spiteful? Let’s just say “each and every one” and forget about this series again. Except, a second season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Given the legal troubles, domestic violence claims and parental shortcomings, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d really have known it from this three-part docuseries 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 indulged, so any pity this show might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charming but dismissive narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Naturally we knew it was ridiculous from the get-go: a thriller about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or annihilate all of humanity. We stuck with it out of sheer 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 slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

MobLand

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

Actually, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a little dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to accommodate unconvincing dialects. But there were plenty of other problems. Primarily that it was just profoundly boring; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various London picaresques which felt a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the degree to which she grinds the gears of certain performatively angry commentators, it’s temptingly easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into quaint homemaking as intentional statements. But then you watch them and are compelled to concede that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine animated; a meme for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental sayings and forgettable crafting “tips” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by vast, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are obviously interesting things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, self-image, self-worth. But for some reason, this documentary series opted not to explore them. Rather, the viewing was akin to consuming a marketing brochure. She obviously has good reason to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any favours with this cagey 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 playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality managing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As players battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too confusing to detail what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up reeking of a production that was trying way too hard to live up to something far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you succeed a show that captured a generation? The expectation was immense for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, embodying Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of famous friends involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the smart recruitment of talented emerging comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a single joke milked to a dry pulp 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 inspired the thought that they should probably have stayed in there a while longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively showcased the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an compelling drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be treated sensitively. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from oddly jaunty, somewhat mannered farce to ultimately, 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 since, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a discovery that could ruin society? No! This international thriller about government agencies spying on – and killing off – intellectuals frankly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This uncritical portrait followed the content creator renowned for explicit escapades as she undertook her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was way more examination of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the now-famous mum who appeared to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.