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Looking back, we reflect on the TV offerings of the recent year, a selection of shows stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable shortcomings. Ranging from cringe-inducing sequels to confusingly poor documentaries, here are the programmes that had us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

How to start with this divisive spin-off? Plagued with woeful writing, painful arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series fought to justify its existence. Briefly, as the third series started, it seemed as if it had at last found its groove. Then came an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the last season. It ended on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was just way too symbolic. Yet, viewers certainly had a hoot dissecting every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? Of course she can’t.’

But that was almost the least of this drama's issues. The subject of a very rare no-star assessment, it was hard to know where to begin listing the flaws. The hilariously leaden dialogue? The mind-numbing veneration of wealth and consumption? The seemingly wilful procession of tropes? Performances so bad they felt almost spiteful? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and forget about this show again. However, a new season has been ordered, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the legal troubles, abuse allegations and fatherly shortcomings, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d truly have gleaned it from this three-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless hedonism while struggling to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any sympathy this series might induce should be saved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charismatic but dismissive egotist.

The Iris Affair

Of course we understood it was preposterous from the get-go: a drama about a supercomputer 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 stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely reacted when his character died, and the other ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost.

MobLand

Shady figures convening in empty boxing gyms? A certain band'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 seem a little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to indulge baffling dialects. But there were many other problems. Mainly that it was just really dull; a conflict over narcotics territory between various London rogues which felt a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of certain performatively enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into quaint lifestyle as intentional provocations. But then you view them and are forced to concede that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle magazine animated; a meme for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental platitudes and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by immense, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are obviously fascinating things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, self-image, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this three-part series chose not to explore them. Instead, the experience was like reading a sales brochure. She obviously has every right to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any helps with this guarded non-event of a series.

The Game Show

It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a glamorous star playing dead and a well-known personality managing her inheritance. What more could you want? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too confusing to detail what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up reeking of a production that was straining desperately to live up to something far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How does one follow a show that defined a generation? The pressure was enormous for this starry romantic comedy about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who arrives in London with a shattered romance. The star took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very slick and, paradoxically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of celebrity friends involved felt uncomfortable.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the smart inclusion of gifted younger comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A particular 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 ranting mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the thought that they should probably have stayed in there a while longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

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

The Maths Genius Thriller

We love the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so intelligent he’s on the verge of a discovery that could ruin society? No! This international thriller about secret services spying on – and killing off – academics frankly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the online personality notorious for sexual exploits as she prepared for her biggest feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was far greater 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 out of the queue. What we got was horrific shots and zero critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.