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Looking back, we consider the television offerings of the past year, a selection of series stand out not for their brilliance, but for their notable shortcomings. Ranging from cringe-inducing sequels to bafflingly poor documentaries, here are the productions that had us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

How to start with this love/hate follow-up? Plagued with woeful writing, painful character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series fought to justify its existence. For a moment, as the third season began, it looked like it had finally found its groove. Then came an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator declared this would be the final series. It concluded on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo full of poo was simply too symbolic. Yet, fans undeniably had a hoot picking apart every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't let out a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘Can Kim Kardashian act? The answer is a resounding no.’

But that was almost the smallest of this drama's issues. The subject of a very rare zero star review, it was difficult to know where to begin enumerating the flaws. The laughably leaden dialogue? The mind-numbing veneration of affluence and materialism? The seemingly deliberate parade of cliches? Acting so bad they felt borderline malicious? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and never speak of this series again. Except, a new season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Considering the legal troubles, abuse allegations and fatherly failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not you’d really have known it from this multi-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless excess while failing to tell us a single thing we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any sympathy this show might evoke should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charismatic but dismissive narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Naturally we knew it was preposterous from the get-go: a drama about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or annihilate all of humanity. We stuck with it out of pure love for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One barely cared when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

MobLand

Shady characters meeting in deserted boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its gangland drama back.

Actually, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to indulge baffling accents. But there were many other problems. Mainly that it was just really boring; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various cockney picaresques which seemed rather simplistic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Considering the extent to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s performatively enraged commentators, it’s almost easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into twee homemaking 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 poster for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by vast, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are obviously fascinating things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with career, self-image, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this three-part series opted not to explore them. Rather, the viewing was like reading a sales brochure. She clearly has every right to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any favours with this guarded non-event of a series.

The Inheritance

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

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How does one succeed a show that defined a generation? The expectation was immense for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a hopeful 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, embodying Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of famous friends involved felt uncomfortable.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the smart recruitment of talented younger comics, expectations were high. But sadly, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a one-note joke milked 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 inspired the thought that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively showcased the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably 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 struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from oddly breezy, slightly stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A total mess? Absolutely.

Prime Target

We admire the star … but did we believe him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a discovery that could ruin society? No! This international thriller about secret services targeting – and killing off – intellectuals 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 undertook her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was way more interrogation of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the now-famous mum who appeared to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and zero critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.