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Looking back, we reflect on the television landscape of the recent year, a handful of series stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable shortcomings. From awkward sequels to confusingly bad documentaries, here are the programmes that left us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

How to start with this love/hate spin-off? Burdened with dreadful scripts, painful character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show fought to find its footing. For a moment, as the third season began, it seemed as if it had finally found its groove. Then arrived an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator declared this would be the final series. It concluded on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too on-the-nose. Yet, fans certainly found joy picking apart every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a small sob?

All’s Fair

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

But that was almost the smallest of this drama's problems. The recipient of a very rare zero star review, it was hard to know where to begin enumerating the flaws. The hilariously wooden dialogue? The mind-numbing glorification of wealth and materialism? The almost deliberate parade of cliches? Performances so bad they felt almost malicious? Let’s just say “all of the above” and never speak of this show again. Except, a second season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Considering the legal troubles, domestic violence claims and fatherly shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d truly have known it from this three-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive hedonism while failing to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any sympathy this show might induce should be saved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charismatic but flippant narcissist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we understood it was ridiculous 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 pure admiration 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 ultimately hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost.

The Gangster Drama

Shady figures convening in deserted boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its crime drama back.

In truth, that is harsh on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a little dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to accommodate unconvincing accents. 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 seemed a bit basic.

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 ventures into quaint lifestyle as intentional statements. But then you watch them and are forced to admit that in this case, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine animated; a poster for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental sayings and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by vast, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are obviously interesting 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 opted not to explore them. Rather, the experience was akin to reading a marketing catalogue. She clearly has good reason to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she didn’t do herself any helps with this guarded non-event of a series.

The Inheritance

It should have been the next big hit – except even camper, with a glamorous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As players competed, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too complicated to explain what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up smelling of a production that was straining desperately to live up to something way beyond it.

Too Much

How do you follow a show that defined a generation? The expectation was enormous for this starry romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The star took her biggest role by the horns and was a delight to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of celebrity cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of gifted emerging comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A particular sketch was a one-note joke stretched to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known ranting mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the thought 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 showcased the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The material needed to be treated sensitively. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lumbering from strangely jaunty, slightly mannered farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A total mess? Absolutely.

Prime Target

We admire the star … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the verge of a discovery that could ruin society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services targeting – and killing off – academics frankly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the online personality notorious for sexual exploits as she undertook her biggest challenge yet. What on earth would motivate 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 spoken to the legendary mum who showed up to haul her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and absolutely no interrogation of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.