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Looking back, we consider the television offerings of the recent year, a handful of shows emerge not for their excellence, but for their spectacular failures. Ranging from awkward sequels to bafflingly bad documentaries, here are the programmes that had us utterly bewildered or simply reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

How to start with this love/hate follow-up? Plagued with dreadful writing, painful character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the show struggled to justify its existence. For a moment, as the third season started, it looked like it had finally found its groove. Then arrived an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the creator declared this would be the last season. It ended on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was simply too on-the-nose. Still, viewers undeniably found joy 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? Of course she can’t.’

But that was almost the smallest of this drama's problems. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon no-star review, it was hard to know where to begin enumerating the problems. The laughably wooden writing? The tedious glorification of affluence and consumption? The almost deliberate parade of tropes? Performances so bad they felt borderline malicious? Suffice it to say “each and every one” and never speak of this series again. However, a second season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Given the restraining orders, abuse claims and parental shortcomings, 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 struggling to tell us a single thing we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any pity this show might induce should be saved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charismatic but flippant egotist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Of course we understood 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 persevered out of sheer love for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One scarcely cared when his character died, and the other ultimately hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

MobLand

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

In truth, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to accommodate baffling accents. But there were plenty of other issues. Mainly that it was just really boring; a dispute over narcotics territory between various cockney picaresques which felt rather simplistic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s ostentatiously enraged commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into quaint lifestyle as intentional provocations. But then you watch them and are forced to admit that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle magazine animated; a meme for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental sayings and forgettable crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by vast, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly interesting things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, identity, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this three-part series opted not to explore them. Instead, the experience was like reading a sales catalogue. She clearly has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any helps with this cagey letdown of a series.

The Inheritance

It had the potential to be the next cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality managing her estate. What more could you ask for? As contestants competed, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too confusing 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 programme that was straining desperately to emulate something far greater than it.

Too Much

How do you succeed a show that defined a generation? The pressure was immense for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a shattered romance. The lead actress seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of celebrity friends involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of talented younger 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 recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked 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 executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely presented the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be treated with care. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lumbering from strangely breezy, slightly stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A total mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We love the star … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius since, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a discovery that could ruin society? Nope! This international thriller about government agencies targeting – and killing off – academics honestly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This uncritical portrait followed the online personality notorious for sexual escapades as she undertook her biggest feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was far greater interrogation of her true psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who appeared to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and zero critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.