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Looking back, we reflect on the television landscape of the past year, a selection of shows emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular failures. Ranging from cringe-inducing spin-offs to confusingly bad documentaries, here are the programmes that left us utterly bewildered 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, cringe-inducing character development (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show struggled to find its footing. For a moment, as the final series started, it looked like it had at last hit its stride. Then arrived an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator announced this would be the last series. It concluded on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo full of poo was just way too symbolic. Still, fans certainly found joy dissecting every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was practically the least of this show's problems. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon zero star review, it was hard to know where to start enumerating the problems. The laughably leaden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of wealth and materialism? The almost deliberate parade of cliches? Acting so bad they felt almost spiteful? Let’s just say “each and every one” and never speak of this series again. Except, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the legal troubles, abuse allegations and fatherly shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not you’d truly have gleaned it from this three-part documentary which smirked its way at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive hedonism while struggling to tell us a single thing we weren't already aware of. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any pity this series might evoke should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charming but dismissive egotist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we understood 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 persevered out of sheer love for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One barely cared when his character died, and the other ultimately hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about giving up the ghost.

MobLand

Shady figures meeting in empty 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 unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to accommodate baffling dialects. But there were plenty of other problems. Primarily that it was just really boring; a dispute over narcotics territory between various London rogues which felt a bit basic.

The Meghan Markle Series

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 view them and are forced to concede that in this case, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue animated; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark sayings and forgettable crafting “tips” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by immense, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly fascinating things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, identity, self-worth. But for whatever reason, this documentary series opted not to explore them. Instead, the experience was like consuming a marketing brochure. She obviously has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “stern” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any helps with this guarded letdown of a series.

The Game Show

It should have been the next big hit – except even more extravagant, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality managing her estate. What more could you want? As players battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too confusing to explain what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up reeking of a production 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 captured a generation? The pressure was immense for this starry romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The lead actress seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of famous cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd recruitment 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 husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready 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 bit longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely presented the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an interesting drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The subject matter needed to be handled with care. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from oddly jaunty, somewhat stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A total mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We love the lead actor … 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 globe-trotting thriller about secret services targeting – and eliminating – academics honestly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the content creator notorious for sexual escapades as she undertook her biggest feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was far greater examination of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the now-famous mum who showed up to haul her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and absolutely no interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.