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Looking back, we consider the TV offerings of the past year, a handful of series stand out not for their excellence, but for their spectacular failures. Ranging from cringe-inducing sequels to bafflingly bad documentaries, here are the productions that left us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

How to start with this love/hate spin-off? Plagued with woeful scripts, painful arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show fought to justify its existence. For a moment, as the final season began, it looked like it had finally hit its stride. Then arrived an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner announced this would be the last series. It ended on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was simply too on-the-nose. Yet, viewers undeniably had a hoot dissecting every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a little sob?

All’s Fair

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

But that was almost the smallest of this drama's issues. 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 consumption? The almost deliberate parade of tropes? Performances so poor they felt borderline spiteful? Let’s just 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 legal troubles, domestic violence allegations and fatherly failures, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that you’d truly have known it from this three-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless excess while failing to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any pity this series might induce should be saved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charming but flippant egotist.

The Iris Affair

Of course we knew it was ridiculous from the get-go: a drama about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or destroy all of humanity. We persevered out of sheer admiration for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely reacted 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.

MobLand

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

Actually, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a bit dated now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to accommodate baffling accents. But there were plenty of other problems. Primarily that it was just profoundly dull; a conflict 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 the nation’s ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s almost easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into twee homemaking as intentional provocations. But then you view them and are compelled to concede that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine animated; a meme for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by immense, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly fascinating things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, self-image, self-worth. But for some reason, this three-part series chose not to explore them. Instead, the viewing was like reading a sales catalogue. She clearly has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any favours with this cagey non-event of a series.

The Game Show

It had the potential to be the next big hit – except even more extravagant, with a famous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her estate. What more could you ask for? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too complicated to detail what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up smelling of a programme that was straining desperately to emulate something way beyond it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you succeed a show that defined a generation? The pressure was immense for this starry romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was a delight to watch, embodying Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of famous friends involved felt uncomfortable.

The Sketch Show Return

Not good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of gifted emerging comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a single joke stretched to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known irate mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have remained in there a while longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This dramatisation 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 compelling drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The material needed to be handled sensitively. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lumbering from oddly breezy, somewhat stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A complete mess? Very much so.

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 smart he’s on the verge of a discovery that could destabilise society? No! This international thriller about government agencies spying on – and eliminating – academics frankly got more absurd by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the content creator renowned for sexual exploits as she prepared for her biggest feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was far greater interrogation of her true psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the legendary mum who appeared to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.