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As we consider the television offerings of the past year, a selection of shows stand out not for their excellence, but for their spectacular failures. Ranging from awkward spin-offs to bafflingly bad docuseries, 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 divisive follow-up? Plagued with dreadful scripts, painful arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the show struggled to justify its existence. Briefly, as the final series began, it looked like it had finally found its groove. Then arrived an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner announced this would be the last season. It concluded on a low point; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was just way too on-the-nose. Still, viewers certainly had a hoot dissecting every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't release a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘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 no-star review, it was difficult to know where to begin enumerating the problems. The laughably leaden writing? The mind-numbing veneration of wealth and materialism? The seemingly wilful procession of cliches? Performances so poor they felt almost spiteful? Suffice it to say “each and every one” and forget about this show again. Except, a new season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Given the legal troubles, domestic violence claims and parental shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not you’d truly have known it from this multi-part documentary which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless hedonism while struggling to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any sympathy this series might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charismatic but dismissive narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Of course we understood it was preposterous from the outset: a drama about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or annihilate 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 reacted when his character died, and the other ultimately hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat.

MobLand

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

In truth, that is harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to accommodate baffling accents. But there were plenty of other problems. Primarily that it was just profoundly boring; a dispute over narcotics territory between various cockney picaresques which felt rather simplistic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Given the degree to which she grinds the gears of the nation’s ostentatiously enraged commentators, it’s temptingly easy to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into twee homemaking as intentional provocations. But then you watch them and are compelled to concede that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine come to life; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, Hallmark sayings and forgettable crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by vast, largely unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly interesting things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, self-image, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this documentary series chose not to explore them. Instead, the viewing was akin to consuming a marketing catalogue. She clearly has good reason to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any favours with this guarded letdown of a series.

The Inheritance

It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – 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 backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too complicated to explain what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up reeking of a programme that was trying way too hard to emulate something way beyond it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you follow a show that captured a generation? The expectation was enormous for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who lands 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 notions. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the sheer amount of famous friends involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of talented emerging comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a single joke stretched to a dry pulp but recurring 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 while longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively presented 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 subject matter needed to be handled with care. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lurching from strangely jaunty, slightly mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A complete mess? Very much so.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so intelligent he’s on the brink of a discovery that could ruin society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about secret services targeting – and killing off – academics honestly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This uncritical portrait followed the online personality notorious for explicit exploits as she prepared for her biggest challenge yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was way more examination of her actual psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have spoken to the now-famous mum who appeared to haul her son out of the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and zero critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a teenage daughter too.