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As we reflect on the TV offerings of the past year, a selection of series stand out not for their brilliance, but for their notable shortcomings. Ranging from cringe-inducing sequels to bafflingly poor documentaries, here are the productions that left us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

Where to begin with this divisive spin-off? Plagued with woeful scripts, painful character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series struggled to justify its existence. For a moment, as the third series began, it looked like it had finally hit its stride. Then arrived an episode centered on 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 flooded with poo was simply too symbolic. Still, fans certainly had a hoot dissecting every single “wtf?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was practically the smallest of this show's issues. The subject of a very rare no-star assessment, it was hard to know where to begin listing the problems. The hilariously leaden dialogue? The tedious veneration of wealth and consumption? The seemingly wilful procession of cliches? Acting so bad they felt almost malicious? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and never speak of this series again. However, a second season has been ordered, so we’re probably going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the legal troubles, domestic violence allegations and fatherly shortcomings, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d truly have gleaned it from this multi-part documentary which smirked its way at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive excess while failing to tell us a single thing we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any sympathy this show might evoke should be saved for the people who have had to suffer close contact with this charming but flippant egotist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Of course we knew it was preposterous from the get-go: a thriller about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or destroy all of humanity. We stuck with it out of pure love for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely reacted when his character died, and the other ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat.

The Gangster Drama

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.

Actually, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to accommodate unconvincing accents. But there were plenty of other problems. Mainly that it was just really dull; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various cockney rogues which felt rather simplistic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the degree to which she provokes the ire of certain ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s temptingly easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various forays into twee homemaking as deliberate 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 catalogue come to life; a meme for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental sayings and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by vast, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are clearly fascinating 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 chose not to explore them. Instead, the viewing was like consuming a marketing brochure. She clearly has every right to resent what she describes as her “stern” 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 cultural phenomenon – except even more extravagant, with a famous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality managing her estate. What more could you want? As players battled it out, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s even now too complicated to detail what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up smelling of a programme that was straining desperately to emulate something far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How does one follow a show that captured a generation? The pressure was enormous for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who arrives 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 ideals. But it was all very slick and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of celebrity friends involved felt icky.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of gifted younger comics, expectations were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A particular sketch was a single joke stretched to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a familiar irate mode. The writing room sketches, meanwhile, simply inspired the thought that they should probably have remained in there a bit longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This dramatisation of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely showcased the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be treated sensitively. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from strangely jaunty, somewhat stylised farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A total mess? Very much so.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We love the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius in history, a man so intelligent he’s on the verge of a discovery that could ruin society? No! This international thriller about secret services spying on – and killing off – intellectuals honestly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This uncritical portrait followed the content creator renowned for explicit escapades as she undertook her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was way more examination of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the line. 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 imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.