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Looking back, we consider the TV offerings of the past year, a handful of shows emerge not for their brilliance, but for their notable shortcomings. From cringe-inducing spin-offs to confusingly poor docuseries, here are the programmes that left us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

How to start with this divisive spin-off? Burdened with dreadful writing, cringe-inducing arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the show fought to find its footing. Briefly, as the third series began, it looked like it had at last found its groove. Then came an episode centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the showrunner declared this would be the last season. It concluded on a bum note; the closeup of Miranda’s loo flooded with poo was simply too on-the-nose. Still, viewers certainly found joy dissecting every single “what on earth?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘Is Kim Kardashian an actress? The answer is a resounding no.’

But that was practically the least of this drama's issues. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon no-star review, it was hard to know where to begin listing the flaws. The laughably wooden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of wealth and materialism? The almost deliberate parade of tropes? Acting so poor they felt borderline spiteful? Suffice it to say “each and every one” and never speak of this show again. However, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re probably going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Given the restraining orders, abuse allegations and fatherly failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not that you’d truly have gleaned it from this multi-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless excess while failing to tell us a single thing 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 reserved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charming but flippant narcissist.

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 save the world – or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of pure love for its stars … 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 admitting defeat.

The Gangster Drama

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

Actually, that is harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a little dated now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to accommodate baffling dialects. But there were many other issues. Primarily that it was just really dull; a dispute over narcotics territory between various cockney picaresques which felt a bit basic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of certain performatively angry commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into twee lifestyle as intentional provocations. But then you watch them and are forced to concede that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine come to life; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, sentimental platitudes and pointless crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All underpinned by immense, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly fascinating things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with career, identity, self-worth. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to explore them. Rather, the experience was like consuming a sales brochure. She obviously has every right 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 Game Show

It had the potential to be the next big hit – except even camper, with a famous star playing dead and a sharp-tongued personality overseeing her estate. What more could you want? As contestants competed, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too confusing to detail what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via filmed videos. The series ended up reeking of a programme 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 defined a generation? The expectation was immense for this starry romantic comedy about Jessica, a hopeful 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, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of famous friends involved felt uncomfortable.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the smart recruitment of talented younger comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a single joke stretched to a husk but recurring in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a well-known irate mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply provoked the idea 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 executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively showcased the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an compelling drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be handled sensitively. Rather, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lumbering from oddly breezy, somewhat stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Perhaps. A complete mess? Very much so.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire the star … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so intelligent he’s on the verge of a discovery that could ruin society? Nope! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies targeting – and killing off – intellectuals frankly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This hagiography followed the content creator notorious for sexual escapades as she undertook her biggest feat yet. What on earth would possess her? What we craved was way more examination of her true psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have spoken to the now-famous mum who appeared to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing shots and absolutely no interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.