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As we consider the television landscape of the past year, a handful of shows emerge not for their excellence, but for their notable shortcomings. Ranging from awkward sequels to confusingly poor documentaries, here are the programmes that left us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

Where to begin with this divisive spin-off? Burdened with dreadful scripts, painful arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series struggled to justify its existence. For a moment, as the final season began, it seemed as if it had at last found its groove. Then came an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner announced this would be the final season. It concluded on a bum note; the closeup of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was simply too symbolic. Still, viewers certainly had a hoot picking apart 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

‘Can Kim Kardashian act? Of course she can’t.’

But that was almost the least of this show's problems. The subject of a exceedingly uncommon no-star review, it was hard to know where to start enumerating the problems. The laughably wooden dialogue? The mind-numbing glorification of affluence and materialism? The seemingly deliberate procession of cliches? Acting so bad they felt borderline malicious? Let’s just say “all of the above” and forget about this series again. Except, a new season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the restraining orders, domestic violence claims and parental failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a troubled figure. Not that you’d really have known it from this three-part documentary which smirked its way at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive excess while failing to tell us a single thing we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this loose cannon was being indulged, so any pity this series might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to endure proximity with this charming but flippant egotist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we knew it was ridiculous from the outset: a drama about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of pure admiration for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One scarcely reacted when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

The Gangster Drama

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

In truth, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to accommodate baffling dialects. But there were many other issues. Primarily that it was just really boring; a conflict over narcotics territory between various London picaresques which seemed a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the degree to which she grinds the gears of certain ostentatiously enraged commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into quaint lifestyle as intentional statements. But then you watch them and are compelled to concede that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue animated; a meme for wine o’clock with ideas of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, humming beehives, sentimental platitudes and forgettable crafting “tips” you’ll forget instantly. All underpinned by vast, 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-acceptance. But for some reason, this three-part series chose not to explore them. Instead, the experience was like reading a sales catalogue. She obviously has good reason to bridle at what she describes as her “stern” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any helps with this cagey 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 overseeing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s even now too complicated to detail what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up smelling of a programme that was straining desperately to live up to something far greater than it.

Too Much

How do you succeed a show that captured a generation? The pressure was enormous for this starry 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 joyous to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, paradoxically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of famous cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the smart recruitment of talented younger comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it fell flat. A recurring 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 behind-the-scenes sketches, meanwhile, simply inspired the idea that they should probably have stayed in there a while longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This dramatisation 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 probably is an interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The material needed to be treated with care. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right voice, lurching from oddly jaunty, slightly stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A total mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We admire the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the greatest 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 secret services targeting – and killing off – academics frankly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This hagiography followed the content creator notorious for sexual exploits as she prepared for her biggest challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was way more interrogation of her actual psychology, plus those of the men in the queue. 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 disturbing imagery and absolutely no critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.