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As we consider the TV offerings of the past year, a handful of series stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable failures. Ranging from cringe-inducing spin-offs to bafflingly bad docuseries, here are the productions that had us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

Where to begin with this divisive spin-off? Burdened with woeful scripts, painful arcs (we demand better for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the show struggled to justify its existence. Briefly, as the final season began, it looked like it had at last hit its stride. Then came an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner announced this would be the last season. It concluded on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo full of poo was just way too symbolic. Yet, viewers certainly found joy dissecting every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was almost the least of this drama's issues. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon no-star assessment, it was difficult to know where to start enumerating the problems. The laughably wooden writing? The tedious glorification of wealth and materialism? The seemingly deliberate procession of cliches? Performances so poor they felt borderline malicious? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and never speak of this series again. Except, a second season has been ordered, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Considering the legal troubles, domestic violence claims and parental shortcomings, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d really have known it from this multi-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless hedonism while failing to tell us anything we didn’t already know. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being pandered to, so any sympathy this series might induce should be reserved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charismatic but flippant egotist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Naturally we knew it was preposterous from the outset: a thriller 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 ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call admitting defeat.

MobLand

Dodgy figures convening in deserted boxing gyms? The Prodigy’s Firestarter blaring in club scenes? The late 90s called and wants its crime drama back.

In truth, 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 plenty of other problems. Primarily that it was just profoundly dull; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various London rogues which felt a bit basic.

With Love, Meghan

Given the degree to which she grinds the gears of certain performatively enraged commentators, it’s almost easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised ventures into quaint homemaking as intentional provocations. But then you watch them and are compelled to admit that actually, they might have a point. It’s like watching a homeware magazine animated; a poster for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a procession of snoozing dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark sayings and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by immense, mostly undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly interesting things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, self-image, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this documentary series opted not to explore them. Rather, the viewing was akin to consuming a marketing catalogue. She obviously has every right to bridle at what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But sadly, she didn’t do herself any helps 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 well-known personality managing her estate. What more could you ask for? As contestants competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and squabbling. But the rules quickly became incomprehensible: it’s still too complicated to explain what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up reeking of a programme that was straining desperately to emulate something way beyond it.

Too Much

How do you succeed a show that defined a generation? The expectation was enormous for this glitzy romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who lands in London with a shattered romance. The star took her biggest role by the horns and was a delight to watch, embodying Austen levels of romantic notions. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the sheer amount of famous friends involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of gifted emerging comics, hopes were high. But sadly, most of it didn’t land. A particular sketch was a one-note joke milked to a husk but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar ranting mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, 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 perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there undoubtedly is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be treated sensitively. Instead, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lurching from oddly jaunty, somewhat stylised farce to inevitably, real-life horror. Twisted? Arguably. A total mess? Very much so.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We love the star … but did we believe him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so intelligent he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could ruin society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies targeting – and killing off – intellectuals frankly got more farcical by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

The Bonnie Blue Documentary

This uncritical portrait followed the online personality renowned for sexual exploits as she undertook her biggest challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was way more interrogation 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 imagery and zero interrogation of her infamy whatsoever. And to think, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.