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Looking back, we reflect on the television landscape of the recent year, a handful of series emerge not for their brilliance, but for their spectacular failures. From awkward sequels to bafflingly bad documentaries, here are the productions that left us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

How to start with this love/hate spin-off? Plagued with dreadful scripts, cringe-inducing character development (we demand better for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series struggled to justify its existence. For a moment, as the third season began, it looked like it had at last found its groove. Then arrived an episode all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the final series. It ended on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was just way too on-the-nose. Yet, viewers undeniably had a hoot dissecting every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a small sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

‘Can Kim Kardashian act? The answer is a resounding no.’

But that was almost the smallest of this show's problems. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon zero star review, it was difficult to know where to start enumerating the flaws. The hilariously wooden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of wealth and consumption? The seemingly deliberate procession of cliches? Performances so bad they felt almost malicious? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and forget about this show again. Except, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to.

AKA Charlie Sheen

Considering the legal troubles, domestic violence allegations and fatherly failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d truly have known it from this multi-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of self-destructive hedonism while failing to tell us anything we weren't already aware of. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being pandered to, so any pity this show might evoke should be reserved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charming but dismissive narcissist.

The Supercomputer Drama

Naturally we understood 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 persevered out of sheer admiration for its leads … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely cared 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

Shady characters convening in empty boxing gyms? A certain band's Firestarter jackhammering away in club scenes? The late 90s called and demands its crime drama back.

In truth, that is harsh on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many seem a little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t endure the ignominy of having to accommodate unconvincing dialects. But there were plenty of other issues. Primarily that it was just profoundly dull; a conflict over narcotics territory between various London picaresques which felt rather simplistic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Considering the extent to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s almost easy to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into twee lifestyle as deliberate statements. But then you watch them and are forced to admit that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a homeware catalogue come to life; a poster for evening drinks with delusions of grandeur; a parade of sleeping dogs, buzzing beehives, sentimental sayings and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll forget instantly. All supported by vast, largely undeserved wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are obviously interesting things to be discussed about both Victoria Beckham and her journey with vocation, self-image, self-acceptance. But for some reason, this three-part series opted 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 “stern” image. But unfortunately, she failed to 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 glamorous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality managing her estate. What more could you want? As players competed, there was plenty of backstabbing and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too confusing to detail what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw glimpses of the star via filmed videos. The show ended up reeking of a production that was straining desperately to live up to something far greater than it.

Too Much

How does one follow a show that captured a generation? The pressure was immense for this starry romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who lands in London with a shattered romance. The star seized the opportunity by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of famous cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd inclusion of gifted emerging comics, expectations were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A recurring sketch was a single joke milked to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known irate mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the idea that they should probably have stayed in there a bit longer.

The Knox Dramatisation

This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely presented the viewpoint of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an interesting drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be treated sensitively. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lurching from strangely breezy, somewhat mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A total mess? Absolutely.

The Maths Genius Thriller

We admire the lead actor … but did we buy him playing the greatest maths genius since, a man so smart 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 frankly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This hagiography followed the content creator notorious for sexual exploits as she undertook her biggest challenge yet. What on earth would possess her? What we wanted was far greater examination of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the queue. They could at least have interviewed the now-famous mum who appeared to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was horrific shots and zero critical analysis of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a young daughter too.