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Looking back, we reflect on the TV offerings of the past year, a selection of shows stand out not for their excellence, but for their notable failures. Ranging from awkward spin-offs to bafflingly bad documentaries, here are the programmes that had us utterly bewildered or just reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

How to start with this divisive follow-up? Burdened with woeful writing, cringe-inducing character development (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series fought to justify its existence. For a moment, as the final series started, it looked like it had at last hit its stride. Then arrived an installment all about Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner announced this would be the final series. It ended on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s loo full of poo was simply too symbolic. Still, fans certainly had a hoot dissecting every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – a single woman once more – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who couldn't let out a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was almost the smallest of this drama's problems. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon no-star review, it was hard to know where to begin listing the problems. The hilariously wooden writing? The tedious veneration of wealth and consumption? The seemingly deliberate parade of cliches? Performances so bad they felt borderline malicious? 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 likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the restraining orders, 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 three-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various episodes of self-destructive hedonism while failing to tell us a single thing we didn’t already know. Instead, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any pity this show might evoke should be reserved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charismatic but dismissive narcissist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we knew it was preposterous from the get-go: a thriller about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or annihilate all of humanity. We stuck with it out of pure admiration for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had given up trying. One scarcely cared when his character died, and the other ended up slicing Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. Talk about admitting defeat.

MobLand

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

Actually, that is unfair on the gangland dramas of the late 90s. Many look a bit old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the embarrassment of having to accommodate baffling dialects. But there were many other issues. Mainly that it was just really boring; a dispute over drug-selling territory between various cockney rogues which seemed rather simplistic.

With Love, Meghan

Considering the extent to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s almost tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into twee lifestyle as deliberate statements. But then you view them and are compelled to concede that actually, they may have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue come to life; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark sayings and forgettable crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by immense, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are obviously fascinating things to be discussed about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, identity, self-worth. But for some reason, this documentary series chose not to say them. Instead, the experience was like reading a sales catalogue. She obviously has good reason to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But sadly, she failed to do herself any favours with this cagey 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 well-known personality overseeing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and arguing. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too confusing to detail what precisely was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw glimpses of the star via prerecorded videos. The series ended up reeking of a programme that was trying way too hard to live up to something far greater than it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you follow a show that captured a generation? The pressure was enormous for this starry romcom about Jessica, a rosy-eyed New Yorker who arrives in London with a broken heart. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very glossy and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of famous friends involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the smart recruitment of gifted 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 repeated in every episode. One star seemed too willing to slip into a well-known ranting mode. The writing room sketches, in contrast, simply inspired the idea that they should probably have remained in there a while longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was overseen by Amanda Knox and pretty much exclusively presented the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an interesting drama to be made about the tragic 2007 murder, this isn’t it. The material needed to be handled with care. Instead, the series struggled painfully to find the right tone, lurching from strangely jaunty, slightly mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Complex? Perhaps. A complete mess? Absolutely.

Prime Target

We admire the lead actor … but did we believe him playing the greatest maths genius since, a man so intelligent he’s on the brink of a discovery that could destabilise society? Nope! This international thriller about government agencies targeting – and killing off – academics frankly got more farcical by the second. Formulaic nonsense.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This hagiography followed the online personality notorious for sexual escapades as she prepared for her most extreme feat yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we wanted was far greater interrogation of her true psyche, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have interviewed the legendary mum who showed up to drag her son away from the queue. What we got was horrific imagery and absolutely no interrogation of her notoriety whatsoever. And to think, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.