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Looking back, we reflect on the television landscape of the past year, a handful of shows emerge not for their brilliance, but for their notable shortcomings. From awkward spin-offs to bafflingly poor docuseries, here are the productions that had us scratching our heads or just reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

Where to begin with this love/hate follow-up? Plagued with dreadful writing, painful arcs (justice for Miranda!), and a paltry 71 seconds of fan-favourite Samantha, the series struggled to justify its existence. Briefly, as the third season started, it looked like it had finally found its groove. Then came an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. No wonder the creator announced this would be the last season. It concluded on a low point; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet full of poo was just way too symbolic. Yet, fans certainly had a hoot dissecting every single “wtf?” moment. And as Carrie – once again single – twirled around her sprawling townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t release a little sob?

All’s Fair

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

But that was almost the least of this drama's issues. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon no-star review, it was difficult to know where to begin enumerating the problems. The laughably leaden writing? The mind-numbing glorification of affluence and consumption? The seemingly wilful parade of tropes? Acting so poor they felt borderline malicious? Let’s just say “each and every one” 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 allegations and fatherly failures, it’s reasonable to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d really have gleaned it from this multi-part docuseries which chuckled along at Sheen’s various bouts of reckless excess while struggling to tell us anything we weren't already aware of. Rather, it felt as if this volatile personality was being indulged, so any pity this show might induce should be saved for the people who have had to suffer proximity with this charming but dismissive egotist.

The Iris Affair

Naturally we understood it was preposterous from the get-go: a thriller about a AI known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either solve global crises – or annihilate all of humanity. We persevered out of sheer admiration for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One scarcely cared when his character died, and the other ultimately slicing Charlie with an axe … in super slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost.

MobLand

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

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

With Love, Meghan

Given the degree to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s performatively angry commentators, it’s temptingly tempting to admire the Duchess of Sussex’s various ventures into twee lifestyle as deliberate provocations. But then you view them and are compelled to admit that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle catalogue animated; a meme for wine o’clock with delusions of grandeur; a procession of sleeping dogs, buzzing beehives, Hallmark sayings and forgettable crafting “hacks” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by vast, largely unearned wealth. Ugh.

The Beckham Documentary

There are clearly interesting things to be said about regarding Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, identity, self-worth. But for some reason, this three-part series opted not to say them. Instead, the experience was akin to reading a sales brochure. She clearly has every right to resent what she describes as her “miserable cow” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any helps with this guarded non-event of a series.

The Game Show

It should have been the next cultural phenomenon – except even camper, with a famous star as a deceased benefactor and a well-known personality managing her inheritance. What more could you want? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s even now too confusing to detail what exactly was happening. Even more disappointingly, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up smelling of a production that was straining desperately to live up to something way beyond it.

Too Much

How does one follow a show that defined a generation? The pressure was immense for this starry romcom about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The star took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, embodying Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, paradoxically, was not enough. Plus, the abundance of famous cameos involved felt uncomfortable.

The Sketch Show Return

Not even good enough to be ‘uneven’.

Given the smart inclusion of talented emerging comics, expectations were high. But sadly, most of it fell flat. A recurring sketch was a single joke milked to a dry pulp but repeated in every episode. One star seemed too ready to slip into a familiar irate mode. The behind-the-scenes sketches, meanwhile, simply provoked the idea that they should probably have stayed in there a while longer.

The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox

This retelling of the story of Amanda Knox was executive produced by Amanda Knox and pretty much solely showcased the perspective of Amanda Knox. So, while there probably is an compelling drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The subject matter needed to be treated with care. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right tone, lumbering from oddly breezy, slightly 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 buy him playing the greatest maths genius in history, a man so smart he’s on the brink of a discovery that could ruin society? No! This globe-trotting thriller about government agencies spying on – and killing off – intellectuals 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 explicit exploits as she undertook her most extreme 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 legendary mum who appeared to haul her son away from the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and zero interrogation of her notoriety whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the documentary-maker has a teenage daughter too.