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As we consider the television offerings of the recent year, a handful of series emerge not for their excellence, but for their spectacular failures. From awkward spin-offs to bafflingly poor documentaries, here are the programmes that had us scratching our heads or simply reaching for the remote.

The 'Sex and the City' Sequel

How to start with this divisive follow-up? Burdened with dreadful scripts, painful character development (justice for Miranda!), and a mere 71 seconds of beloved Samantha, the series fought to find its footing. Briefly, as the final series began, it looked like it had at last hit its stride. Then arrived an installment centered on Seema’s natural deodorant. Little surprise the showrunner declared this would be the last season. It ended on a bum note; the lingering shot of Miranda’s toilet flooded with poo was just way too symbolic. Still, fans undeniably had a hoot dissecting every single “what on earth?” episode. And as Carrie – once again single – danced around her palatial townhouse to Barry White, who didn’t let out a little sob?

The Kim Kardashian Drama

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

But that was practically the least of this drama's issues. The recipient of a exceedingly uncommon zero star assessment, it was difficult to know where to start enumerating the flaws. The hilariously wooden dialogue? The mind-numbing glorification of affluence and consumption? The seemingly wilful parade of tropes? Acting so poor they felt almost malicious? Suffice it to say “all of the above” and forget about this show again. However, a new season has been commissioned, so we’re likely going to have to.

The Charlie Sheen Documentary

Given the legal troubles, abuse claims and parental shortcomings, it’s fair to say Charlie Sheen has been a bad boy. Not you’d really have known it from this three-part docuseries which smirked its way at Sheen’s various episodes of reckless excess while failing to tell us anything we weren't already aware of. Rather, it felt as if this loose cannon was being indulged, so any sympathy this show might evoke should be reserved for the people who have had to endure close contact with this charming but flippant egotist.

The Iris Affair

Of course we knew it was preposterous from the get-go: a drama about a supercomputer known as Charlie Big Potatoes that could either save the world – or annihilate all of humanity. We stuck with it out of sheer admiration for its stars … but by the end, it felt like even they had stopped bothering. One barely reacted when his character died, and the other ended up hacking Charlie with an axe … in painfully slow-motion. That's what you call giving up the ghost.

The Gangster Drama

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

Actually, that is unfair on the crime shows of the late 90s. Many look a little old-fashioned now, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignominy of having to accommodate baffling accents. But there were plenty of other problems. Mainly that it was just really dull; a dispute over narcotics territory between various cockney rogues which felt rather simplistic.

The Meghan Markle Series

Considering the degree to which she provokes the ire of the nation’s ostentatiously angry commentators, it’s almost tempting to applaud the Duchess of Sussex’s televised forays into quaint homemaking as intentional provocations. But then you view them and are compelled to concede that in this case, they may have a point. It’s like watching a lifestyle magazine come to life; a poster for evening drinks with ideas of grandeur; a parade of snoozing dogs, humming beehives, sentimental sayings and pointless crafting “tips” you’ll not remember instantly. All supported by vast, mostly unearned wealth. Ugh.

Victoria Beckham

There are obviously interesting things to be said about both Victoria Beckham and her struggles with vocation, self-image, self-acceptance. But for whatever reason, this three-part series chose not to say them. Rather, the experience was akin to reading a sales brochure. She obviously has good reason to resent what she describes as her “stern” image. But unfortunately, she failed to do herself any helps 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 as a deceased benefactor and a sharp-tongued personality managing her inheritance. What more could you ask for? As contestants battled it out, there was plenty of betrayal and squabbling. But the rules quickly became bewildering: it’s still too confusing to explain what precisely was happening. Even more regrettably, we only saw brief appearances of the star via prerecorded videos. The show ended up smelling of a production that was trying way too hard to live up to something way beyond it.

The Lena Dunham Romcom

How do you follow a show that defined a generation? The pressure was enormous for this glitzy romantic comedy about Jessica, a hopeful New Yorker who lands in London with a broken heart. The lead actress took her biggest role by the horns and was joyous to watch, reveling in Jane Austen levels of romantic ideals. But it was all very slick and, ironically, was insufficient. Plus, the abundance of famous cameos involved felt icky.

Mitchell & Webb Are Not Helping

Not even good enough to be ‘patchy’.

Given the shrewd recruitment of gifted younger comics, hopes were high. But unhappily, most of it didn’t land. A particular 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 ranting 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 dramatisation 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 interesting drama to be made about the horrific 2007 murder, this was not it. The material needed to be handled with care. Rather, the series laboured awkwardly to find the right voice, lumbering from oddly jaunty, somewhat mannered farce to ultimately, real-life horror. Complex? Arguably. A complete mess? Very much so.

Prime Target

We admire the star … but did we buy him playing the most brilliant maths genius since, a man so intelligent he’s on the brink of a breakthrough that could ruin society? No! This international thriller about secret services spying on – and eliminating – intellectuals honestly got more absurd by the second. Silliness-by-numbers.

1000 Men and Me: The Bonnie Blue Story

This uncritical portrait followed the online personality renowned for sexual escapades as she undertook her most extreme challenge yet. What on earth would motivate her? What we craved was far greater interrogation of her true psychology, plus those of the men in the line. They could at least have interviewed the now-famous mum who showed up to drag her son out of the queue. What we got was disturbing imagery and zero critical analysis of her infamy whatsoever. It's staggering to consider, the filmmaker has a young daughter too.