What I Have Been Watching: Mitch McTaggart

What shows are on your must-see TV list lately?
MM: Sherwood season 2 was my top pick for this year. Wow, such an incredibly refreshing take on a well-worn format. Black Doves is next on my list and I really want that to be good – Sarah Lancashire is incredible in everything. I keep getting told by people to watch Slow Horses, and that I should also “put it in my show”, failing to understand that my show only covers Australian content. Speaking of Australian – Fake was the best local show.

Which guilty pleasure show are you reluctant to admit watching?
MM: I’m actually on my first rewatch of Lost, I haven’t touched it since it went to air originally. Boy let me tell you, that is a solid show to power through. Some dud eps here and there, but still packs a punch. How did we ever survive only getting one ep of that a week? Plus I have to remind myself that I’m not at the mercy of Channel 7’s programming anymore – the way they’d sneakily throw in a clipshow episode to pad it out as much as they could in the ratings season. You’d never know if it was going to be a real episode or not until you sat down to watch it. I think that was my supervillain origin story.

When you settle down for a night on the couch what are your ‘must-haves?’
MM: Depending on the time of day, some kind of drink – cups of tea, coffee or wine. Maybe snacks. No phones though – I can’t get my head around people on another screen while only half paying attention to a TV show someone put their heart and soul into. If that’s you, just put on a lava lamp and stay away from my house.

What show would you secretly love to appear on?
MM: I really wanted to be on The Good Wife, then The Good Fight, and then Evil. Basically anything Robert & Michelle King do. They are TV gods. But if I have to aim more realistically, and locally: guest programme Rage. I got some bangers lined up.

What have been the bigger TV stories for you this year, and what can we expect to see in The Last Year of Television for 2024?
MM: We’ve got a pretty decent recap of the Bruce Lehrmann stuff, especially our hot take on a few things we couldn’t say in the 2023 special. When we filmed this year’s one, there were plenty of times I said to myself “Oh yeah, that was this year”, like all that outrage at Arj Barker kicking a mum out of his show (hint: there was no outrage). Plus we spend a fair chunk of the runtime dissecting what we think is the single worst hour of television in 2024. Even more gobsmacking is that no one else seemed to have noticed. And it was primetime! I don’t think anyone will guess it.

The Last Year of Television Monday December 30 on Binge / 8:30pm FOX8