The Last Year of Television

An initial special was created for community television station C31 Melbourne in 2019, which McTaggart described as "a test run" and "a pilot" to pitch to SBS. Regarding the concept, McTaggart explained to The West Australian that despite existing review programmes such as The Weekly or ''Shaun Micallef's Mad as Hell'', "no one really bothers [to cover] Australian TV, which is fairly... disappointing." In an interview with SBS, McTaggart said that world events and politics were "well and truly mined by all those other shows", and so he instead wanted to "lean into the more niche moments" of Australian television. == Format ==

The Last Year of Television provides a month-by-month recap of the highs and lows of specifically Australian television from the past year. The commentary is often crass and "snarky" to illustrate points. Each special is broken up with occasional long-form segments, such as detailed analyses of how news can create large-scale outrage, or discussions of how television can exploit an event or single person in the pursuit of ratings. McTaggart often draws from Australian TV history to make observations and comparisons with current programming. == Production ==

McTaggart writes the show and watches Australian television throughout the year to collect clips, explaining in 2022: "I usually write a few notes when a moment happens, then flesh it out later depending on runtime. Some stuff gets the chop later in relation to the other content – [for instance] if there’s too many downer stories, or too many consecutive critiques of a single network." Some topics become running jokes. Beginning in 2020, McTaggart talked about how Channel Seven sitcom Fam Time had yet to air, despite being shot in 2019. This was mentioned in every subsequent special until Seven finally released the series in 2024, where it was reviewed in that year's show. After the 2020 special, SBS also broadcast the companion series The Back Side of Television in 2021, containing a wider scope without the limitations of a year-in-review format. Both shows then migrated to streaming platform Binge in 2022. == Series overview ==

The first SBS special aired in 2020. For the 2022 special onward, it was released on Binge. In June 2024, it was renewed for a 2025 special. == Episodes ==

The Last Year of Television has received consistently positive reviews. It regularly attracts praise for its humour and research. Screenhub wrote "it’s a show made by people who care enough about television to tell it like it is," adding that "[McTaggart's] take on the local industry is both funny and well-informed, backed up by the kind of in-depth research that rarely goes into coverage of anything on television." Metro Magazine described the show as "careful, honest and hilarious", with "a sharp humour reminiscent of iconic UK series Charlie Brooker’s Screenwipe." Clare Rigden of The West Australian wrote that "we owe [McTaggart] a debt of gratitude... he's been able to articulate so much of what we find askew and not-quite-right about Australian TV." In December 2025, Screenhub featured Last Year in the 5 best Australian TV series of 2025, shared jointly with The Back Side of Television. == Awards and nominations ==

In 2023, The Last Year of Television won the AWGIE award for Comedy (Sketch or Light Entertainment), and was nominated again in 2024. == See also ==