Matty McLean. Photo / Supplied
For me, 2017 was the year of:
Taylor Swift. The old Taylor's dead, and I am LIVING for the new Taylor.
The best thing I watched this year was:
The Handmaid's Tale. Hands down, it has been the most gripping thing to hit our screens this year. Fascinating, harrowing, and with some incredible performances from the likes of Elisabeth Moss and Alexis Bledel. On a lighter note, I am a massive fan of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Tina Fey is a comedy genius.
The show I stopped watching was:
Grey's Anatomy. I've dedicated a LOT of hours to that show, but this year I decided I'd given it enough of my time and there were too many new, amazing shows on television to watch instead.
The series I binged the fastest was:
Downton Abbey. Yes, it's old, but I never watched it the first time around and it arrived on Netflix. My partner and I barely came up for air until we'd devoured the whole series.
The best thing I listened to was:
S-Town, the podcast series from Brian Reed. It was a beautifully told story about a complicated yet fascinating man. It was the perfect example of how a well-crafted tale can be brought to life.
The best live show I saw was:
Pleasuredome. Yes, the story was a bit naff, but I love when people try something different, and you couldn't leave that show without being impressed by the sheer spectacle of the thing. It was a brilliantly executed show and I hope we see more of that kind of out-of-the-box theatre.
The biggest letdown of the year was:
The Baywatch movie. I love hilariously terrible films (and I LOVE love Zac Efron) but this was just god-awful. The plot was awful and it wasn't funny at all.
And my personal highlight was:
Getting the chance to move home to New Zealand for a job I genuinely get a kick out of every day. Being able to work with an incredible team, travel the country, having a laugh with real New Zealanders is honestly such a joy. It makes my 3.45am alarm worth it.
Matty McLean presents the weather on TVNZ's Breakfast, returning in January 2018.
From fake snow to a fake film.