Late comedian Cal Wilson honoured ahead of 2024 AACTAs

Much-loved comedian Cal Wilson has been nominated in a new category at the 2024 AACTA awards, three months after her sudden death from cancer. See the full list of nominees.

Much-loved comedian Cal Wilson has been recognised with a posthumous nomination at the 2024 AACTA Awards.

Wilson, who passed away after a short battle with a rare and aggressive form of cancer in October, has been nominated in the Best Comedy Performer award for her work on Foxtel Group’s The Great Australian Bake Off. Other nominees include Hard Quiz’s Tom Gleeson; The 1% Club’s Jim Jefferies; Luke McGregor and Nina Oyama for Taskmaster Australia season 1, RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under’s Rhys Nicholson and The Weekly’s Charlie Pickering.

Cal Wilson has been posthumously nominated in the new AACTA category Best Comedy Performer. Picture: Foxtel

GABO co-host Natalie Tran, who is nominated in the same category, said true improv comedians such as her late friend are “rare and they are brilliant”.

“They possess with and cleverness and can adapt both at rapid speed in a way that fills a room with joy,” Ms Tran said.

“Cal had that talent and what’s amazing is that it was the second most impressive thing about her. The first was what an excellent person she was.”

Judge Darren Purchese – who joined the new panel alongside Brit cook Rachel Khoo, Tram and Wilson this year, said Wilson was “a shining light and a beautiful person”.

“Cal was a shining light in our industry and a beautiful person,” he said.

“We all know how talented she was, and quick and funny but Cal was also the consummate professional. Always on hand to make production easy and could handle every situation. She was a joy to work with on The Great Australian Bake Off and really showed the meaning of love, teamwork, talent and joy to everyone on set.

Celebrity chef Poh Ling Yeow's with late comedian Cal Wilson. Picture: Instagram/pohlingyeow

Cal Wilson passed away in October after a short battle with cancer. Picture: Instagram/pohlingyeow

“She will be missed by many but her legacy of kindness and strength will live on. I loved Cal and so did so many others.”

Gleeson – who has two AACTA Awards – tips Wilson will win the award.

“Everyone knows how funny, witty and kind Cal was but she was also very smart,” he said.

“Very funny. Very clever. When we were on set for Skithouse back in the day, we’d all do the quiz in the newspaper.

“She beat the entire cast every bloody day. It was infuriating. She’ll probably win this award too.”

The nominations were announced Saturday morning on the Gold Coast – the new home of the AACTAs, which celebrate the Australian Film and Television industry, under a three-year deal with the Queensland Government.

Binge’s hugely-popular Colin From Accounts is among the most-nominated TV series with 10 nods including Best Acting in a Comedy and Best Narrative Comedy Series for its debut six episodes. ABC’s The Newsreader tops the list with 15 noms, Prime Video’s The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart with 12 and its steaming stablemate Deadloch with 10.

While in the film categories – The New Boy tops the list with 12 nominations, Talk to Me attracted 11, Shayda nine and Sweet As seven.

The winners will be announced on February 10. The new date designed to bring the ceremony in line with the international awardsschedule.

A five-day festival will accompany the AACTA Awards. Spanning February 7-11, the “celebration of film, TV, streaming, music, and digital content” will include a day devoted exclusively to First Nations content and creatives, networking hubs, and a Screen Careers Expo for those curious about pursuing a career in film or television.

SEE THE FULL LIST OF NOMINATIONS

TELEVISION

Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer.

Best Acting in a Comedy

Celeste Barber – Wellmania (Netflix)

Kate Box – Deadloch (Prime Video)

Patrick Brammall – Colin From Accounts (Binge, Foxtel)

Harriet Dyer – Colin From Accounts (Binge, Foxtel)

Kitty Flanagan – Fisk (ABC)

Nina Oyama – Deadloch (Prime Video)

Helen Thomson – Colin From Accounts (Binge, Foxtel)

Julia Zemiro – Fisk (ABC)

Best Casting in Television

Colin From Accounts – Kirsty McGregor, Stevie Ray

Deadloch – Alison Telford, Kate Leonard

Safe Home – Nathan Lloyd

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart – Jane Norris

The Newsreader – Nathan Lloyd

Best Children’s Program

Barrumbi Kids (NITV, SBS)

Beep and Mort (ABC)

Bluey (ABC)

Crazy Fun Park (ABC)

The PM’s Daughter (ABC)

Turn Up The Volume (ABC)

Hosts Brian Nankervis and Julia Zemiro on the set of Foxtel's reboot of RocKwiz.

Best Cinematography in Television

Aunty Donna’s Coffee Cafe – Episode 1 – Aaron Farrugia

Deadloch – Episode 1 – Katie Milwright

Erotic Stories – Episode 2 – Tania Lambert

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart – Episode 1 – Sam Chiplin

The Newsreader – Episode 4 – Earle Dresner

Best Comedy Entertainment Program

Hard Quiz (ABC)

RocKwiz (Foxtel)

Taskmaster Australia (Ten)

Thank God You’re Here (Ten)

The Cheap Seats (Ten)

The Weekly with Charlie Pickering (ABC)

Best Comedy Performer

Tom Gleeson – Hard Quiz (ABC)

Jim Jefferies – The 1% Club (Seven Network)

Luke McGregor – Taskmaster Australia (Ten)

Rhys Nicholson – RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under (Stan)

Nina Oyama – Taskmaster Australia (Ten)

Charlie Pickering – The Weekly with Charlie Pickering (ABC)

Natalie Tran – The Great Australian Bake Off (Foxtel)

Cal Wilson – The Great Australian Bake Off (Foxtel)

Nina Oyama as Abby Matsuda and Kate Box as Dulcie Collins in the new murder mystery series, Deadloch.

Best Costume Design in Television

Ten Pound Poms – Episode 1 – Xanthe Heubel

The Claremont Murders – Episode 1 – Lisa Galea Gunning

The Clearing – Episode 1 – Erin Roche

The Newsreader – Episode 4 – Zed Dragojlovich

While The Men Are Away – Episode 2 – Nina Edwards

Best Direction in Drama or Comedy

Colin From Accounts (Episode 3) – Trent O’Donnell (Binge, Foxtel)

Colin From Accounts (Episode 6) – Matt Moore (Binge, Foxtel)

Deadloch (Episode 1) – Ben Chessell (Prime Video)

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (Episode 1) – Glendyn Ivin (Prime Video)

The Newsreader (Episode 4) – Emma Freeman (ABC)

Best Direction in Nonfiction Television

Aaron Chen: If Weren’t Filmed, Nobody Would Believe – Henry Stone (YouTube Premium)

Adam and Poh’s Great Australian Bites (Episode 1) – Josh Martin (SBS)

Matildas: The World at Our Feet (Episode 2) – Katie Bender Wynn (Disney+)

Queerstralia (Episode 1) – Stamatia Maroupas (ABC)

The Australian Wars (Episode 1) – Rachel Perkins, Dylan River, Tov Belling (SBS)

Sam Kerr of the Matildas. Picture: James Worsfold/Getty Images

Best Documentary or Factual Program

Matildas: The World at Our Feet (Disney+)

Ningaloo Nyinggulu (ABC)

Queerstralia (ABC)

The Australian Wars (NITV, SBS)

War on Waste (ABC)

Who Do You Think You Are (ABC)

Best Drama Series

Bay Of Fires (ABC)

Black Snow (Stan)

Bump (Stan)

Erotic Stories (SBS)

Love Me (Binge)

The Newsreader (ABC)

Hayley and Emma Watkins ahead of the Finale of the Amazing Race. Picture: David Swift

Best Editing in Television

Aunty Donna’s Coffee Cafe – Episode 1 – Peter Bennett

Colin From Accounts – Episode 3 – Danielle Boesenberg

Deadloch – Episode 1 – Angie Higgins

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart – Episode 1 – Deborah Peart

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart – Episode 6 – Deborah Peart, Dany Cooper

The Newsreader – Episode 4 – Angie Higgins

Best Entertainment Program

Dancing With The Stars (Seven)

Eurovision Song Contest 2023 - Grand Final (SBS)

Lego Masters: Grand Masters (Nine)

Mastermind (SBS)

The 1% Club (Seven Network)

The Amazing Race Australia: Celebrity Edition (Ten)

Best Factual Entertainment Program

Alone Australia (SBS)

Gogglebox Australia (Foxtel, Ten)

Kitchen Cabinet (ABC)

Old People’s Home for Teenagers (ABC)

Take 5 with Zan Rowe (ABC)

Who The Bloody Hell Are We? (SBS)

Hugo Weaving.

Bojana Novakovic.

Best Lead Actor in a Drama

Tim Draxl – In Our Blood (ABC)

Travis Fimmel – Black Snow (Stan)

Joel Lago – Erotic Stories (SBS)

Sam Reid – The Newsreader (ABC)

Richard Roxburgh – Bali 2002 (Stan)

Hugo Weaving – Love Me (Binge, Foxtel)

Best Lead Actress in a Drama

Kate Box – Erotic Stories (SBS)

Aisha Dee – Safe Home (SBS)

Bojana Novakovic – Love Me (Foxtel)

Teresa Palmer – The Clearing (Disney+)

Anna Torv – The Newsreader (ABC)

Sigourney Weaver – The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (Prime Video)

The Selling Houses Australia team Dennis Scott, Wendy Moore and Andrew Winter. Picture: Foxtel

Best Lifestyle Program

Adam and Poh’s Great Australian Bites (SBS)

Gardening Australia (ABC)

Grand Designs Australia (Foxtel)

Love it or List It Australia (Binge, Foxtel)

Selling Houses Australia (Foxtel)

The Great Australian Bake Off (Foxtel)

Best Miniseries

Bad Behaviour (Stan)

In Our Blood (ABC)

Safe Home (SBS)

The Clearing (Disney+)

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (Amazon Prime Video)

While The Men Are Away (SBS)

Tim Minchin and Milly Allcock in season 2 of Upright. Picture: Foxtel

Best Narrative Comedy Series

Colin From Accounts (Binge, Foxtel)

Deadloch (Amazon Prime Video)

Fisk (ABC)

Gold Diggers (ABC)

Upright (Foxtel)

Utopia (ABC)

Best Original Score in Television

Bad Behaviour – Episode 1 – Caitlin Yeo

Deadloch – Episode 1 – Amanda Brown

Fisk – Episode 4 – Megan Washington, Daniel O’Brien

In Limbo – Episode 1 – Matteo Zingales

RFDS – Episode 5 – Amanda Brown, Damien Lane

Best Production Design in Television

Beep and Mort – Episode 2 – Jonathon Oxlade

Black Snow – Episode 1 – Helen O’Loan

Deadloch – Episode 1 – Emma Fletcher

Gold Diggers – Episode 3 – Simon McCutcheon

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart – Episode 1 – Melinda Doring

The Newsreader – Episode 4 – Paddy Reardon

Best Reality Program

Australian Survivor: Heroes V Villains (Network Ten)

FBOY Island Australia (Binge)

Hunted Australia (Network Ten)

MasterChef Australia (Network Ten)

Real Housewives of Sydney (Binge, Foxtel)

RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under (Stan)

Bob Morley, Bojana Novakovic, William Lodder, Heather Mitchell and Hugo Weaving reunited for season 2 of Love Me. Picture: Supplied by Binge

Best Screenplay in Television

Black Snow (Episode 1) – Lucas Taylor (Stan)

Colin From Accounts (Episode 3) – Harriet Dyer (Binge, Foxtel)

Colin From Accounts (Episode 6) – Patrick Brammall (Binge, Foxtel)

Deadloch (Episode 1) – Kate McCartney, Kate McLennan (Prime Video)

The Newsreader (Episode 4) – Adrian Russell Wills (ABC)

Best Sound in Television

Black Snow – Episode 6 – Mark Cornish, Tom Heuzenroeder, Justin Spasevski, Robert Mackenzie

Last King of The Cross – Episode 4 – Grant Shepherd

The Clearing – Episode 1 – Roger van Wensveen, David Williams, Ralph Ortner

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart – Episode 6 – David Lee, Robert Mackenzie

The Newsreader – Episode 6 – Nick Godkin, Ralph Ortner, Lee Yee, Liesl Pietersen

Best Stand-Up Special

Aaron Chen: If Weren’t Filmed, Nobody Would Believe (YouTube Premium)

Celeste Barber: Fine, thanks (Netflix)

Hannah Gadsby: Something Special (Netflix)

Jim Jefferies: High & Dry (Netflix)

Lizzy Hoo: Hoo Cares!? (Amazon Prime Video)

Rhys Nicholson’s Big Queer Comedy Concert (Amazon Prime Video)

Best Supporting Actor in a Drama

Tim Draxl – Erotic Stories (SBS)

Alexander England – Black Snow (Stan)

William McInnes – The Newsreader (ABC)

Bob Morley – Love Me (Binge, Foxtel)

Hunter Page-Lochard – The Newsreader (ABC)

Guy Pearce – The Clearing (Disney+)

Best Supporting Actress in a Drama

Alycia Debnam-Carey – The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (Prime Video)

Marg Downey – The Newsreader (ABC)

Michelle Lim Davidson – The Newsreader (ABC)

Heather Mitchell – Love Me (Binge, Foxtel)

Leah Purcell – The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (Prime Video)

Brooke Satchwell – Black Snow (Stan)

FILM

Best Casting

Run Rabbit Run – Allison Meadows, Keziah Morgan

Shayda – Anousha Zarkesh

Sweet As – Jane Norris

The New Boy – Anousha Zarkesh

The Royal Hotel – Kirsty McGregor

Shantae Barnes-Cowan in Sweet As

Best Cinematography

Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism – Carl Allison

Shayda – Sherwin Akbarzadeh

Sweet As – Katie Milwright

Talk to Me – Aaron McLisky

The New Boy – Warwick Thornton

Best Costume Design

Blueback – Lien See Leong

Carmen – Emily Seresin

Seriously Red – Tim Chappel

The New Boy – Heather Wallace

The Rooster – Ellen Stanistreet

Best Direction

Of An Age – Goran Stolevski

Shayda – Noora Niasari

Sweet As – Jub Clerc

Talk to Me – Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou

The New Boy – Warwick Thornton

The Royal Hotel – Kitty Green

Julia Garner in The Royal Hotel. Picture: Supplied.

Best Editing

Carmen – Dany Cooper

Limbo – Ivan Sen

Sweet As – Katie Flaxman

Talk to Me – Geoff Lamb

The New Boy – Nick Meyers

Best Film

Of An Age

Shayda

Sweet As

Talk to Me

The New Boy

The Royal Hotel

Best Indie Film

A Savage Christmas

Limbo

Monolith

Streets of Colour

The Rooster

The Survival of Kindness

Simon Baker in Limbo.

Best Lead Actor

Elias Anton – Of An Age

Simon Baker – Limbo

Thom Green – Of An Age

Phoenix Raei – The Rooster

Aswan Reid – The New Boy

Osamah Sami – Shayda

Best Lead Actress in Film

Zar Amir Ebrahimi – Shayda

Shantae Barnes-Cowan – Sweet As

Cate Blanchett – The New Boy

Julia Garner – The Royal Hotel

Sarah Snook – Run Rabbit Run

Sophie Wilde – Talk to Me

Cate Blanchett in The New Boy. Picture: Ben King

Best Original Score

Blueback – Nigel Westlake

Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism – Dmitri Golovko

Suka – Me-Lee Hay

Talk to Me – Cornel Wilczek

The Big Dog – Sam Weiss

Best Production Design

Carmen – Steven Jones-Evans

Scarygirl – Nathan Jurevicius

The New Boy – Amy Baker

The Portable Door – Matthew Putland

True Spirit – Michelle McGahey, Bill Booth, Gillian Butler

Best Screenplay

Of An Age – Goran Stolevski

Shayda – Noora Niasari

Talk to Me – Danny Philippou, Bill Hinzman

The New Boy – Warwick Thornton

The Royal Hotel – Kitty Green, Oscar Redding

Best Sound

Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism – Benni Knop

Scarygirl – Stuart Morton, Cameron Grant

Seriously Red – Sam Hayward, Angus Robertson, Guntis Sic, Danielle Wiessner

Talk to Me – Emma Bortignon, Pete Smith, Nick Steele

Three Chords and the Truth – Anthony Marsh

Eric Bana Photo in Blueback. Picture: Robert Connolly

Best Supporting Actor

Mojean Aria – Shayda

Eric Bana – Blueback

Wayne Blair – The New Boy

Rob Collins – Limbo

Zoe Terakes – Talk to Me

Hugo Weaving – The Rooster

Supporting Actress

Alex Jensen – Talk to Me

Deborah Mailman – The New Boy

Tasma Walton – Sweet As

Mia Wasikowska – Blueback

Ursula Yovich – The Royal Hotel

Selina Zahednia – Shayda

Deborah Mailman and Wayne Blair in The New Boy. Picture: Ben King

SHORT FILM

An Ostrich Told Me the World is Fake and I Think I Believe It

Ashes

Finding Addison

Jia

Not Dark Yet

DOCUMENTARY

Best Cinematography in a Documentary

Australia’s Wild Odyssey – Nick Robinson, Jack Riley, Ashley Gibb, Caspar Mazzotti

Shackleton: The Greatest Story of Survival – Caspar Mazzotti, Cam Batten, Nick Robinson, Miles Rowland

The Dark Emu Story – Simon Morris

The Giants – Sherwin Akbarzadeh

This Is Going To Be Big – Alex Serafini

Best Documentary

Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story

Harley & Katya

John Farnham: Finding The Voice

The Dark Emu Story

The Giants

The Last Daughter

This Is Going To Be Big

To Never Forget

John Farnham in a scene from the documentary film John Farnham: Finding the Voice.

Best Editing in a Documentary

Because We Have Each Other – Patrick McCabe

Folau – Peter Crombie, Lawrie Silvestrin

Harley & Katya – Simon Njoo, Pete Ward

Queerstralia – Aleck Morton, Lydia Springhall

The Australian Wars – Andrea Lang, Mark Atkin, Hilary Balmond

Best Original Score in a Documentary

John Farnham: Finding The Voice – David Hirschfelder

Kindred – Caitlin Yeo

Splice Here: A Projected Odyssey – Brett Aplin, Burkhard Dallwitz

The Dark Emu Story – Caitlin Yeo, Damien Lane

Under Cover – Mark D’Angelo

ONLINE

Best Online Drama or Comedy

Appetite – Mohini Herse, Karen Radzyner

Latecomers – Liam Heyen, Hannah Ngo, Angus Thompson, Emma Myers, Nina Oyama, Madeleine Gottlieb, Alistair Baldwin

Me & Her(pes) – Gemma Bird Matheson, Hannah Ngo, Kasia Vickery, Vic Zerbst

Monologue – Jim Wright, Elise Trenorden, Nicholas Clifford, Nina Oyama

The Disposables – Karen Radzyner, Renny Wijeyamohan, Sonia Whiteman, Keir Wilkins

The Future of Everything – Nicholas Colla, Mike Greaney, Nicolette Minster

Sigourney Weaver as June Hart in The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart. Picture: Supplied.

OTHER

Best Hair and Makeup

Last King of The Cross – Jennifer Lamphee

Talk to Me – Rebecca Buratto, Paul Katte, Nick Nicolaou

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart – Lara Jade Birch, Georgia Lockhart-Adams

The Portable Door – Jennifer Lamphee

Wolf Like Me – Sheldon Wade, Adam Johansen, Damian Martin

Best Visual Effects or Animation

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – Jesse James Chisholm, Fiona Campbell Westgate, Jamie Macdougall, Rachel Copp, Paul Corbould – Rising Sun Pictures

I Am Groot: Season 2 – Kirsten Lepore, Brad Winderbaum, Raphael de Almeida Pimentel, Adam Goins – Luma Pictures

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny – Andrew Whitehurst, Kathy Siegel, Alistair Williams, Julian Hutchens, Ian Cope – Rising Sun Pictures

Scarygirl – Sophie Byrne, Tania Vincent, Ricard Cussó, Nathan Jurevicius – Highly Spirited

Wolf Like Me – Jason Hawkins, Mark Millar, Martina Joison, Flavia Riley, Matthew Chance – Alt.vfx

.

Originally published as Late comedian Cal Wilson honoured ahead of 2024 AACTAs