Busy Kruger surprises with Gold Logie success
Sonia Kruger has taken out the top prize at the 2023 Logie Awards. ‘I have to compose myself, I’m not used to being on TV,’ the star quipped | FULL WINNERS LIST
Sonia Kruger has taken out the top prize at the 2023 Logie Awards.
“I have to compose myself, I’m not used to being on TV,” she quipped upon accepting her Gold Logie trophy.
Kruger, 57, is unmatched in terms of screen-time, with roles on Big Brother, Dancing With The Stars and The Voice, all on the Seven Network.
She beat out two-time winner Hamish Blake, fresh faces such as The Bachelor’s Osher Gunsberg, Mystery Road star Mark Coles Smith and ABC presenter Leigh Sales, and previous Gold nominees Julia Morris and Shaun Micallef.
For the first time, live voting remained open until 10:30pm. It closed a half an hour before the Gold Award was set to be announced.
The old establishment and the new generation of streaming stars walked the red carpet at the Star Casino for the 2023 Logie Awards, with married comedy duo Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall as the most decorated stars of the evening. The first season of Dyer and Brammall’s homegrown Binge original comedy, Colin from Accounts, was a hit in Australia and overseas, triumphing in the most outstanding comedy program category, and the couple scored gongs for most outstanding actor and actress.
“I don’t condone gambling. I find it abhorrent and vile. But my parents have been watching the odds for this. And I wasn’t it,” Dyer said during her best actress acceptance speech. She took a moment to thank her co-star, co-creator, and husband. “He made me sit down and write this, probably because I was being annoying in the house. If anyone could find a partner half as amazing as him, then you are going to have a great life.”
Binge notched another winner with The Twelve. The Sam Neill-led courtroom drama won the silver Logie for most outstanding drama series, over Stan’s Black Snow, Paramount+’s Five Bedrooms, and ABC’s In Our Blood, Mystery Road: Origin, and Significant Others. The Twelve’s Brooke Satchwell also picked up the best supporting actress gong, and Neill won most popular actor. “I don’t know why they’ve given this to me,” he said.
The familiar faces of two-time Gold Logie winner Hamish Blake, Sonia Kruger, and Shaun Micallef all appeared on the red carpet. Veterans of the ceremony opted for all the usual frivolous pleasures: lots of trailing gowns, blinding sequins, beads, glitter, and revolutionary shades of fake tan.
Australian designers dominated the carpet, with gowns from Carla Zampatti, Bianca Spender, Rebecca Vallance, and Mariam Seddiq, and suits by MJ Bale and Peter Jackson. But it was the new guard of Australian stars that brought fizz to an otherwise-stale carpet, with the cast of Heartbreak High, the Netflix reboot that was a runaway success internationally, all opting for beautiful, industrial outfits in gothic black.
The young cast picked up a slew of nominations for its first season, including for the most popular drama, with two of its cast, Ayesha Madon and Chloe Hayden, in the running for the Graham Kennedy Award for most popular new talent. They lost out to Amy Shark for Australian Idol, a weird choice if there ever was one.
Heartbreak High didn’t go home empty-handed; Thomas Weatherall, who plays Hartley High new student Malakai Mitchell, took home his first Logie for most outstanding supporting actor. “This is a crazy, wonderful, and psychotic show to be a part of,” he said. “I feel very lucky to be here.”
Shark may have been the biggest surprise of the night, but the biggest snub went to Bluey, which lost out in the most outstanding children’s program category. Instead, the Logie went to another ABC program, Crazy Fun Park.
For the first time in 11 years, the Logies had a host, Sam Pang from Have You Been Paying Attention? Pang brought a welcome frisson to the evening and even managed to land a few zingers despite facing a crowd that gave him little to work with. “Welcome to the Logies. Over the next two days we’re going to have a lot of fun. If you’re under 25, welcome to free-to-air television,” he said during his opening monologue.
Elsewhere, he issued a warning to future winners: “Don’t mix your acceptance speech with an active court case.”
The ceremony paid tribute to television executive Brian Walsh, who died this year and was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame. Walsh had an impressive four-decade career as a prominent media, entertainment, and sports publicist and was credited for the global success of Neighbours, which launched the careers of international stars Kylie Minogue, Guy Pearce, and Margot Robbie.
“Pour one for Brian, one of the true greats. We keep a picture of Brian pinned up in our writing room at home; he really was someone special,” Harriet Dyer said.
After an uncomfortable musical number from Todd McKenney, MasterChef Australia’s Fans and Favourites won most popular reality TV program. The show went to air one week after the death of one of its three hosts, Jock Zonfrillo. “As I stand here tonight, it’s still hard to believe that my mate and our amazing judge Jock is no longer with us,” Executive producer Marty Benson said. “Tonight we are going to celebrate Jock-style.”
The award for most outstanding factual or documentary program went to The Australian Wars from Blackfella Films, the company that was founded by Rachel Perkins and Darren Dale in 2001, and this year produced the Sydney Film Festival closing documentary The Dark Emu Story.
In her review for The Australian, Helen Trinca wrote, “The Australian Wars, like Noel Pearson’s ABC Boyer Lectures on Radio National in 2022, is outstanding, the kind of show that changes attitudes and detonates the half-truths that have dominated white society’s view of the wars that began after the arrival of the British in 1788.”
Perkins used her speech to champion the Yes campaign for an Indigenous voice to parliament. “It is a difficult part of our history but it is something that we are coming to terms with and it is part of this great nation of ours,” she said of her film.. “And actually this year, in October, hopefully, we will have the opportunity to embrace our history and bring the country together with one simple word.
“What is that word,” she asked the audience, which was met with a resounding “Yes”.
2023 Logie Winners
TV Week Logie – Hall of Fame Award
Brian Walsh
TV Week Silver Logie for Most Outstanding Actor:
Winner: Patrick Brammall, Colin from Accounts, BINGE
Mark Coles Smith, Mystery Road: Origin, ABC
Richard Roxburgh, Bali 2002, Stan
Sam Neill, The Twelve, FOXTEL & BINGE
Tim Draxl, In Our Blood, ABC
Tim Minchin, Upright (Season 2), FOXTEL & BINGE
TV Week Silver Logie for Most Outstanding Actress:
Winner: Harriet Dyer, Colin from Accounts, BINGE
Claudia Jesse, Bali 2002, Stan
Claudia Karvan, Bump Season 3, Stan
Kate Mulvany, The Twelve, FOXTEL & BINGE
Marta Dusseldorp, The Twelve, FOXTEL & BINGE
Milly Alcock, Upright (Season 2), FOXTEL & BINGE
TV Week Silver Logie for Most Outstanding Supporting Actor:
Winner: Thomas Weatherall, Heartbreak High, Netflix
Alexander England, Black Snow, Stan
Arka Das, Here Out West, ABC
Clarence Ryan, Mystery Road: Origin, ABC
Hamish Michael, The Twelve, FOXTEL & BINGE
Luke Arnold, True Colours, SBS
TV Week Silver Logie for Most Outstanding Supporting Actress:
Winner: Brooke Satchwell, The Twelve, FOXTEL & BINGE
Hayley McElhinney, Mystery Road: Origin, ABC
Miranda Otto, True Colours, SBS
Pallavi Sharda, The Twelve, FOXTEL & BINGE
Virginia Gay, After The Verdict, 9 Network
Yerin Ha, Bad Behaviour, Stan
Most Outstanding Drama Series, Miniseries or Telemovie:
Winner: The Twelve, FOXTEL & BINGE
Black Snow, Stan
Five Bedrooms, Paramount+
In Our Blood, ABC
Mystery Road: Origin, ABC
Significant Others, ABC
Most Outstanding Entertainment Program:
Winner: The Cheap Seats, Network 10
Gruen Nation Season 3, ABC
Hard Quiz, ABC
LEGO® Masters Australia, 9 Network
RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under Season 2, Stan
The Masked Singer Australia, Network 10
Most Outstanding Comedy Program:
Winner: Colin from Accounts, BINGE
Fisk S2, ABC
Have You Been Paying Attention?, Network 10
Shaun Micallef‘s Mad As Hell, ABC
Summer Love, ABC
Taskmaster, Network 10
Most Outstanding Reality Program:
Winner: MasterChef Australia: Fans & Favourites, Network 10
Australian Survivor: Heroes v Villains, Network 10
Hunted Australia, Network 10
I‘m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!, Network 10
Married At First Sight, 9 Network
The Block, 9 Network
Most Outstanding News Coverage or Public Affairs Report:
Winner: Foreign Correspondent – Saving the Children, ABC
7 NEWS – Turkey Earthquake, Seven Network
A Current Affair – SeaWorld Helicopter Disaster, 9 Network
Foreign Correspondent – Somalia: A Story of Survival, ABC
Four Corners – Do No Harm, ABC
Four Corners – How Many More, ABC
Most Outstanding Sports Coverage:
Winner: State of Origin, 9 Network
2022 AFL Grand Final, Seven Network
2022 FIFA World Cup, SBS
2022 Melbourne Cup Carnival, Network 10
2023 Australian Open, 9 Network
Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, Seven Network
Most Outstanding Children’s Program:
Winner: Crazy Fun Park, ABC
Barrumbi Kids, SBS
Bluey, ABC
Surviving Summer, Netflix
Turn Up The Volume, ABC
Ultimate Classroom, Network 10
Most Outstanding Factual or Documentary Program:
Winner: The Australian Wars, SBS
Alone Australia, SBS
Australia‘s Wild Odyssey, ABC
Old People‘s Home For Teenagers, ABC
Revealed: Trafficked, Stan
Todd Sampson’s Mirror Mirror: Love & Hate, Network
Most Popular Actor
Winner: Sam Neill, The Twelve, FOXTEL & BINGE
James Stewart, Home And Away, Seven Network
Lincoln Younes, After The Verdict, Last King of The Cross & Barons, 9Network, Paramount+ & ABC
Mark Coles Smith, Mystery Road: Origin, ABC
Patrick Brammall, Colin from Accounts & Summer Love, BINGE & ABC
Ray Meagher, Home And Away, Seven Network
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