Why comedian host Sam Pang will get this year’s Logie Awards off to a flying start
There will be plenty of nervous actors and TV presenters in the room when Logies host Sam Pang delivers his opening monologue on Sunday. Here’s why.
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We’ve sifted through the latest offerings from TV and streaming platforms to find the best shows you should be watching this week.
THE LOGIES
SUNDAY, 7PM, CHANNEL 7
It might be slightly lacking in star power this year, but it’s still Aussie TV’s night of nights and with funny man Sam Pang hosting for the third straight year, it should get off to a flyer with an opening monologue that will no doubt have plenty shifting uncomfortably in their seats. With the recent axings of The Project, Neighbours and Q&A, there’s plenty of material to work with but expect proceedings to go to an entirely new level should the unthinkable happen and two-time winner Hamish Blake somehow nabs the coveted Gold Logie as the only bloke in a field of six very talented women. It could also be a big night for the streamers, with Netflix dominating the acting categories thanks to Territory and Apple Cider Vinegar and Binge/Foxtel also well represented thanks to The Twelve and Colin From Accounts. Sonia Kruger and Chris Brown will host the red carpet from 7pm – and ageless Aussie rocker Jimmy Barnes is promising a live performance that will “get the party jumping.”
GORDON RAMSAY’S SECRET SERVICE
WEDNESDAY, 7.30PM, CHANNEL 10
Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay is his usual sweary whirlwind of energy and outrage in his latest reality show in which insiders blow the whistle on the restaurants they work in, hoping that his brutal intervention can turn them around. His first challenge is a once-revered family Greek joint in Washington DC that’s fallen into shocking disrepair, thanks mostly to its owner and patriarch who can’t trust his children. Wondering who the dobbing rat is (apart from the alarming number of actual rats captured in the kitchen on hidden cameras) makes for part of the fun, as Ramsay and his team overhaul the decor, menu and basic hygiene practices to restore the restaurant to its former glory.
GREAT AUSTRALIAN ROAD TRIP
THURSDAY, 7.30PM, SBS
Long-time pals Melissa Leong and Nazeem Hussain make for fabulous company in this six-part travel series that celebrates Australia’s natural beauty from the Great Barrier Reef to windswept Tassie. The former MasterChef host and the stand-up comedy veteran share an easy rapport and boundless curiosity as they take on the red centre in this week’s opening episode, with a stunning drive through Arrernte country that takes in the West MacDonnell Ranges, Standley Chasm and Kings Canyon. Between reliving Hussain’s childhood Scouts trauma and the age-old argument between potato cakes and potato scallops, they also meet bush food experts and the Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir. Next week, Claudia Karvan and Steph Tisdell join forces for a trip in Far North Queensland.
OUTRAGEOUS
NEW EPISODES THURSDAYS, BRITBOX
This fun and fabulously produced historical drama delves deep into the lives of the infamous Mitford sisters, one of whom would go on to become the most hated women in England thanks to her admiration for and dalliances with none other than Adolf Hitler himself. Narrated by the oldest of the six, author Nancy (Bessie Carter of Bridgeton fame), it follows the aristocratic but increasingly impoverished family through the social unrest of the pre-WWII years. While some embrace the rise of Fascism and its odious leader Oswald Mosley, and another devotes herself to the Communist cause, they also chafe against the restrictions and expectations of woman of the era and are determined to forge their own paths.
FINAL DESTINATION BLOODLINES
FRIDAY, MAX
Fourteen years in the last chapter of the horror franchise, the reboot/sequel/prequel that no one knew they wanted is better than it had any right to be. It kicks off way back in the ‘60s with one of the best sequences in the entire series courtesy of a premonition of death and a nailbiting series of misadventures in a sky-high revolving restaurant that will blow your mind. The present day action is more family territory but horror fans will thrill to the always inventively grisly deaths, dark humour and slightly campy tone.
MARC MARON: PANICKED
SATURDAY, MAX
Many will know Marc Maron from his long-running and hugely successful WTF podcast, which will wrap up later this year, and others from his role as curmudgeonly caddie Mitts on Apple TV+’s delightful golf comedy Stick. But this searing comedy special is a timely reminder of his stand-up origins, forthright opinions and command of a live audience. While Maron bursts out of the blocks with a blistering take-down of the current occupant of the Oval Office, he’s almost as savage on progressive politics as he hilariously powers through subjects as broad as the LA wildfires, his father’s dementia and his own mental health and existential dread.
SUPER NETBALL GRAND FINAL
SATURDAY, 6.30PM, KAYO FREEBIES
After a final quarter comeback for the ages from ten goals down to pip the Sydney Swifts by a point in the Preliminary Final on the weekend, the Melbourne Vixens have earned the right to play for their first title since 2020. In their way is a formidable West Coast Fever outfit that finished on top of the table and is bursting with talent, but the Vixens will be hoping that the hometown advantage – Rod Laver Arena will be the league’s biggest grand final stage yet – will give them the edge. The halftime show will also feature a genre-mashing collaboration between pop singer Charley, R & B artists Siala and country star Bella Mackenzie.
THE HUNTING WIVES
STAN
For anyone hunting a fresh fix of trashy TV, look no further than this soapy, steamy and supremely silly adaptation of May Cobb’s novel of the same name. Pitch Perfect’s Brittany Snow stars as former PR agent Sophie from ritzy Massachusetts who moves to Maple Brook, Texas, when her architect husband is posted there. While she’s initially appalled by the flagrant displays of wealth, gun-totin’ dudes in big hats and their blinged out wives in deepest MAGA country, she’s drawn into their orbit – against her better judgement. Mesmerised by Margo (Malin Akerman), the leader of the elite Hunting Wives and her obscenely rich political wannabe husband Jed (Dermot Mulroney), she’s also soon embroiled in their dangerous secrets and flashy lifestyle.
WALLABIES V BRITISH AND IRISH LIONS
SATURDAY, 7PM, CHANNEL 9, STAN SPORT
Australian rugby fans are still reeling from THAT penalty decision in the final seconds of game two at the MCG that saw the home side robbed of the chance to send the series to a decider in Sydney this weekend. But it was a much improved performance from the Wallabies – thanks in no small part to the added grunt from returning forwards Will Skelton and Rob Valetini – and one that raises hope of denying the tourists a clean sweep. One thing’s for sure though, most of the players will be long gone by the time the next tour rolls around in 12 years, so every single player on the field will be giving it absolutely everything.
PETROL VS ELECTRIC CARS: WHICH IS BETTER?
SUNDAY, 8.30PM, SBS VICELAND
Anyone in the market for a car in 2025 is sure to be asking themselves this very question – and while this timely and informative documentary is made for a UK audience, for the most part the points raised and tests carried out are relevant here too. By talking to consumer broadcasters and auto journalists and pitting petrol and electric cars with similar specs against each other with head-to-head tests, a helpful picture emerges of the strengths and weakness of each in a range of categories including acceleration, distance, performance, cost of city driving, storage and price.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT …
BACKDRAFT 2
Streaming, Tubi
ALMOST 30 years after Ron Howard’s original film hit cinemas, Billy Baldwin returns to the firehouse to reprise his role as a second-generation firefighter named Brian McCaffrey. Having watched his father burned alive when he was a kid only to then see his older brother Bull (Kurt Russell) meet the same end decades later, Brian remains committed to fighting fires. Now the deputy district chief of the fire investigation unit, Brian comes to the aid of his stubborn nephew Sean (Joe Anderson) in the hunt for the arsonist responsible for killing five youngsters on Halloween. If the twisted new thriller Smoke starring Taron Egerton has ignited an interest in high stakes dramas about fire, then this film will be just the ticket.
Originally published as Why comedian host Sam Pang will get this year’s Logie Awards off to a flying start
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