The 66th Logie Awards and comedy’s place in Australian television

A thriving television industry is one which includes comedy and lots of it. But was comedy a winner at the 2026 Logie Awards?

Starting the show with Russell Coight (Glenn Robbins) giving host Robert Irwin a lift was a great idea, as were the gags in Irwin’s opening monologue at the expense of Dave Hughes, but it was hard to keep laughing when the award for Best Scripted Comedy Program went to Dog Park. Dog Park, which beat the far better and funnier Deadloch, was one of those shows where laughs came a distant second to tugging at your heartstrings. Still, at least the winner wasn’t Austin.

But if tugging at the audience’s heartstrings is the way to win a Logie, then surely a documentary about one of this country’s most loved comedians, who was also a Gold Logie winner, was a shoo-in? Nope. The excellent But Also John Clarke, made by Clarke’s daughter Lorin, lost out to the more obvious heartstring-tugging of The Assembly.

A bunch of awards later, including Best Lifestyle Program for the Denise Scott-narrated Travel Guides, and a Hall of Fame award for actor Deborah Mailman (How does that relate to comedy? – Ed. Er, she was once in The Chaser’s War on Everything…will that do?), and suddenly Robert Irwin’s in the audience with some snakes terrifying Denise Scott, Luke McGregor, and Tim McDonald. Oh, and Deadloch’s Steve Bisley and Madeleine Sami used the F-word a few times on stage. Which is fair enough given their show had just lost to Dog Park.

In good news, Best Comedy Entertainment Program went to Have You Been Paying Attention?. Then, in less exciting news, Dog Park got given another award, this time to Celia Pacquola, who received the Silver Logie for Best Actress in a Comedy. Yet, finally, Deadloch was avenged, as sweary season 2 star Steve Bisley picked up the Silver Logie for Best Actor in a Comedy. He described Deadloch as a show he “fell in love with.” If only whoever judged Best Scripted Comedy Program felt the same way…

And then there was another Hall of Fame award, given to Andrew Denton, who received tributes from the likes of The Chaser team and Shaun Micallef, and wasn’t subjected to being reminded of the show which basically killed off his presenting career: Randling. So, we won’t either. Apart from linking to this blog, in which we call the show a “disaster.”

Snark aside, Denton has been an important figure in Australian comedy and television over the past four decades. Sure, he gave us Gruen and Randling, but he’s also done plenty of good things. And in his acceptance speech, he had this to say about the responsibility of people who’ve reached his level in television:

…bring the next generation through. There’s a great saying: you can’t show an artist anything. All you can do is open the door and show them the tightrope. Be that person. Open the door.

Let’s hope the executives and programmers in the audience listened to that rather than the bits where Dog Park won two awards.

Finally, it was time for the Gold Logie, presented by last year’s winner Magda Szubanski in character as Sharon Strezlecki, from the show judged to be the greatest show of the past 70 years of Australian television: Kath & Kim.

And the award went to Sam Pang, a worthy recipient and a funny man, who echoed some of the themes of Denton’s speech by talking about the importance of his heroes and mentors, two of whom he works with regularly: Tom Gleisner and Mick Molloy…

I grew up watching them. They are legends for me. I can’t believe I know them or get to work with them. And while being two of the funniest men in the country, they are also so generous. They have been nothing but supportive to me, and they only want the best. There’s no competition with them. They only want what’s funny.

So, there you have it. In one sense, the 2026 Logie Awards suggest that Australian comedy is in good health. A scripted comedy is voted the best program of the last 70 years. Two comedians get major awards. And a long-time audience favourite gets voted Best Comedy Entertainment Program.

But if you look closely, the cracks are there. A Hall of Fame winner had to use his platform to beseech executives to make space for new talent. And a documentary about a comedy legend and a very funny, scripted comedy both lost out to largely serious shows which are mainly about making you feel all gooey inside.

Making comedy on Australian television is becoming harder. The Sam Pangs, Andrew Dentons and Kath & Kims of tomorrow are being overlooked so networks can make more reality shows or dramedies, even while audiences demonstrate time and time again that they like shows and people who make them laugh. See you this time next year for Dog Park season 2, we guess.