They did it, Newsreader fans!
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| A wonderful win for all! Posing around the silver Logie for Most Outstanding Drama are Michael Lucas, Emma Freeman, Joanna Werner, Michelle Lim Davidson, Stuart Menzies, Marg Downey, Chum Ehelepola and Chai Hansen. (photo source - Michael Lucas' Instagram) |
On Sunday, the 62nd TV Week Logie Awards were held on the Gold Coast, and amongst the stars of the Australian small screen that attended the evening, our beloved newsreading team were there too! From The Newsreader's cast and crew, writer and creator Michael Lucas, producers Joanna Werner and Stuart Menzies, director Emma Freeman and cast members Michelle Lim Davidson (Noelene), Chum Ehelepola (Dennis), Chai Hansen (Tim), Marg Downey (Evelyn) and Stephen Peacocke (Rob) were there to represent the ABC's award-winning 1980s newsroom drama; now adding a few more honours to its 'wall of awards'.
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| The Logie for Most Outstanding Actor went to Richard Roxburgh for his role in Fires, which also took home the Most Outstanding Mini-Series or Telemovie. Roxburgh is pictured here with costar and on-screen wife Miranda Otto. (photo credit - ABC and Ben King) |
The beginning of the evening was looking a bit rocky for our Newsreader team; the Most Popular Drama and Most Popular Actress awards being taken out by long-running Channel Seven soapie Home And Away and Australian comedienne and lead actress of the ABC comedy Fisk Kitty Flanagan. A little later in the evening, William McInnes (Lindsay)'s nomination of Most Outstanding Support Actor was won by Colin Friels in Wakefield, and our lead actor Sam Reid's nomination for Most Outstanding Actor was unfortunately lost to Richard Roxburgh for his powerful performance in the bushfire mini-series Fires; also starring Anna Torv and Mark Leonard Winter (Russ in Episode Five), and the mini-series additionally took out the Most Outstanding Mini-Series or Telemovie.
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| "Playing Helen in The Newsreader has been such a gift, and to receive this kind of recognition for something that was such a joy to create makes it even more rewarding." Anna Torv enthused in her acceptance video. |
It was the conclusion of the night that would bring The Newsreader home its major wins; Anna Torv taking out the award of Most Outstanding Actress for her role as the complex and powerful lead newsreader Helen Norville, and the series itself won Most Outstanding Drama. Torv could not be in attendance at the ceremony, but she sent in an acceptance video; thanking her fellow cast and crew including Lucas, Werner and Freeman, for "making this such a rich and creative experience." "Thank you for this wonderful honour," she said in the video. "I wish I was there with everyone this evening. But playing Helen in The Newsreader has been such a gift, and to receive this kind of recognition for something that was such a joy to create makes it even more rewarding." She also thanked the ABC for "championing Australian stories like this."
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| Some of the Newsreader team present at the ceremony - Michael Lucas, Emma Freeman, Michelle Lim Davidson, Marg Downey, Emma Freeman and Stuart Menzies. (photo source - Joanna Werner's Instagram) |
When accepting the award for Most Outstanding Drama, Lucas made sure to congratulate his fellow nominees, for creating their programmes during the height of a pandemic, and credited the show's success to the leadership of Werner and the direction of Freeman. "She did all six episodes of The Newsreader back to back with all six eps of Love Me, which was truly superhuman," he said of Freeman. He thanked each writer by name, namely the credited Niki Aken, Kim Ho and Jonathan Gavin who assisted in Episodes Four, Five and Three respectively, and Werner turned this gratitude back on Lucas for leading the writing process. Werner thanked Screen Australia and Screen Victoria, as well as the ABC for their support. Lucas was also "nerding out to be in the room with all the real icons of news." "I just want to thank those newsroom veterans that helped us out; Carol Hall and in particular the anonymous TV legends that told me some stories about the '80s. Your secrets might not be safe but they will be fictionalised."
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| The Newsreader's own Anna Torv in her role in Fires. She played Lally Robinson - a woman grappling with the choice of evacuating her property, or staying behind to defend it from the bushfires. (photo credit - ABC and Ben King) |
Other projects of The Newsreader's cast and crew were also celebrated with Logie statuettes. Torv and Leonard Winter's aforementioned mini-series Fires; based on the horrific events of the 2019-20 Black Summer bushfires which tore through multiple states ferociously, and saw the two Newsreader stars sharing the leading role in Episode Three and reappearing in Episode Six, was awarded Most Outstanding Mini-Series or Telemovie, and Richard Roxburgh took home the Most Outstanding Actor award for his role as a grief-stricken farmer who lost both his home and his son in the fires. Freeman's other programme that she directed Love Me won one of its seven nominations; actress Heather Mitchell scoring Most Outstanding Support Actress; her first Logie win ever at age 64, according to this week's TV Week magazine.
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| Albert 'Bert' Newton - the king of the TV Logies. He was a quadruple recipient of the Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television throughout the ceremony's 62 year history, and died on the 30th of October 2021 at age 83. |
A lengthy In Memorian was held to acknowledge the Australian television personalities and behind-the-scenes crew who had been lost over the 2020 to 2022 period, and the inaugural Bert Newton Award for Most Popular Presenter was awarded to Hamish Blake (of Lego Masters); presented by Newton's wife Patti Newton. B. Newton was a long-time host and master of ceremonies of the TV Week Logies and star of the Australian small screen, and with his death in October 2021, this ceremony was the first held after his passing; also acknowledged with an emotive photo and video slideshow. Blake was humbled by being awarded the inaugural trophy, and his night only got more exciting when he took home the most coveted award of the night; the Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality; Blake's second Gold Logie, now only two Gold Logie's behind B. Newton himself.
Well done to the entire cast and crew of The Newsreader for their spectacular and well-deserved accolades, and to all the nominees and winners of the night! I wonder what is going to be ahead for 2023 for our newsreading crew?
~ Erin, for News At Six 1986
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Real History and Newsreader Links
62nd Logie Awards - Winners and Nominees (Wikipedia)
Vale Bert Newton - National Film and Sound Archives (NSFA)
Following Two Years After Australia's Lethal Black Summer Fires - Discover Magazine
