After 40 years in the business, Channel Seven host Larry Emdur won the Gold Logie for most popular performer on television on Sunday night. Then, he proceeded to address the elephant in the room. “You know my own kids, they’re 30 and 28, and they haven’t watched free to air in 15 years,” joked Emdur.
It was a throwaway line in a classy speech that saw Emdur reflecting on his career and thanking his family. But they say the best jokes contain a hint of truth, and his gag pierced right to the heart of the matter. Felix Cameron and the Boy Swallows Universe cast stole the show at the Logies.
Credit: Getty Images for TV WEEK Logie Awards Traditionally a celebration of free-to-air TV and its associated personalities, the Logies have struggled in recent years to reconcile their past while staying in touch with the present. Audiences have moved away from scheduled programming in favour of watching whatever they want, whenever they want – the rise of streaming coinciding with a dip in the relevancy of free-to-air TV. On Sunday night, this clash came home to roost as Emdur won the top prize, but Boy Swallows Universe and its charismatic teenage lead, Felix Cameron, undeniably won the evening.
The Netflix series based on Trent Dalton’s semi-autobiographical novel scooped five “best” awards, more than any other show and any network except the ABC. Author Trent Dalton with actors Felix Cameron and Lee Tiger Halley. Credit: Getty Images This year, the Logies looked to move with the times, abolishing the “most popular” (fan-voted) and “most outstanding” (industry-voted) categories and replacing them with a single “best” award.
The best-award winners were decided by a combined score as determined by judges, according to the assessment criteria (30 per cent), supplied audience data (20 per cent), and the number of Australian public votes (50 per cent). Based on results alone, Boys Swallows Universe is the best we had to offer this year, hijacking the narrative on a night typically reserved for free-to-air success. But perhaps more tellingly, in addition to dominating the categories, the Netflix series also created the most memorable moments.
Award shows live and die on buzz, and besides a 10-second cameo from Raygun, all the shareable bits belonged to Boy Swallows Universe , a show watched by millions. Felix Cameron, the 15-year-old star, is the toast of the internet following two charming (and tear-soaked) acceptance speeches, while Trent Dalton stole the show with his shoutout to the forgotten mums of suburbia. The global success of shows like Boy Swallows Universe (which hit number one in Australia, number four in the UK and number six in the US) and The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (which reached Prime Video’s top five in 78 countries) contributed to what felt like a palpable changing of the guard this year.
The Logies were still the Logies, hours too long and packed full of familiar faces with presenters and performers primarily hailing from commercial networks. Cue: Ray Meagher, Kate Ritchie, Guy Sebastian, Chris Brown, Scott Cam, Carrie Bickmore and Jessica Mauboy. And as a broadcast production, the ceremony still feels obsessed with its own legacy.
A full 20 minutes were dedicated to Rebecca Gibney’s induction into the Hall of Fame, and a further five minutes were given to Red Symons, eulogising the late John Blackman at the top of the In Memoriam segment. And yet, the post-Logies wash-up had a distinctly different feel, a shift in the air as the TV industry and – by extension – the awards dedicated to celebrating it moved with the times. A common complaint for casual observers is that the Logies are “irrelevant,” an opportunity for a no longer dominant industry to pat itself on the back.
However, if last night was anything to go by, the Logies are being forced into accepting and embracing change. It may have taken 64 years, but it seems Australian TV’s night of nights is finally looking forward. Find more of the author’s work here .
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