The very best Australian talent has once again been recognised at the 2026 TV WEEK Logie Awards, with three new inductees to the Logie Hall of Fame.
Deborah Mailman‘s induction was announced ahead of the awards ceremony on Sunday, August 16, with two other TV talents being recognised on the night.
There was no shortage of TV actors and shows to honour on the night, but these three stood out among the rest.
Here are the 2026 TV WEEK Logie Hall of Fame inductees.
Deborah Mailman
Deborah Mailman already has six TV WEEK Logie Awards to her name, and now she’s joined the TV WEEK Logie Hall of Fame.
Deborah broke down in tears as her career highlights were shown on the big screen, while her loved ones and industry heavyweights heaped praise on her achievements.
Claudia Karvan, Rachel Griffiths and Rachel Perkins all delivered moving messages in honour of the Australian superstar in a touching montage.
“She is a Trailblazer, an inspiration, an industry leader. I don’t know of an actor more in Australia who is more beloved,” Cate Blanchett gushed.
“I’m very proud to be your friend. Congratulations, nobody deserves this more than you.”
Taking to the stage, Deborah thanked her childhood drama teacher, Miss Murphy, for fostering her love of acting and supporting her dream.
“This is for my mum and dad, and by the way, just seeing my old drama teacher up there, Miss Murphy, she was the one, she really was,” Deborah said.
“It’s so beautiful that you found her, wherever she is. Thank you, Miss Murphy.”
Deborah also shared her pride in making history as the first Indigenous person to be inducted into the Logie Hall of Fame.
“It would take me a very long time to thank the people I need to thank, but you know who you are, and I hope you know how grateful I am,” she added.
Though she’s become a household name with three decades of excellence on Australian screens, the actress was still surprised by her recognition.
“I didn’t see that one coming,” Deborah laughed to TV WEEK ahead of the awards ceremony.
“It’s an extraordinary honour. Incredible recognition. It’s really, really beautiful. I’m just very, very, very thrilled, quietly emotional and very excited.
“It’s never lost on me how lucky I feel.”
Throughout her career, Deborah has been a trailblazer in elevating the stories of Indigenous Australians.
Audiences were first introduced to Deborah when she played Nona in Radiance, becoming the first Aboriginal actress to win an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 1998.
From then on, her star power only grew as she starred as Kelly Lewis in the iconic early 2000s drama The Secret Life of Us and claimed two TV WEEK Logie Awards for Most Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series in 2002 and 2004.
Some of her most impactful roles have included her portrayal of Bonita Mabo in Mabo, Mavis in the true story of The Rabbit-Proof Fence, Roxanne in Bran Nue Dae and Gail in The Sapphires.
Throughout the mid-2000s, Deborah gained a whole new generation of fans through her role as Cherie Butterfield in the beloved TV drama Offspring. But she truly cemented her position as one of the country’s most influential and talented actors through her work in Redfern Now, Cleverman and Mystery Road.
Most recently, Deborah has been celebrated for her incredible work in the political drama Total Control, winning a TV WEEK Logie Award for Best Lead Actress in a Drama in 2024.
This year, she also appeared in Dear Life, which is nominated for Best Drama Program.
Andrew Denton
Andrew Denton has made Australians laugh for decades, and now, he’s being recognised for his efforts.
Andrew said he was “pretty surprised” but “very grateful” to have been inducted into the Logie Hall of Fame.
He also gave some words of wisdom that he’s learnt throughout his illustrious career in an emotional acceptance speech.
“The first is back yourself. If you reckon you might be better than everything else that’s out there, you may just be right,”
“The second is: Don’t be afraid to praise someone else, even if they’re your rival or you don’t know them. If they nail it, get the contact, text them, or give them a call.
“And the third is get ready to fail. It’s a part of the creative process. It takes time, but trust me, you’ll laugh at the scars later in your life.
“The final one is. 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 [and] open the door. There are a few things more professionally joyful than wishing somebody success without an agenda and seeing them achieve it.
“Be generous. You’ll be repaid a hundred times over.”
Before his honour, Andrew actually hadn’t attended the Logies since 2008, when his show The Gruen Transfer was launching.
The 66-year-old comedian has been pushing boundaries on TV since 1988, redefining the landscape with his first series, Blah Blah Blah.
Andrew continued tackling serious topics in The Money Or The Gun, but the show is arguably best remembered for its musical numbers.
After the show became synonymous with Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven”, Andrew even got the chance to meet Robert Plant and Jimmy Page in the flesh.
His show had a different musical act performing the number every episode, which led to them all being released on a CD titled Stairways To Heaven.
“One of the happiest moments of my life was when Robert told me that he had bought multiple copies of Stairways To Heaven to give to his friends as Christmas presents,” Andrew told TV Week.
Andrew has been nominated for two Logies before for his work on Enough Rope and recently appeared on Guy Montgomery’s Guy Mont-Spelling Bee.
However, most of his time is now spent advocating for end-of-life choice, something he says is “close to a full-time job”.
A Country Practice
A Country Practice captured hearts all around Australia, and it has rightly been recognised in the Hall of Fame.
It ran from 1981 until 1984, following the characters of the fictional town of Wandin Valley.
Its “weird and wonderful” storylines attracted eight to 10 million viewers at its peak, and it has been fondly remembered in the decades since it ended.
The 1985 episode in which Molly died from leukaemia is still remembered as one of the most emotional and gut-wrenching episodes of Australian TV.
The show already had a Gold Logie-winning star in Lorrae Desmond, who played nurse Shirley Gilroy, wife of Frank Gilroy (Brian Wenzel), the local police sergeant.
And it also made household names of Penny Cook and Grant Dodwell, who played married couple Vicky, the town vet, and Dr Simon Bowen, who went on to become regular TV WEEK cover stars.
Announcing A Country Practice’s Hall of Fame induction, Logie host Robert Irwin revealed he actually has a personal connection to the program.
“It’s a program that became a cultural milestone, and not many people would know this, but I have a very strong connection to this show as well,” Robert shared.
“There were a heap of stars on this particular program, but I think the brightest star of them all was a little guy called Fatso, the wombat.”
Robert revealed that after retiring from his TV career, Fatso took up permanent residence at Australia Zoo with the Irwin family, spending the rest of his life there.
“His relatives still live there to this day,” Robert added.
Watch the TV WEEK Logie Awards from The Star Sydney on Seven or 7Plus at 7Plus.
