Snakes, surprises and a comeback: The highs, lows and woahs of the 2026 Logies

The trophies have been handed out, the carpet rolled up, and the sequins from Robert Irwin’s black jumpsuit have been vacuumed off the floor of The Star, which can only mean one thing: The 66th TV Week Logie Awards have officially wrapped. For those who didn’t manage to stick around for the nearly four-hour broadcast (honestly, no one can blame you), fear not because deputy TV editor Meg Watson and culture reporter Nell Geraets were up until the wee hours watching and live blogging each moment. Here’s what you missed.

It’s never easy taking over a job that someone else has smashed for the past three years , so all eyes were on Robert Irwin on Sunday night. Could he live up to Sam Pang’s on-stage charm ? In hindsight, we were fools to question anything. This is a guy who wrangles crocs for a living, and who could literally stop traffic with his megawatt smile – of course he won us over.

At just 22 years old, Irwin owned the Logies stage, cycling through three costume changes, doing the worm with Peking Duk, and lending a helping hand to struggling presenters (looking at you, Julia Morris). But the pièce de résistance was when he whipped out a snake. A real snake – two, in fact, as well as a bonus blue-tongued lizard. Dressed in his khaki Australia Zoo uniform, Irwin first pulled out a small, slithery serpent, which he proceeded to place right in front of comedian Melanie Bracewell. He then levelled up, draping a massive python around the neck of a very nervous Luke McGregor. It was the Logies reptile show we never knew we needed, and I, for one, hope it becomes a permanent fixture. NG

It was only a year ago that Magda Szubanski brought tears to everyone’s eyes through a pre-recorded message after being inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame . She was too sick to attend the event then, but a lot can change in a year. The beloved actress and comedian – who in February announced she was in remission from a rare form of blood cancer – returned to the Logies stage to present the Gold to Sam Pang. Boy, was it an exuberant comeback, bringing everyone to their feet. One person even impulsively shouted out their adoration, to which Szubanski shouted back, with a slight air of feigned aggression, “No, I love YOU”. This is also Magda we’re talking about, so of course there was a bit. She rocked up as Kath & Kim ’s Sharon Strezelecki, dressed as an Australia Zoo trainee (a layered performance!) in a torn up khaki uniform and covered in scratches. She’d fallen into the tiger enclosure, apparently. It was silly, wild and peak Magda. We couldn’t have asked for more. NG

It’s not a surprise Claudia Karvan won a Logie last night. She’s one of our biggest stars, who already had 13 nominations and three wins to her name. And she delivered an extraordinary performance in Homebodies , the series for which she was nominated. But I was wildly (and pleasantly) surprised that enough voters had seen this SBS digital original series to award it over much splashier titles. It was an extraordinary moment, with Karvan calling it her “most significant and important win” yet.