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TV Tonight Awards: Best of 2023

Readers shower praise on The Newsreader, Colin from Accounts, Deadloch & Sam Pang among 2023's best in show.

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Readers have voted ABC’s The Newsreader Season 2 as the Best Australian Drama of 2023 in the TV Tonight Awards.

Runners-up were RFDS, soaps Home & Away, Neighbours plus newcomer Bay of Fires.

“We are completely delighted to have been named Best Australian Drama in the TV Tonight Awards,” said Joanna Werner and Michael Lucas, Producers of The Newsreader.

“The Newsreader Season 2 was such an amazing team effort and we are so grateful to our incredible crew, lead by our brilliant director Emma Freeman, and our exceptional cast led by Anna, Sam, William, Michelle, Stephen, Chum and Marg. Thank you to the ABC, eOne and VicScreen and to everyone who has watched Season 2.

“Also to TV Tonight, thank you for being such a fabulous supporter of Australian drama.”

Sam Pang was again voted Favourite Male for Have You Been Paying Attention?, The Front Bar and Logie Awards.

“Thank you to everyone who voted for me in the TVT Awards,” Pang said in a rare quote.

“I sincerely appreciate the support especially considering how little I receive of it every week from Tom Gleisner, Ed Kavalee, Mick Molloy and Andy Maher. Happy 2024 to everyone.”

Kitty Flanagan was again voted Favourite Female.

Binge comedy Colin From Accounts picked up the Best Australian Comedy ahead of Working Dog’s Utopia and Thank God You’re Here.

Easy Tiger producers Ian Collie and Rob Gibson said, “Firstly, a big thanks to TV Tonight for being such a great resource for the industry and TV viewing public in Australia.  We’re thrilled to take out the award for Best Australian Comedy.

“Colin From Accounts has been a tremendous joy for all of us. Harri and Patty are brilliantly funny people and it’s a thrill to see how much people around the world have enjoyed this show. And the best bit is, there’s more to come!”

Below are the first winners in the 17th TVT Awards.

* denotes runaway winner

Australian Drama : The Newsreader*
RFDS
Home & Away
Neighbours
Bay of Fires
(2022: Heartbreak High)

Best Australian Comedy : Colin from Accounts
Utopia
Thank God You’re Here
Deadloch
Mother & Son
(2022: Fisk)

International Drama : Succession
The Last of Us
The Crown
Happy Valley, Morning Wars, Slow Horses.
(2022: The White Lotus)

International Comedy : Ted Lasso
Only Murders in the Building
Ghosts
Jury Duty
Frasier, Young Sheldon.
(2022: Hacks)

Best Light Entertainment : Have You Been Paying Attention? *
The Cheap Seats
Hard Quiz
Thank God You’re Here
Taskmaster Australia
(2022: Have You Been Paying Attention?)

Best Morning Programme : News Breakfast
Sunrise
Today
Studio 10
The Morning Show
(2022: News Breakfast)

Best Australian Reality Show: Australian Survivor*
MasterChef Australia
I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, The Amazing Race Australia.
Alone Australia
(2022: Australian Survivor)

Best International Reality Show: Survivor*
The Amazing Race
Squid Game: The Challenge
RuPaul’s Drag Race
Britain’s Got Talent, Love Island.
(2022: Survivor)

Best Lifestyle: Better Homes & Gardens
Gardening Australia
Selling Houses Australia
Love it or List it Australia
Location Location Location Australia
(2022: The Living Room)

Best Factual / Documentary / Observational: Gogglebox
Old People’s Home for Teenagers
Australian Story, Border Security.
War on Waste
(2022: Gogglebox)

Best News / Current / Public Affairs: Four Corners
7:30
The Project
Seven News
ABC News
(2022: The Project)

Best Talk Show : Insight / Q+A
The Project
Insiders
The Drum
The Cheap Seats
(2022: The Project)

Best Kid’s Show : Bluey*
Play School
Crazy Fun Park
Rock Island Mystery, Surviving Summer.
(2022: Bluey)

Best Sports Show or Coverage : The Front Bar
FIFA Women’s World Cup
AFL
Australian Open
NRL
(2022: The Front Bar)

Best New Australian Show : Deadloch
Colin From Accounts
Bay of Fires
Taskmaster Australia
Alone Australia, The 1% Club.
(2022: Heartbreak High)

Best New International Show : The Last of Us
Fellow Travellers
Squid Game: The Challenge
Beef, Jury Duty.
(2022: House of the Dragon)

Favourite Male : Sam Pang*
Tim McDonald
Tom Gleeson
Sam Reid
Hamish Blake
(2022: Sam Pang)

Favourite Female: Kitty Flanagan
Melanie Bracewell
Anna Torv
Celia Pacquola
Julia Morris, Kate Box.
(2022: Kitty Flanagan)

Tomorrow: Worst of 2023
Thursday: Story of the Year, Best Channel, Best Subscription, Most Underrated Performer, International Show We Need to See Here.

20 Responses

  2. When ABC News Breatis continually considered to be the best breakfast news program in Australia, yet more viewers are tuning into Sunrise instead, there are some major shortcomings in not attracting those viewers.

  3. I knew I had forgotten a very deserving show when doing my nominations, so very glad to see the wonderful “Deadloch” made it across the line without my assistance …. one of the best Aussie shows in years in IMHO.

  4. I’m shocked that he dreadful 1% club even made it on a list considering its ratings. The host isn’t funny. He’s bordering on offensive.

    Also surprised that TGYH made it also.

  5. Wow, 10 really collapsed in 2023, multiple 2022 winners, looks like mostly snapped up by ABC (odd demographic divide there too). And kudos to mainstay BH&G, surely its first win of anything in a long time (since Living Room regularly snapped up gongs), BH&G used to always win though, did you tell Seven/Griggs, I’m sure they’d be stoked (no pun intended).

  6. Good to see The Front Bar winning Best Sports Program again, even beating out the Women’s FIFA World Cup. Shows that some Sports Shows do work in primetime, with the right panel of hosts. And who doesn’t love Sam Pang?

    Good to see Sam Pang giving a rare quote for this site.

    Am surprised to see Q&A winning Best Talk Show, despite its dreadful ratings.

  7. I’m surprised to see Alone Australia so far down the list of reality shows. It was by far the most successful new reality show of the year and definitely the most ‘buzzy’.

    1. I agree, it’s quite disappointing to see Alone so far down the list. I suspect if it had been shown on ABC or Ten it would be higher as most years there appears to be a bias towards shows from those two stations from the voters on this site. At least that’s what I’ve noticed and so far this year that still seems to be the case. From memory ABC generally wins favorite station and Ten second, or is it the other way around???

      1. Alone is high up the list, especially for a new entry. Many other reality shows were submitted but I list top 5 in results. Over the years ABC, 10 and Seven have all won favourite network. From memory I don’t think Nine has, and not SBS. There’s only 5 so you wouldn’t expect much change.

  8. I always find it extraordinary how well Channel 10 shows do in your awards David… they mostly always make great content, it’s just that barely anyone watches it. There’s a disconnect somewhere between their quality and their viewership.

    1. People do have favourites but as you know the fields are entirely blank in voting. Personally I wish there was more shake up from year to year! I also think any awards are heavily influenced by what’s on air / recent during voting, including Logies.

      1. In the past you have rejected the idea of Channel 10 bombing this website with positive comments –
        the more likely conclusion is that TV Tonight viewers simply do not represent the views of Joe and Jill general public.

        The relentless enthusiasm for Neighbours in the comments section is a perfect example of not reflecting ratings reality.

        1. Site gets a lot of international traffic for Neighbours, which is probably reflected in voting too. I’m not sure what your first sentence means sorry. The survey is not framed to reflect TV ratings, it is reader tastes just as you (hopefully) submitted.

    2. 10 make great content that rates well, problem is there’s not enough of it. The high raters/award winners, HYBPA?, Goggle Box (a Foxtel buy-in), Australian Survivor. Three programs that are popular, but what about the rest of the week? They’re currently beating off SBS for #5. Yes, no sport, but neither does ABC. I find I am avoiding 10 in general as their non-stop promos for Gladiators and Deal Or No Deal are way over the top.

    3. Sorry but I watch channel ten’s shows particularly MasterChef and Aus Survivor. These shows do reasonably well which is why they’re bought back every year.

      1. The only reason I didn’t vote for it because I thought it was released 2022. It was my favourite comedy last year but wasn’t sure where it sat…

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