It’s that time of the year again, when the Australian TV ecosystem is gearing up for the Logies. The annual TV event of the year is under way and nominations have been announced. As usual, quite a few Greek-Australian actors, presenters and TV personalities appear on the list, waiting for the people’s votes to determine who will go home with the gold.
In the Best Actress category, Neos Kosmos’ won child Olympia Valance is once again up for a Logie, for her role as teen rebel Paige Smith in Channel Ten’s ‘Neighbours’. Olympia has made a name for herself, as one of the rising stars of Australia, who never misses a chance to express her love for Greece.
Among her costars in ‘Neighbours’, Jodi Anasta is also a nominee. Jodi (née Gordon), became Greek by marriage, when she wed rugby player Braith Anasta. Though their marriage is now over, she kept her name, thus gaining an ‘honorary Greek’ status.
Another Greek of Cypriot provenance features in the other staple of Australian TV drama, Channel Seven’s ‘Home and Away’. Born in Larnaca, Ada Nicodemou has been portrayed Greek characters in shows like ‘Heartbreak High’ and ‘Police Rescue’, cementing her place in Australian TV.
Fellow nominee Zoe Ventoura also made her claim to fame playing a Greek character, in the 2007 SBS series ‘Kick’. She’s after a logie for her role in channel Nine’s crime series ‘Hyde & Seek’. A role in the same series got Victoria Haralabidou a Logie nomination, alongside her critically acclaimed performance in the ABC event series ‘Barracuda’, the adaptation of Christos Tsiolkas’ novel of the same name. The Logie trifecta is completed by her appearance in four episodes of the SBS crime drama ‘Deep Water’, in which George Xanthis also featured. His four episode run secured him a spot among the nominees for the Best Actor logie, proving his versatility after his successful appearance in Foxtel’s comedy show ‘Open Slather’ (in which he did a spot-on impression of George Calombaris, who is nominated for his work on ‘Master Chef’). His mentor, Alex Dimitriadis (the two played together in SBS’ ‘The Principal’) is once again up for a Logie, this time for his roles in ‘Secret City’ and ‘Wanted’. Another Greek in the same category is nominated for a very challenging role. Socratis Otto has won praise for his portrayal of transgender prisoner Maxine Conway, in Foxtel’s prison drama ‘Wentworth’.
In the presenter category, George Calombaris competes with another sui generis Greek TV personality, Costa Georgiadis. The landscape architect is hailed as one of Australia’s champions of healthy lifestyle choices, which has made his ‘Gardening Australia’ show one of the most popular in the ABC roster.
Anyone who wants to reward him, along with the other Greeks in the nominations, is encouraged to go to the 2017 TV Week Logie Awards website (http://survey.confirmit.com.au/wix/5/p1427715.aspx) and cast a vote. The voting process is open until 18 December.