A viewer poll revealed during this year’s Logies has ranked the Australian television shows audiences say have had the greatest impact on the nation’s small screen, as part of celebrations marking 70 years of Australian television.
Run by TV WEEK, the vote asked viewers to choose from 70 programs across soap, drama, children’s television, reality TV and comedy. The result delivered some debatable placements, including Play School missing the top 10 and a cluster of familiar drama titles, Blue Heelers, McLeod’s Daughters, Packed to the Rafters and All Saints, finishing close together near the upper reaches of the list.
There could be only one winner though, with Kath & Kim taking out the top gong. Created by and starring Jane Turner and Gina Riley, Kath & Kim ran for four seasons from 2002 to 2005 and centred on Kath Day-Knight and her daughter Kim Craig. The sitcom’s core ensemble also included Kel Knight, purveyor of fine meats, Brett, Kim’s long-suffering husband, and Sharon Strzelecki, still one of the most beloved characters Australian television has ever produced. The series later spawned movie-length specials and an ill-fated American remake. More than 20 years after it first aired, it remains firmly embedded in the Australian cultural vernacular.
Home and Away, which premiered in 1988, was ranked second after spending nearly four decades as one of the constants of Australian television. Set in the fictional coastal town of Summer Bay, the series has followed its residents through romances, heartbreak, disasters, deaths and an extraordinary number of mysterious blow-ins. It has also become a star-making vehicle for generations of Australian actors. With Logies legends including Ray Meagher and Lynne McGranger among its cast, its place in Australian television history is secure.
A Country Practice placed third. Running from 1981 to 1993, the series was set in the fictional NSW town of Wandin Valley and chronicled medical emergencies, accidents, romances, weddings, deaths and the wider rhythms of small-town life. Over 14 seasons and 1088 episodes, it also helped launch the careers of Anne Tenney, Shane Porteous and Georgie Parker. On the same night it was voted number three, A Country Practice was inducted into the TV WEEK Logies Hall of Fame.
Blue Heelers came fourth after a 13-year run from 1994 to 2006 that made Mount Thomas one of the country’s best-known fictional towns. The drama followed the local police station as officers dealt with everything from petty offences to murder, alongside ongoing relationship drama. Lisa McCune’s Maggie Doyle became one of the show’s defining characters, and her death remains among the most-watched moments in Australian television history.
Packed to the Rafters rounded out the top five. The Seven drama focused on Dave and Julie Rafter and their adult children, turning the idea of an empty nest into a portrait of suburban family disorder. It ran for six seasons from 2008 to 2013 and returned in 2020 with Back to the Rafters.
Bluey finished in eighth after becoming a worldwide phenomenon since debuting in 2018, becoming the most streamed show in the USA in 2024 and 2025. The animated series follows Bluey, her sister Bingo and their parents Bandit and Chilli through everyday family life, and while it was made for children, its humour and emotional force have given it a wide adult audience as well.
