“It is long overdue and a huge benefit for me personally, given miniseries is all I do, and it was hard being lumped in with drama,” says Williams.

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The actor has appeared in several other miniseries including INXS: Never Tear Us Apart, Underground: The Julian Assange Story, Catching Milat and Brock.

“But as an actor, it is nice to know that it’s no longer just a popularity contest, but more of a consensus,” he says.

Williams is no stranger to the perceived flaws of the Logies. In 2013, he was nominated for most popular new male talent, only to lose to rocker Joel Madden from The Voice.

But he believes a hybrid model is the way forward.

“You don’t want the Logies to lose its uniqueness in being fan voted .… which kind of sets it apart from the AACTAS, which are obviously industry-driven,” says Williams.

“But it will be interesting to see how they split it up. How much does a judge’s vote matter against the public, like what is the metric to get the winner?”

The changes in the comedy category will be welcome news for writers and show runners who have struggled to topple the stranglehold quiz shows have held.

For the last four years running, Network Ten quiz show Have You Been Paying Attention? dominated the most popular comedy program, beating scripted comedies like ABC’s Fisk and Rosehaven or Netflix series Wellmania.

Meanwhile, the Gold Logie, the Bert Newton award for most popular presenter and the Graham Kennedy award for most popular new talent will continue to be presented under the most popular banner, with nominees decided by a panel of “independent industry experts”, before being voted on by the public.

Find more of the author’s work here. Email him at thomas.mitchell@smh.com.au or follow him on Instagram at @thomasalexandermitchell and on Twitter @_thmitchell.

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