Western Australian made series Invisible Boys is up for two Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards.
The nominees for the 2026 were announced over the weekend and Invisible Boys, the series based on the gay young-adult novel by Author Holden Sheppard, was among the nominees.
Invisible Boys is nominated for Best Miniseries alongside Apple Cider Vinegar, Mix Tape, The Last Anniversary, The Narrow Road to the Deep North, and The Survivors.
It’s also in the running for the Best Editing in Television gong. Peter Pritchard has been nominated for his work on the series dramatic and heartbreaking ninth episode.
Author Holden Sheppard commented on the nominations on his Instagram account saying, “This is awesome news and huge congrats to the cast and crew for making such a spectacularly good series. Fingers crossed for the wins for both!”
Also getting nominations is the third and final season of the ABC series The Newsreader which shares the story of a closeted news anchor trying to make his mark in the television industry in the 1980s.
It’s one of six series in the running for Best Drama Series alongside Bay of Fires, Black Snow Jack of Clubs, Mystery Road Origin, The Family Next Door and The Twelve.
Sam Reid is nominated for Best Lead Actor in A Drama for his portrayal of lead character Dale Jennings, he’s gone home empty handed for both previous series of the show. Co-star Anna Torv is also nominated, havng won the Best Actress category in both 2023 and 204 her role as Helen Norville.
Daniel Henshall, who joined the series for it’s third outing is also nominated in the Best Supporting Actor in a Drama category for his role as producer Bill McFarlane, but he’ll be completing against himself as he scored a second nomination for his role in the series The Family Next Door.
Comedian Geraldine Hickey has been nominated for the Best Stand Up Special for her Don’t Tease Me About My Gloves.
Heaps of WA made shows are recognised
Invisible Boys is not the only show created on the west coast in the running for a trophy. Nine WA-made projects received a grand total of 34 nominations.
Mystery Road: Origin Season 2, Ghosts Australia, The Twelve: Cape Rock Killer, Reckless and End Game with Tony Armstrong, plus feature films; The Surfer, The Travellers and We Bury the Dead are all nominated.
Individual Western Australian creatives who received nominations include Lien-See Leong, Hayley Atherton, Trevor Hope, Herbert Pinter, Regg Skwarko, James Grandison, Kelvin Munro, Dan Brown and Tania Chambers, as well as WA actors Mark Coles Smith and Tuuli Narkle.
Rikki Lea Bestall, Screenwest CEO, said the high level of nominations showed the enormous talent in the local screen industry.
“Congratulations to all nominees! This year’s sweep of nominations for WA-made projects is a testament to the hard work and talent of our local crews and creatives, as well as the bumper levels of production happening in Western Australia. The nine nominated projects were all supported by Screenwest, and we are incredibly proud to see our work, and locations, recognised on the national stage,” Rikki Lea Bestall said.
The Awards will be presented during AACTA Festival, held 4–8 February at HOTA, Home of the Arts on the Gold Coast.
Check out the full list of nominees.
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