diff --git a/pkg/controller/controller_utils.go b/pkg/controller/controller_utils.go
index a9886568d7b..efdab55c137 100644
--- a/pkg/controller/controller_utils.go
+++ b/pkg/controller/controller_utils.go
@@ -525,6 +525,43 @@ func (f *FakePodControl) Clear() {
 	f.Templates = []api.PodTemplateSpec{}
 }
 
+// ByLogging allows custom sorting of pods so the best one can be picked for getting its logs.
+type ByLogging []*api.Pod
+
+func (s ByLogging) Len() int      { return len(s) }
+func (s ByLogging) Swap(i, j int) { s[i], s[j] = s[j], s[i] }
+
+func (s ByLogging) Less(i, j int) bool {
+	// 1. assigned < unassigned
+	if s[i].Spec.NodeName != s[j].Spec.NodeName && (len(s[i].Spec.NodeName) == 0 || len(s[j].Spec.NodeName) == 0) {
+		return len(s[i].Spec.NodeName) > 0
+	}
+	// 2. PodRunning < PodUnknown < PodPending
+	m := map[api.PodPhase]int{api.PodRunning: 0, api.PodUnknown: 1, api.PodPending: 2}
+	if m[s[i].Status.Phase] != m[s[j].Status.Phase] {
+		return m[s[i].Status.Phase] < m[s[j].Status.Phase]
+	}
+	// 3. ready < not ready
+	if api.IsPodReady(s[i]) != api.IsPodReady(s[j]) {
+		return api.IsPodReady(s[i])
+	}
+	// TODO: take availability into account when we push minReadySeconds information from deployment into pods,
+	//       see https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/issues/22065
+	// 4. Been ready for more time < less time < empty time
+	if api.IsPodReady(s[i]) && api.IsPodReady(s[j]) && !podReadyTime(s[i]).Equal(podReadyTime(s[j])) {
+		return afterOrZero(podReadyTime(s[j]), podReadyTime(s[i]))
+	}
+	// 5. Pods with containers with higher restart counts < lower restart counts
+	if maxContainerRestarts(s[i]) != maxContainerRestarts(s[j]) {
+		return maxContainerRestarts(s[i]) > maxContainerRestarts(s[j])
+	}
+	// 6. older pods < newer pods < empty timestamp pods
+	if !s[i].CreationTimestamp.Equal(s[j].CreationTimestamp) {
+		return afterOrZero(s[j].CreationTimestamp, s[i].CreationTimestamp)
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
 // ActivePods type allows custom sorting of pods so a controller can pick the best ones to delete.
 type ActivePods []*api.Pod
 
diff --git a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/factory.go b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/factory.go
index 8a57c6ae6db..ac8dff7b32a 100644
--- a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/factory.go
+++ b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/factory.go
@@ -520,7 +520,7 @@ func NewFactory(optionalClientConfig clientcmd.ClientConfig) *Factory {
 					return nil, errors.New("provided options object is not a PodLogOptions")
 				}
 				selector := labels.SelectorFromSet(t.Spec.Selector)
-				sortBy := func(pods []*api.Pod) sort.Interface { return controller.ActivePods(pods) }
+				sortBy := func(pods []*api.Pod) sort.Interface { return controller.ByLogging(pods) }
 				pod, numPods, err := GetFirstPod(c, t.Namespace, selector, 20*time.Second, sortBy)
 				if err != nil {
 					return nil, err
@@ -540,7 +540,7 @@ func NewFactory(optionalClientConfig clientcmd.ClientConfig) *Factory {
 				if err != nil {
 					return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid label selector: %v", err)
 				}
-				sortBy := func(pods []*api.Pod) sort.Interface { return controller.ActivePods(pods) }
+				sortBy := func(pods []*api.Pod) sort.Interface { return controller.ByLogging(pods) }
 				pod, numPods, err := GetFirstPod(c, t.Namespace, selector, 20*time.Second, sortBy)
 				if err != nil {
 					return nil, err
@@ -800,7 +800,7 @@ See http://releases.k8s.io/HEAD/docs/user-guide/services-firewalls.md for more d
 
 // GetFirstPod returns a pod matching the namespace and label selector
 // and the number of all pods that match the label selector.
-func GetFirstPod(client client.Interface, namespace string, selector labels.Selector, timeout time.Duration, sortBy func([]*api.Pod) sort.Interface) (*api.Pod, int, error) {
+func GetFirstPod(client client.PodsNamespacer, namespace string, selector labels.Selector, timeout time.Duration, sortBy func([]*api.Pod) sort.Interface) (*api.Pod, int, error) {
 	options := api.ListOptions{LabelSelector: selector}
 
 	podList, err := client.Pods(namespace).List(options)
diff --git a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/factory_test.go b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/factory_test.go
index 4af5fcb8883..6d8120cc2fc 100644
--- a/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/factory_test.go
+++ b/pkg/kubectl/cmd/util/factory_test.go
@@ -476,12 +476,12 @@ func TestGetFirstPod(t *testing.T) {
 		{
 			name:    "kubectl logs - two ready pods",
 			podList: newPodList(2, -1, -1, labelSet),
-			sortBy:  func(pods []*api.Pod) sort.Interface { return controller.ActivePods(pods) },
+			sortBy:  func(pods []*api.Pod) sort.Interface { return controller.ByLogging(pods) },
 			expected: &api.Pod{
 				ObjectMeta: api.ObjectMeta{
-					Name:              "pod-2",
+					Name:              "pod-1",
 					Namespace:         api.NamespaceDefault,
-					CreationTimestamp: unversioned.Date(2016, time.April, 1, 1, 0, 1, 0, time.UTC),
+					CreationTimestamp: unversioned.Date(2016, time.April, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, time.UTC),
 					Labels:            map[string]string{"test": "selector"},
 				},
 				Status: api.PodStatus{
@@ -498,7 +498,7 @@ func TestGetFirstPod(t *testing.T) {
 		{
 			name:    "kubectl logs - one unhealthy, one healthy",
 			podList: newPodList(2, -1, 1, labelSet),
-			sortBy:  func(pods []*api.Pod) sort.Interface { return controller.ActivePods(pods) },
+			sortBy:  func(pods []*api.Pod) sort.Interface { return controller.ByLogging(pods) },
 			expected: &api.Pod{
 				ObjectMeta: api.ObjectMeta{
 					Name:              "pod-2",