2024 Sentinel Awards
Writers's Guild Theater
Comedian, actor and voice artist Laraine Newman brought her Saturday Night Live OG energy as the host of the 2024 Sentinel Awards, which honored 11 shows for outstanding TV entertainment that makes a difference. The red-carpet event, presented by Hollywood, Health & Society (HH&S), a program of the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center, was held for the second straight year at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hill on Oct. 24.
Grey’s Anatomy, the long-running medical drama on ABC, received a Culture of Health Award for its 20-plus seasons of storylines that have addressed tough topics such as Alzheimer’s disease, abortion, addiction, racism, mental health, maternal health, domestic violence, immigration and sexual assault. (See full list of honorees below.)
“Tonight, we’ve got it all,” said Newman, who was an original cast member (along with Jane Curtin, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Gilda Radner, Garrett Morris and Dan Aykroyd) on the legendary late-night NBC comedy show from its inception in 1985 through 1980. “Addiction, economic disparities, mental health … takes me right back to the original SNL writers room.”
Special guest Lyn Lear delivered opening remarks following a taped introduction by her close friend, late-night TV talk show host Jimmy Kimmel. Lear lovingly paid tribute to her late husband, Norman Lear, who died at the age of 101 in December 2023 a day before last year’s Sentinel Awards.
“After Norman’s death, it struck me that who other than my late husband—brilliant producer that he was—would orchestrate his departure at a moment when this room would be filled with like-minded creatives that he cared about,” Lear said.
“I love everything that HH&S and the Lear Center stand for, especially the Sentinel Awards,” she added.
Among the evening’s presenters and honorees:
- Presenters Matt Shively and Selenis Leyva; honorees Debby Wolfe and Dan Signer (Lopez vs Lopez)
- Presenter Michael Ellenberg, CEO of Media Res Studios; honoree and writer Charlotte Stoudt (The Morning Show)
- Presenter Yeardley Smith; honoree Rob LeZebnik, executive producer (The Simpsons)
- Presenter and actor Chris Chalk; honoree and show runner Jon Robin Baitz (Feud: Capote vs. The Swans)
- Presenter and actor Mark Indelicato; honorees Carol Leifer and Carolyn Lipka (Hacks)
- Honoree and creator/executive producer/director Lulu Wang (Expats)
- Presenter and actor Inny Clemons; honorees Jim Hect and showrunner Janine Sherman Barrois (The Big Cigar)
- Honoree Max Hurwitz (Dark Winds)
- Presenter Isabella Gomez; honoree Michele Fazekas (Gen V)
- Presenter and actor William Stanford Davis; honoree and writer Jordan Temple (Abbott Elementary)
- Presenters James Pickens Jr.; honoree Meg Marinis (Grey’s Anatomy)
In addition, actors Todd Grinnell (One Day at a Time, With Love) and Jason George (Grey’s Anatomy, Station 19) came out on stage to introduce a shorter version of a video they were featured in titled “Is Systemic Racism Still a Thing?”, which was co-produced by HH&S.
Newman reminisced about the time Norman Lear hosted SNL, delivering the opening monologue and participating in several comedy sketches with her, Belushi, Curtin and Aykroyd.
“We were thrilled when he hosted,” Newman recalled. “I personally loved it when we had people on the show who weren’t actors. The pressure was off, and they could really shine. Norman was one of those who really did.”
The awards ceremony was co-written by Ann Slichter and Shelly Goldstein, returning for their fifth year as writers for the show.
The complete list of winners at the 2024 Sentinel Awards:
- Feud: Capote vs. The Swans (FX/Hulu); episode “Beautiful Babe”; caregiving
- Abbott Elementary (ABC); episode “Smoking”; smoking/vaping
- Grey’s Anatomy (ABC); 20-season body of work; Culture of Health Award
- Gen V (Prime); episode “#ThinkBrink”; mental health
- The Morning Show (Apple TV+); episode “The Kármán Line”; abortion
- Dark Winds (AMC); Season 2 multi-episode storyline; racism in healthcare
- Expats (Prime); episode “Central”; caregiving
- The Big Cigar (Apple TV+); episode “Panther/Producer”; racism
- Hacks (Max); episode One Day; climate
- Lopez vs Lopez (NBC); episodes “Lopez vs Sobriety” and “Lopez vs George”; addiction
- The Simpsons (FOX); episode “Night of the Living Wage”; economic disparities
For nearly 25 years, HH&S has presented the annual Sentinel Awards to honor some of the year’s best TV entertainment that informs and motivates viewers to make choices for healthier and safer lives.