Seven series were awarded on Oct. 27th at the Writers Guild Theatre by Hollywood, Health & Society, a program at USC Annenberg’s Norman Lear Center. Marking its 25th year, we were proud to recognize and celebrate powerful storytelling that makes a difference in the world. Hosted by Emmy winning writer, producer and comedian Carol Leifer, it was an energizing red-carpet evening buzzing with celebrities and the show writing teams that make the magic happen.
“Who here has either been a caregiver, or received care?” asked Keisha Zollar, disabled writer, comedian, mom, and writer for Dying for Sex, the hit Hulu series. Everyone in the room raised their hands. “Okay, good. I was about to be nervous…the reality is that care is in all of our lives.”…
With apps, wearables and “smart” beds either analyzing, scheduling, supporting or tracking the details of their sleep—right down to the amount of time spent during the REM* stages—most Americans should be getting plenty of solid rest in a Golden Age of Slumber. Yet Project Sleep, a nonprofit dedicated…
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…
The fifth installment of Hollywood, Health & Society’s Do the Write Thing mixer saw the unveiling of HH&S’s explainer video on systemic racism narrated by Jason George of Station 19 and Todd Grinnell of Norman Lear’s One Day at a Time reboot before a packed room of BIPOC writers,…
A black dress, bought on Amazon, was the small detail that brought home a poignant truth about the challenges women encounter in finding abortion care in a post-Roe America. Dr. Austin Dennard, an OB-GYN in Dallas, had Zoomed in to the panel discussion “Abortion 2025: Where Do We Go…
The fourth gathering of Hollywood, Health & Society’s Do the Write Thing mixer event brought together a crowded room of industry guests and hopefuls to hear showrunners Janine Sherman Barrois of the limited Apple TV+ series The Big Cigar and Marqui Jackson of The CW shows All American and All…
An online lunchtime discussion that delved into the use of psychedelics and dreams to ease the end-of-life experience. The ritual use of psychedelics to heal and ease suffering is an ancient practice, and today it’s a re-emerging field of study, this time for their effectiveness in hospice and palliative…
Norman Lear, the legendary Emmy Award-winning television producer whose regular attendance at the Sentinel Awards had been an inspiring presence at the annual red-carpet event, took center stage in spirit this year during a celebrity-filled show hosted by comedian and writer Larry Wilmore at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly…
The room at the Aster hotel buzzed with entertainment creatives celebrating the end of the WGA strike after five challenging months. Some of the guests were already writers who were reuniting with colleagues, while others were there to simply mix and mingle and perhaps move toward getting their first job.
