2016 Sentinel Awards (highlights)

“Madam Secretary,” “East Los High,” “black-ish,” “Born This Way” and “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” were among the winners at the 17th annual Sentinel Awards ceremony, a glittering evening that celebrated exemplary TV storylines about health and climate change topics and featured a special appearance by legendary TV producer Norman Lear.

“This evening acknowledges the fact that entertainment matters,” said Marty Kaplan, the Norman Lear Professor of Entertainment, Media and Society at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and founding director of The Norman Lear Center. “And it matters especially in the arena of public health.”

The 14 winners and finalists were chosen from almost 80 entries, and were recognized in the following categories: Drama, Comedy, Serial Drama, TV Movie, Climate Change, Reality, Talk Show, Documentary, Children’s Programming and Spanish-language. This was the fourth year that Hollywood, Health & Society, a program of the Lear Center, staged the Sentinel Awards ceremony at the Taglyan Center in Hollywood. Since 1999, the awards have honored TV shows and movies that educate and motivate viewers to make choices for healthier and safer lives.

Entries from broadcast, cable and streaming network shows showcase a diverse range of topics that include substance abuse, mental health, reproductive health, climate change and many more. The awards are sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and presented by HH&S, a one-stop shop for writers and producers in search of accurate information on public health and climate change topics.