Sentinel Awards

Hollywood, Health & Society, a program of the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center, is excited to announce Laraine Newman as the host for the 2024 Sentinel Awards, which celebrate some of the best and most challenging TV entertainment of the past year that made a difference in viewers’ lives.

This year’s red-carpet event will be held on Oct. 24 at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills. Entries from broadcast, cable and streaming network shows were all eligible, and represent a range of topics on health, safety and security. 

The final honorees were selected by judges based on accuracy, entertainment value and benefit to audiences, will be announced at the ceremony.

Last year’s ceremony at the WGT was hosted by Emmy-winning producer, comedian, actor and writer Larry Wilmore. Among the winning shows were The Diplomat, Station 19, Fleishman Is in Trouble, Tiny Beautiful Things, Mrs. Davis, This Is Going to Hurt and Superman & Lois.

“Television has the power to affect audiences and the way they see the world around them long after the credits roll,” said HH&S program Director Kate Folb.

For more than 20 years, the Sentinel Awards have recognized exemplary achievements in TV storylines that inform, educate and motivate viewers to make choices for healthier and safer lives. For audiences here and around the world, television often provides both entertainment and factual information about a wide range of health topics and social issues. Today, fighting widespread misinformation with facts has never been more important, and HH&S helps TV storytellers find the facts they need to “get it right.”

As the entertainment landscape expands and programs continue to push boundaries, topics such as disease, injury, maternal health, disability, violence, discrimination and more are being explored through dynamic storytelling.

Funding for Hollywood, Health & Society comes from the California Dept. of Water Resources, the California Health Care Foundation, End Well, Future of Life Institute, John Pritzker Family Fund, Ogilvy, the Plastic Pollution Coalition, the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft; the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute. The program, now celebrating more than 20 years of service to the TV entertainment industry, serves as a free resource by providing expert consultations and briefings, panel discussions, screenings, custom research trips, social media and more.