On the shortlist

Revealed! The shows you chose to be in the running for the Screen Test Awards 2024

Last month we asked you to vote for your favourite programmes in our annual Screen Test Awards and now we can reveal the nominees in all seven categories.

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The only television awards based on science, the Radio Times Screen Test awards grew out of a survey of 22,000 readers and users that we carried out last year with the department of psychology at the University of Sussex.

The categories reflect the profound impact TV has on the way we feel, from our levels of happiness, to empathy, to trust and even stress. Because our Screen Test study showed that watching TV, far from being a passive pastime, is an activity that engages not only brain but our emotions too.

Study the shortlisted shows and you will see the programme that you voted for as having played a powerful part in our lives in 2024. But which do we judge to be the best in all seven categories? Our jury of academics, psychologists, TV critics and Radio Times editors will unveil the winners at an awards dinner in central London on 5 November.

Happy TV Award

From murder-solving podcasters to lying British comedians, these are the shows that put the biggest smile on your faces.

Pat (JIM HOWICK), The Captain (BEN WILLBOND), Julian (SIMON FARNABY), Thomas Thorne (MAT BAYNTON) and Kitty (LOLLY ADEFOPE) gathered in an office near the desk

Ghosts. Monumental/Robbie Gray

Empathy Award for Drama

These are the characters who touched you, inspired you and moved you to walk in another person’s shoes.

Alan Bates played by Toby Jones stands outside a courthouse with a serious facial expression

Mr Bates vs The Post Office. ITV Studios

Watercooler Award

At its best, television stops us in our tracks and gets us all talking. These programmes connected us in 2024.

Richard Gadd sitting at the back of a bus in a yellow rain jacket, with antlers on the window behind

Baby Reindeer. Netflix

The Reith Award

This award recognises the programmes that best encapsulate the BBC’s mission to “inform, educate and entertain”, as put forward by the BBC’s first director-general in 1922.

Jeremy Clarkson and Kaleb Cooper in Clarkson's Farm. They are both stood in a puddle in the middle of a forest. Clarkson has his arms folded as he leans on a fence wearing a high vis, jeans and wellington boots. Kaleb is also wearing a high vis and is holding his lapels.

Clarkson's Farm. Ellis O'Brien

Stress Buster Award

TV offers us a doorway to dozens of different worlds. These programmes were the best at helping you to escape.

Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer sat on a tartan patterned sofa holding up a glass

Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing. BBC/Owl Power/Ross Johnston

Trust Award For Audio

Thanks to podcasts, audio’s bond with listeners has never been stronger. These are the shows you count on most.

Dr Michael Mosley with his arms crossed, looking at the camera in front of a dark black background.

Just One Thing with Michael Mosley. Brook Mitchell/Getty Images

Best Box Set

We live in a world blessed by a wealth of compelling drama, which means that bingeing is no longer something to feel guilty about. These programmes had you making time so that you could dive in and watch “just one more” episode.

Jeremy Allen White, wearing a chef's apron in The Bear season 3

The Bear. FX/Disney Plus

The Art of Reflection

In our noisy, busy lives, we all need a place of creative contemplation. These are the shows that managed to take you into someone else’s world.

Claudia, Mika and Lang Lang for The Piano season 2, stood next to a piano

The Piano. Channel 4

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Authors

Radio Times Staff

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