About Red Dwarf

Awards & Accolades

Red Dwarf's original run on BBC2 from 1988 to 1999 made it both the longest-running sitcom ever broadcast by the channel, and the second-longest-running British sci-fi series of all time (behind Doctor Who). Its ratings peak of 8.05million, achieved by Series VIII in 1999, remains the highest ever achieved by a BBC2 sitcom.

Perhaps the show's most prestigious success came in 1994, when the Series VI episode "Gunmen of the Apocalypse" won an International Emmy Award for Popular Arts. The same year, Series VI also took home the British Comedy Award for Best BBC Sitcom. The show has also been honoured by the Royal Television Society's Craft and Design awards in 1991 for Visual Effects, in 1997 for Lighting, and again in 2013 for Special Visual Effects. In 2007, meanwhile, readers of the Radio Times voted Red Dwarf the "Best Sci-Fi Show of All Time".

Since the show's revival on Dave in 2009, Red Dwarf has continued to break broadcasting records. The Back to Earth specials placed the show as the highest-rated commissioned show ever to be broadcast on a UK digital network, and its record of 2.6million viewers still stands. This was followed up by consolidated figures of 2.09million for the launch of Series X in 2012, well over a million each for Series XI and XII, and 2.02 million for The Promised Land in 2020.

The show has also achieved international success, being shown regularly on PBS in the United States since its launch, and with extensive sales and popularity in such countries as Australia, Japan, Czech Republic, Spain, France and Germany.