the 23rd sumathi awards was held at nelum pokuna mahinda rajapaksa theatre on 29 august 2018. in the best award category, sumathi award for the best teledrama actor was won by shyam fernando and best teledrama actress was nadee kammalweera. in popular award category, raveen kanishka won the most popular actor award, whereas shalani tharaka won the most popular actress award. the u.w. sumathipala memorial award was given to, veteran actor tissa wijesurendra and veteran actress geetha kumarasinghe. out of 43 awards given, teledrama "see raja" won 9 awards including best actor, director, television series, script and lyrics.