Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Thoughts on Daytime Emmy Nominations 2015

On Tuesday, March 31, 2015 Emmyonline.org posted the 42nd annual Daytime Emmy nominations. The winners again will be decided based on who got the most votes during this round. Below is the list and my thoughts on those who were included this year.

Originally the nominees were to be announced on March 26, but due to the announcement being shown on "The Talk", they were postponed to today. The hosts of the show were thrilled when they were nominated for Outstanding Talk Show/Entertainment and as hosts for that genre. All four current daytime dramas ("The Bold and the Beautiful", "Days of Our Lives", "General Hospital", and "The Young and the Restless") were nominated for best show. All four shows were also nominated for best directing and writing. This is a great way for no show to feel left out and to make the shows spend money on seats for the casts. The casting category omitted B&B, but Judy Blye Wilson (Y&R), Marnie Saitta (Days) and Mark Teschner (GH) got nodded. If you look at the full list, many categories have all four shows included in the technical realm. Four songs were nominated for Outstanding Original Song - Drama: "Hands of Time" from B&B, "Just Breathe" from Y&R, and "Little Things" and "Reaching" from GH. B&B also got nominated against other shows outside of soap operas in Outstanding Stunt Coordination though they have two nominations one listed as "steps" and the other with no designation (so I have to wonder what it must be). Including nominations for behind the scenes employees, each show had the following total nominations:

  • GH - 28
  • Y&R - 25
  • B&B - 19
  • DAYS - 16

For the web soaps, the following shows were nominated. Anacostia, The Bay The Series, Beacon Hill the Series, and East Los High. The first three are independent productions, while the third has a home at Hulu. In the performer category, Sarah Brown from Beacon Hill, Martha Byrne from Anacostia, Andrea Evans from DeVanity, Alicia Minshew from Beacon Hill,  Vannessa Vasquez from East Los High and Danielle Vega from East Los High. This could be for men or women, but no males got nominated.

Game shows nominated were Family Feud, Jeopardy! and The Price is Right. For game show hosting, Craig Ferguson (Celebrity Name Game), Steve Harvey (Family Feud), Todd Newton (Family Game Night) and Pat Sajak (Wheel of Fortune) were nominated. This is surprising as typically shows and host nominations tend to more closely match.

Getting back to soaps and the acting nominations...

Lead Actress

Peggy McCay (Caroline, DAYS)
Alison Sweeney (Sami, DAYS)
Gina Tognoni (Phyllis, Y&R)
Maura West (Ava, GH)
Laura Wright (Carly, GH)

B&B was snubbed in this category and last year's winner Eileen Davidson wasn't on the pre-nomination list. Ten actresses were pre-nominated, so the list was cut in half. I feel like Melissa Claire Egan from Y&R should have stayed in supporting as she wasn't nominated. Heather Tom with all her nominations and wins was also snubbed. Ali Sweeney finally got nominated in her last year as a regular cast member of Days after 22 years. For that reason, I'd be happy about her winning as she's grown a lot since she started as a soap teen in the 90s. The others all have Emmys, in the case of McCay it is for her primetime work, so Ali would be the only possible first time winner. (Wright and West have won in lead before, and Tognoni in supporting actress, though West and Tognoni's wins were for other roles on As the World Turns and Guiding Light respectively.)

Lead Actor

Anthony Geary (Luke, GH)
Christian LeBlanc (Michael, Y&R)
Billy Miller (Billy, Y&R)
Jason Thompson (Patrick, GH)

Eleven actors were pre-nominated and the list was cut down to four. B&B and DAYS were snubbed though both shows only had one pre-nomination in this category. I'd rather have four nominees than six or seven. Last year's winner Billy Miller could repeat for his material surrounding the death of Billy's daughter and the revelation of who her killer was. Thompson and LeBlanc were also nominated last year. Tony Geary's won more awards in this category than anyone else, so he gets a lot of love.

Supporting Actress

Linsey Godfrey (Caroline, B&B)
Amelia Heinle (Victoria, Y&R)
Elizabeth Hendrickson (Chloe, Y&R)
Finola Hughes (Anna, GH)
Lisa LoCicero (Olivia, GH)

Eleven actresses were pre-nominated and the list was cut down to five. Last year's winner Amelia Heinle is on the list again as is Elizabeth Hendrickson, who is no longer a regular on Y&R. The other three have never been nominated in this category in the past. Finola has been in the lead category (in the 90s and 00s) with one win in 1991, Linsey was nominated in younger actress last year and Lisa as a  new nominee even though she's been on and off soaps for 20 years.

Supporting Actor

Scott Clifton (Liam, B&B)
Chad Duell (Michael, GH)
Kristoff St. John (Neil, Y&R)
Jacob Young (Rick, B&B)

Ten actors were pre-nominated and the list was cut down to four. Last year's winner Eric Martsolf isn't on the list, so there will not be a repeat. Scott won in a tie in 2013, and Kristoff last won in this category in 2008. Scott, Kristoff and Jacob have all won Younger Actor Awards in the past, though only Kristoff received his for his current role, so Chad is the only one without an award.

Younger Actress

Kristen Alderson (Kiki, GH)
Camila Banus (Gabi, DAYS)
Hunter King (Summer, Y&R)
Haley Pullos (Molly, GH)

Nine actresses were pre-nominated and the list was cut down to four. Last year's winner Hunter King is nominated again as is 2013's winner Kristen. Camila and Haley are first time nominees, while Camila and Kristen both have left their respective shows.

Younger Actor

Bryan Craig (Morgan, GH)
Max Ehrich (Fen, Y&R)
Tequan Richmond (TJ, GH)
Freddie Smith (Sonny, DAYS)

Eight actors were pre-nominated and the list was cut down to four. Last year's winner was Chandler Massey, who won the award three years in a row as Will on Days of Our Lives, was no longer eligible. We will have a new winner as no one else in this category has a statuette. This is Tequan's first nomination, while the others have been honored in the past.

This year also saw the return of the Special Guest Performer in a Daytime Drama category that hasn't been around since the 80s. The nominees are mainly known for work outside of daytime except for Linda Elena Tovar. I have no idea who will win this category and can't even venture a guess.

Meredith Baxter (Maureen, Y&R)
Sally Kellerman (Constance, Y&R)
Donna Mills (Madeline, GH)
Linda Elena Tovar (Rosalie, GH)
Fred Willard (John, B&B)
Ray Wise (Ian, Y&R)

Congrats to all the nominees.

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