HOLLYWOOD—On Sunday, April 26, the 42nd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will be handed out and many are rambling to predict just which actors and actresses will walk away with the golden trophy.
One of the biggest categories for the night will be Outstanding Daytime Series, which will have the remaining soap operas competing for the big prize, but we’ll discuss those predictions a little bit later. Let’s start our discussion with Lead Actor, which has only four candidates up for the big prize and who are all absolutely deserving.
In one corner, we have six-time winner Anthony Geary for his riveting work on “General Hospital” with the Luke doppelganger saga. With the level of work that Geary has delivered in the past year or so, that alone will warrant him the prize, but he’ll have to face stiff competition. Christian J. LeBlanc is back in the category for his somber storyline on “The Young and the Restless” involving Michael’s battle with cancer. Michael’s confession to Lauren was just heartbreaking, but I’m not sure if LeBlanc has the edge here.
Last year’s winner Billy Miller, who has left “The Young and the Restless” and now stars on “General Hospital,” could seriously take the prize for Lead Actor with scenes he submitted involving the confrontation between Adam and Billy over the death of Delia. It was beyond intense and heartbreaking to say the least. Rounding out the contenders is Jason Thompson who picked up his third consecutive nomination for his work as Patrick Drake. I’d argue Thompson had stronger chances in the past two years to claim the prize. It’s a race between Geary and Miller, where I give a slight edge to Geary because he’s been phenomenal on the soap.
The Lead Actress race is one that has a frontrunner, that I just don’t see losing because of the emotional feat that she accomplished this year. Alison Sweeney picked up her first nomination after portraying Sami Brady for more than 20 years on “Days of Our Lives.” If that doesn’t warrant her a win, I have the slightest idea what will. While Peggy McCay, Gina Tognoni and Maura West are all fascinating, Sweeney’s biggest contender could be previous winner Laura Wright whose submission of the Halloween wedding from hell delivered some of the finest acting from the actress to date in my opinion. Bet on Sweeney, but don’t be surprised if Wright gets called to the stage.
I will acknowledge that the Supporting Actor race might be one of the most contentious of all the categories. I would suggest that Scott Clifton “The Bold and Beautiful” is facing much tougher competition than in the past, so his chances are slim. This is an award that can go to Chad Duell for his epic confrontation with Sonny on “General Hospital,” Kristoff St. John who delivered range as Neil Winters on “The Young and the Restless” who dealt with being blind and confronting his estranged brother, Malcolm.
Then there is Jacob Young whose portrayal of Rick Forrester on “The Bold and Beautiful” has been a revelation. Those scenes where he confronted his wife for cheating on him with his brother were just devastating to say the least. This category is indeed a gamble, so I’m placing my money on Young, but would not be surprised if St. John took the prize.
I think the Supporting Actress race is a two-person race between Linsey Godfrey “The Bold and the Beautiful’ and Finola Hughes “General Hospital.” Both ladies have delivered strong work this year; Godfrey has a slight edge as she has been given the opportunity to truly shine on the soap, while Hughes has the emotional backing after being left out in the Lead Actress race in the past few years, particularly those episodes involving the death of her daughter and the reunion that had heartstrings tugging. I’m placing my money on Hughes who is long overdue in my opinion, but I wouldn’t be upset if Godfrey took the stage.
In the Younger Actress and Younger Actor races I think that it’s a race between Camila Banus “Days of Our Lives” and Hunter King “The Young and the Restless,” where both ladies submitted work that played on emotion. Banus’ confession to killing Nick was shocking, while King delivered a level of range in her confrontation with Sharon for switching the paternity test.
My gut tells me Banus, but it could be time for King to finally take the stage after multiple nominations. For Younger Actor, I expect Bryan Craig “General Hospital” to take the prize for his confrontation with his father Sonny. I feel the competition in this race isn’t as strong as some of the other categories.
The big trophy of the night Outstanding Drama Series is a tough one. One could argue that “General Hospital,” “Days of Our Lives,” “The Bold and the Beautiful” and “The Young and the Restless” are all worthy of taking the prize. Its important to note in the past three years, each of the soaps have claimed the prize: “General Hospital” in 2012, “Days of Our Lives” in 2013 and “The Young and the Restless” in 2014. So one would argue that “The Bold and the Beautiful” could be up for contention?
I personally don’t see “Y&R” winning with the submissions made; I think stronger material should have been submitted, “General Hospital” has a strong chance if they submit those episodes involving the Creighton Clark drama that left viewers on the edge of their seat, not to mention the return of Stavros and Helena Cassadine, Robin Scorpio and Jason Morgan.
The ceremony will be hosted by supermodel, actress and talk show host Tyra Banks. Rather the hostess will be able to deliver the laughs or not, is still up for discussion. The festivities will air live on the Pop network at 8 p.m. EST on Sunday, April 26.
