“Y&R” And “Days” Daytime Emmy Winners

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HOLLYWOOD—The Daytime Emmy Awards returned to prime fashion on Sunday, April 26 in the city of Burbank. This time the ceremony was not televised online like last year. It aired live on the Pop network and was hosted by talk show host and model Tyra Banks.

General Hospital” led all nominees with 28 nominations, so did “GH” have a big night? Yes, but not in the Outstanding Drama Series race. The prize for Outstanding Drama Series was given out by “GH” faves Anthony Geary and Genie Francis who reunited on stage. The winner was a tie! Wow how often does that happen! The second winner was “The Young and the Restless.”

The ceremony opened with a spoof involving Matt Lauer and Ellen DeGeneres ending a prank war with Matt stripping to his skivvies (too bad it really wasn’t him), but it was quite funny to say the least. Banks was an odd choice to play hostess to an awards show if you ask me, but she kicked off the evening giving shout-outs to some of the biggest soaps in daytime history like “The Young and the Restless.” She even re-did that infamous scene from her talk show, telling haters of daytime TV to “Kiss her big fat ***.”

She then transitioned into a rap paying tribute to all the daytime shows from soaps, to entertainment and everything else in the mix. Steve Harvey joked about all the ‘losers’ of the night and asking the camera guys to not shine light on those who don’t take home the prize and got a resounding applause from the crowd.

The trophy for Lead Actor went to a very deserving Anthony Geary for his work as Luke Spencer on “General Hospital.” This is Geary’s eighth Daytime Emmy Award.

Shemar Moore presented the award for Lead Actress to Maura West for “General Hospital” West was quite emotional while taking the stage. I was almost certain that was an award that was going to be delivered to Alison Sweeney for her riveting work on “Days of Our Lives.” West was so emotional while on stage, which might have been one of the most heartfelt speeches of the night.

In the Supporting Actor race the prize was coveted to Chad Duell “General Hospital.” That was indeed a tight race, where many suspected the trophy could have gone to any of the contenders in the race. For Supporting Actress the award was given to Amelia Heinle for her work on “The Young and the Restless.” She lost a bit of composure while accepting her award; I would say she was a bit shocked by the win.

The Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series Directing Team went to “The Bold and the Beautiful.” Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team was also a prize for “The Bold and the Beautiful.” With those wins, I almost found it impossible for the daytime drama to not take home the prize for Outstanding Drama Series.

Outstanding Informative Talk Show Host was a surprise for the hosts of “The Chew,” with Carla Hall and Daphne Oz accepting the prize. Indeed a special moment during the ceremony as “Days of Our Lives” was honored with its 50 year anniversary as the cast members took to the stage and received a thunderous applause form the audience.

Betty White received the Lifetime Achievement Award showcasing the actress’ career span over nearly 60 plus years. White as always delivered plenty of laughs to the audience while accepting her award. Outstanding Entertainment News Program went to “Entertainment Tonight.” Craig Ferguson captured an Emmy for Outstanding Game Show Host for “Celebrity Game.”

In the race for Younger Actress Hunter King claimed the prize for her work on “The Young and the Restless.” The Emmy for Younger Actor went to Freddie Smith for “Days of Our Lives.” A must say that was a bit of a surprise, as I thought Bryan Craig was a lock for the award for his work on “General Hospital.”

Steve Harvey had to eat his words, as “The Steve Harvey Show” won the award for Outstanding Informative Talk Show. For Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host the prize went to Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan for “Live with Kelly and Michael.”

That bit where Banks played giveaway hosts to the audience was not as successful as one had hope for it to be. Ellen DeGeneres continued to prove that she is an unstoppable force in the Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show.

While the show had a bit of a slow pace to start, I must say I was happy to see the festivities back on television. Was it the best ceremony to date? Not quite, but in due time the Daytime Emmy awards will be back to those glory days with the right improvements.