Daytime Emmys Preview: EP David Michaels on Which Category Is the Toughest Call

The Daytime Emmys haven’t been seen on television since 2015 when Pop TV aired the awards show, but viewers can see the ceremony this year when statuettes are handed out on Sunday, April 29, in Pasadena.

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) has partnered with KNEKT TV in order to stream the awards to platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as well as on the KNETK TV network on Apple TV, Roku, iOS and Android.

In addition to accolades being given out to soaps, talk shows, and other programs, David Michaels, senior vice president of NATAS and executive producer of The 45^th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, tells TV Insider that there will be a number of tributes. These will be celebrating big milestones of the year, including Wheel of Fortune, which turns 35, and serials The Young and the Restless and General Hospital, which turn 45 and 55, respectively.

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The webcast is set to run two-and-a-half hours and will feature an In Memoriam honoring those the Daytime community has lost over the last year. “Joely Fisher (Ellen) is going to be singing the song for that,” Michaels says. “I can’t say enough great things about her.”

Actress Joely Fisher

Among the presenters will be real-life war hero Chris Van Etten, who recurred on GH last year as Chet Driscoll.

The majority of the web series categories will be handed out on Friday, April 27, at the Creative Arts ceremony, but Best Digital Drama Series will be awarded on the Sunday show. “That category really blew up with entrants this year,” Michaels explains. “It’s time to start bringing some of that into (the Sunday show).”

Sunday’s Lifetime Achievement honorees are Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes, aka Doug and Julie Williams from Days of Our Lives. And it’s possible that Seaforth Hayes will walk away with bookends, as she’s also nominated in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress for playing Julie.

Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes

It’s the only acting category with six contenders, making it one of the most anticipated awards of the night. The other nominees include Jacqueline MacInnes Wood (Steffy, The Bold and the Beautiful) and four (!) actresses from The Young and the Restless — Marla Adams (Dina), Camryn Grimes (Mariah), Elizabeth Hendrickson (ex-Chloe), and Mishael Morgan (Hilary).

However, it’s not a given that the votes will split among multiple actors from the same show. Michaels says that this year, once again, NATAS has reached out to actors from primetime to partake in voting for their daytime counterparts.

“It can be incestuous within the industry,” Michaels notes. “Actors from outside of daytime who don’t watch [regularly] are doing the purest voting. But I’ve talked to a lot of the [Daytime] actors who vote and they claim they don’t vote by show — they literally watch the reels. They take voting very seriously.”

45th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards will be held Sunday, April 29, and can be streamed on the Emmy social media platforms and website, as well as on the KNEKT TV network.