Daytime Emmys Snubs & Surprises: Melody Thomas Scott, ‘The Talk’ Hosts & More
Even before the 2024 Daytime Emmy nominations were announced, soap opera fans were commenting on the fact that the Outstanding Young Performer category had been axed, meaning one less statuette would be handed out this year.
Soap fans are now discussing and dissecting this year’s ballot, commenting on which actors have been chosen and which ones should have been. As always, this year’s list of nominees is filled with talented contenders but the absence of some has daytime drama fans scratching their heads. Scroll down to take a look at the nominations that surprised (and didn’t surprise) us as well as those we think should have been recognized.
The 51st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, Friday, June 7, 8/7c, CBS, Paramount+
SNUB: Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki Newman, Young and the Restless) for Outstanding Lead Actress
Let’s get the biggest snub this year out of the way. Thomas Scott re-established herself as Y&R’s leading heroine after alcoholic Nikki was kidnapped by her granddaughter Claire (AKA Eve Nicole), played by Hayley Erin, and given an IV drop laced with vodka! Some actresses might prefer to remain glammed up even when being held hostage but not Thomas Scott – she let Nikki’s horrific ordeal show in her presentation. “This is the snub that everyone is talking about,” says Rachel Dillin, editor-in-chief, Soap Hub. “We published multiple articles on Melody’s performances last year for our Performer of the Week feature. Her absence on this year’s ballot is glaring.”
SURPRISE: Scott Clifton (Liam, Bold and the Beautiful) for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
All eyes were on both John McCook (Eric) and Thorsten Kaye (Ridge), who respectively took home the Daytime Emmy for Best Actor in 2022 and 2023, for their work in the Eric dying storyline on The Bold and the Beautiful. (Fortunately, he lived!) But Clifton, who has won three Daytime Emmys for his role as Liam, turned in some dramatic performances when his character discovered his wife Hope (Annika Noelle) was playing kissy face with Thomas (Matthew Atkinson) in Rome. Voters didn’t let this work go unnoticed. Just because you have two great actors on a show doesn’t mean you can’t have three. Not only were McCook and Kaye nominated but Clifton was, too.
SNUB: General Hospital Actors including Maurice Benard (Sonny)
Maurice Benard has won three Daytime Emmys for his performance as mobster/family man Sonny Corinthos. In 2023, he played out Sonny’s return from Nixon Falls where he had lived as an amnesiac named Mike. We saw the end of Sonny’s union with Carly (Laura Wright) and his romance with Nina (Cynthia Watros) move into the future. Not only was Benard not even nominated this year but neither were any of GH’s actors in the lead category. It also was surprising not to see more GH gentlemen in other acting categories: Réal Andrews deserved a nod in either Supporting or Guest for Taggert’s heart-breaking reaction to finding out he’s not Trina’s (Tabyana Ali) birth father. James Patrick Stuart brings complexity to Valentin Cassadine. We hoped to see their names on the ballot this year.
SNUB: Heather Tom (Katie Logan, B&B)
Tom is the only actress to have won Daytime Emmys in the categories of Younger Actress, Supporting Actress, and Lead Actress. The performer can find the heart and love in any scene she’s been given to play. She immerses herself into her character in a way that many performers simply do not. In January 2023, Tom had a showdown with Kimberlin Brown’s Sheila in which the naughty nurse taunted Katie over her weak heart and how she is always second choice to her sister, Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang). We saw on Katie’s face that Sheila was, arguably, speaking the truth. Also, Tom tapped into just how passionate Katie can be when she blasted Bill (Don Diamont), her ex-husband, for his curious support of Sheila. The actress definitely had the material to not only get on the ballot but win, too.
SNUB: Maura West (Ava, GH), Arianne Zucker (Nicole, Days of our Lives), Sharon Case (Sharon, Y&R), and Genie Francis (Laura, GH)
It’s great that the Outstanding Lead Actress category has six names this year and not the usual five. But some popular actresses, in addition to Y&R’s previously mentioned Thomas Scott (Nikki), were left off the ballot. Maura West plays wicked Ava with delicious perfection on GH. DAYS’ Arianne Zucker continues to break our hearts as Nicole, once again, has had a child taken from against her will. Sharon Case’s Sharon briefly got to step out from behind the counter at Crimson Lights on Y&R to protect her daughter from a madman. Ratings went up. She not only deserves a Daytime Emmy nomination but more screentime. Genie Francis (Laura) is the heart and soul (and the star) of GH. She makes the show feel like home.
A (BITTERSWEET) SURPRISE: The Talk hosts Akbar Gbajabiamila, Amanda Kloots, Natalie Morales, Jerry O'Connell & Sheryl Underwood for Outstanding Talk Show Hosts
The hosts of The Talk were in the news recently when it was announced that the show would have an abbreviated 15th (and final) season in the fall. Now, they’re making news again with their nomination. The show’s hosts have supported soaps for quite some time. The daytime lineup won’t be the same without them but it’s nice that they’ll get to have something to celebrate in June.
(NO) SURPRISE: Dick Van Dyke as Timothy Robicheaux, Days of our Lives
The Guest Performer category had a few incarnations in decades past before it was brought back nearly a decade ago. Imagine if it had existed when Elizabeth Taylor had played Helena Cassadine on GH back in 1981? While daytime stalwarts have been nominated in this category, we can’t help but feel it may have been created to help bring mainstream appeal to the awards show. Voters sent that message home with a nod for Van Dyke, who gave a heart-warming and entertaining performance as Timothy Robicheaux, the true and final (we think) father of Drake Hogestyn’s John Black.
SNUB: Sean Kanan (Deacon) and Henry Joseph Samiri (Douglas), B&B
Sean Kanan showed us in 2023 that even sociopathic killers like Sheila Carter (Brown) deserve love. The fan favorite made us believe that Sheila – despite her wicked ways – was a human being, one whom Deacon loved – and still loves. (By the way, it’s looking like she’s not dead, folks!) Just because the Daytime Emmy folks eliminated the category of Younger Performer, it didn’t mean that young actors can’t be nominated. Henry Joseph Samiri gave endearing performances as Douglas, who opted to live with his Aunt Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) so that he wouldn’t have to choose between his father and mother. A lesser actor would have played the move as manipulative, but the charming Samiri made Douglas’s choice heartfelt. Though neither submitted this year, their performances were still memorable.
SNUB: Colleen Zenk as Aunt Jordan, Y&R
The Newman clan has arguably been leaning into boardroom drama for too long. That all changed in late 2023 when Aunt Jordan, the sister of Victor’s former scorned secretary Eve Howard (the late Margaret Mason) revealed herself and had Nikki kidnapped. It’s all part of her big revenge scheme against the family that did her sister dirty. Zenk simply should have won a Daytime Emmy for her turn as Barbara Ryan on As the World Turns, the role she originated in 1978 and played until the show’s conclusion in 2010. A nod for Zenk as Jordan would have been also a “thank you” for Barbara. The important thing is the actress is back on our screens – and there’s always next year.
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