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The nominations for the 42nd Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards were announced today by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS). The nominations in some of the most-anticipated categories were announced live on CBS's Emmy-nominated talk show The Talk.
"This year's Daytime Emmy Awards is shaping up to be one of our most memorable events in our forty-two year history," said Bob Mauro, President, NATAS. "With a record number of entries this year, some 350 nominees, the glamour of the historic Warner Bros. Studios lot and the live broadcast on the new Pop network, this year promises to have more 'red carpet' than at any other time in our storied past!"
With fewer soaps eligible this year -- last year the online versions of All My Children and One Life to Live were in the mix -- The Bold and the Beautiful, Days of our Lives, General Hospital, and The Young and the Restless all received nominations in the so-called "Big Three" categories: Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Writing Team, and Outstanding Directing Team.
The same was true in most of the Creative Arts categories, where all four soaps were nominated in areas that honor technical excellence. The exception was for Lighting Direction, for which Days of our Lives was the only soap not nominated.
General Hospital and The Young and the Restless dominated the acting nominations. GH pulled in 13 acting nominations, while Y&R tallied eleven acting nominations. Days of our Lives and The Bold and the Beautiful each racked up four nominations.
Days of our Lives, which has often been passed over in the acting categories, received two nominations in the Outstanding Lead Actress field. Long-time favorite Alison Sweeney (Sami Brady) earned her very first Daytime Emmy nomination and Peggy McCay (Caroline Brady) picked up her second nomination in three years. Previous winners Maura West (Ava Jerome, GH), Gina Tognoni (Phyllis Newman, Y&R), and Laura Wright (Carly Jacks, GH) rounded out the category.
Anthony Geary (Luke Spencer, GH) has a chance to extend his margin as the winningest actor in Daytime Emmy history. The General Hospital star has already won seven Outstanding Lead Actor trophies. He's nominated alongside cast mates Jason Thompson (Patrick Drake, GH) and Billy Miller (Jason Morgan/Jake Doe, GH), who is nominated for his previous work as Billy Abbott on The Young and the Restless. Y&R's Christian J. LeBlanc (Michael Baldwin) -- a three-time winner -- is also nominated.
The Bold and the Beautiful earned two of the Supporting Actor nominations. Scott Clifton (Liam Spencer, B&B) and Jacob Young (Rick Forrester, B&B) were joined by General Hospital's Chad Duell (Michael Corinthos, GH) and The Young and the Restless' Kristoff St. John (Neil Winters, Y&R).
In the Younger Actress category, Soap Central Red Carpet co-host Haley Pullos (Molly Lansing Davis) earned her very first nomination, as did Former Days of our Lives star Camila Banus (Gabriella Hernandez, DAYS). They are joined by previous winners Kristen Alderson (Kiki Jerome, GH) and Hunter King (Summer Newman, Y&R).
One change of note is the addition of the Outstanding Special Guest Performer. The category features six nominees whose characters were introduced in 2014 and appeared for a limited run. The last time the Daytime Emmys featured a guest performer category was all the way back in 1979-1980 when nominees included Sammy Davis, Jr., and Joan Fontaine.
"This year's Daytime Emmy Awards promises a cornucopia of thrills and surprises," said David Michaels, Senior Vice President, Daytime. "The broadcast on Pop at the iconic Warner Bros. Studios, honoring not only the best in daytime television but the incomparable, indefatigable Betty White, will be an event like nothing we've ever done before. Add Alex Trebek and Florence Henderson as our hosts for The Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards at the Universal Hilton with Producer/Director Michael Gargiulo as our crafts lifetime achievement honoree, and it will be two galas the community will remember for a long time!"
The 2015 Daytime Emmys ceremony will be broadcast live by the Pop network on Sunday, April 26, beginning at 8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific. The ceremony will be held for the first time on the historic Warner Bros. Studios lot.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW A LIST OF THIS YEAR'S NOMINEES
