Daytime Emmys 2026: All Five Soaps Win as Tamara Tunie, Beth Maitland, and Genie Francis Take Home Awards
All five daytime soaps won at the 53rd Daytime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Friday, with Beyond the Gates taking four awards in its first year of eligibility and General Hospital winning Outstanding Daytime Drama Series.
Newsnibs Staff
- 2026-11-01
- Updated 5:24 AM UTC
(Los Angeles, United States)
General Hospital won Outstanding Daytime Drama Series at the 53rd Daytime Emmy Awards on Friday, and all five daytime dramas left the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles with at least one trophy. The ABC soap was honored for episodes dealing with the death of Monica, the character played by the late Leslie Charleson. It also won Outstanding Writing Team, and Jeff Kober took Guest Performance. Casting director Mark Teschner collected his 12th Emmy for Best Casting.
The night's biggest story was Beyond the Gates, which won four awards in its first year of eligibility. The CBS drama debuted in February 2025 and has been described as the first new major network soap in 25 years and the first Black-led soap in 35. Tamara Tunie, who plays Anita Dupree, won Outstanding Lead Actress, and Ambyr Michelle won Outstanding Emerging Talent. Tunie used her time onstage to talk about why a show needs more than two Black actors. The series has been renewed for two more seasons, through 2028.
The other lead and supporting acting prizes went to The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless. Scott Clifton won Outstanding Lead Actor as Liam on The Bold and the Beautiful, for a storyline built around a fatal brain tumor that aired in the first half of 2025. Roger Howarth won Outstanding Supporting Actor for The Young and the Restless, the show with the most nominations this year at 18. Castmate Beth Maitland won her second Emmy, 41 years after her first, in 1985.
Days of Our Lives won Outstanding Directing Team for episodes that featured the memorial for John Black, the character played by the late Drake Hogestyn.
Genie Francis received the Lifetime Achievement Award from her husband, Jonathan Frakes. She joined General Hospital in 1977 at 14. Her character's 1981 wedding to Luke Spencer, played by Tony Geary, drew an estimated 30 million viewers. She has also appeared on Days of Our Lives, All My Children and The Young and the Restless.
The Kelly Clarkson Show won Outstanding Daytime Talk Series and Outstanding Directing for a Daytime Studio Non-Fiction Series, after ending its run in August. Sherri Shepherd won Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host for the farewell season of her own show, Sherri. Entertainment Tonight won Outstanding Entertainment News Series. Justice For The People with Judge Milian won Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Series, and Star Jones and Corey Jovan of Divorce Court shared Outstanding Daytime Personality (Daily).
In the food and lifestyle categories, Be My Guest with Ina Garten won Outstanding Culinary Instructional Series and Lucky Chow won Outstanding Culinary Cultural Series. Giada De Laurentiis won Outstanding Daytime Personality (Non-Daily) for Giada in My Kitchen. A Different Breed won Outstanding Lifestyle Program along with the directing and editing awards for daytime non-studio programs. The Hulu film Unleashing Hope: The Power of Service Dogs for Children with Autism won Outstanding Daytime Special. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade took two technical awards, and Long Way Home won for cinematography.
The ceremony also inducted Meredith Vieira and Byron Allen into the Gold Circle and Silver Circle for 2026.
Photo by Joshua Golde on Unsplash
