2026 Daytime Emmy Awards: Ceremony Date Announced as Submissions Begin
Daytime Emmy season has officially begun as submissions for the 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards opened on March 19. The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences not only announced some important dates for the upcoming nominations and ceremony, but revealed some changes to the submission guidelines for some of the categories that will affect General Hospital, Young and Restless, Bold and Beautiful, Beyond the Gates, and Days of Our Lives.
Daytime’s Big Night
While submissions in the various Daytime Emmys categories are now open for business, the nominations themselves are not scheduled to be announced until July. However, the date for the ceremony has been locked in: this year’s show will take place in Los Angeles on Friday, October 30.
This year has also brought some new changes to the rules. The Daytime Emmys will now follow the Primetime Emmys format in craft categories such as hair and makeup and costuming, which means that shows will now be asked to submit a complete episode instead of a clip reel. Previously, the entire team of crew members for a particular show would receive a nomination, but now, only specific crew members who worked on that episode will receive a nod. In another break with tradition, shows can now be nominated multiple times in the same category, with more than one individual episode of a series eligible for recognition.
In recent years, the Daytime Emmys combined fiction and non-fiction series in some of the craft categories, which meant that soaps like GH and Y&R were competing against unscripted series like The Drew Barrymore Show and Sherri. Beginning with the 2026 Daytime Emmys, though, if there are at least 10 submissions between both fiction and non-fiction in any given category, they will be split into separate categories. So instead of one single Costume Design/Styling category, there would be two: one for Daytime Drama Series and another for Daytime Non-Fiction Program.
The Guest Performer in a Daytime Drama category is also changing. Previously, actors could be nominated for “a performance in a limited role with a definitive beginning and end to the story arc.” Now, however, actors can submit themselves for this award only if they have appeared in a maximum of 19% of the episodes aired or streamed for the first time during the calendar year. Any performer appearing in 20% of the episodes or more must submit in the Lead, Supporting, or Emerging Talent categories.
Judging for the Daytime Emmys has moved to a members-only model, so it will be conducted by members of NATAS, the Television Academy, or dual members of both organizations. If enough appropriate members cannot be found for judging, NATAS will then include (in order of priority) prior Emmy Award winners, prior Emmy Award nominees, and those who meet the criteria but have not chosen to join. Going forward, categories that consistently have difficulty forming a full panel of judges may be considered for elimination.
Which stars and shows do you think are most deserving of nominations? Let us know in the comments below!
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