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General Hospital Returns to the Top at the Daytime Emmys
The 52nd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards unfolded in Pasadena, California, with a mix of soap-opera tradition and streaming-era surprises. Emceed by Mario Lopez at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, the ceremony crowned ABC's long-running General Hospital as Outstanding Drama Series for a second consecutive year, cementing its status as daytime television's most decorated drama in 2025. The win capped a night in which legacy soaps, syndicated talk shows and streaming platforms all found reasons to celebrate.
Highlights and standout winners
General Hospital led the scoreboard with seven trophies that spanned both creative and technical fields, including honors for its writing team, directing team and key performances. Nancy Lee Grahn won her third lead acting Emmy for her portrayal of Alexis Davis, and Jonathan Jackson was recognized in a supporting role — wins that underline how long-running characters and veteran performers continue to anchor daytime storytelling.
Days of Our Lives also made a mark: Paul Telfer earned Outstanding Lead Actor for his portrayal of Xander Kiriakis, while Days scored recognition for casting. The Young and the Restless claimed supporting acting honors through Susan Walters, showing that the classic daytime rivalry between these three network stalwarts remains vibrant.
Syndicated talk shows had a notable night as well. Live with Kelly and Mark toppled the Daytime Talk Series category, while Drew Barrymore took home Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host even though her team remained in New York during the awards — a reminder that production logistics are no barrier to on-air recognition. Entertainment Tonight won both Outstanding Entertainment News Series and the Daytime Personality – Daily category, reinforcing its continued dominance in celebrity coverage.
Streaming platforms shift the balance
If the ceremony felt like a bridge between eras, that was because it was. Netflix led all platforms with nine wins, reflecting its growing investment in daytime-style nonfiction and specialty programming. Apple TV+'s The Secret Lives of Animals earned three Emmys, including Outstanding Science and Nature Program, and Netflix's Secret Lives of Orangutans also walked away with multiple trophies for music, editing and single-camera direction.
This distribution of awards shows a broader industry trend: streaming services are no longer just disrupting primetime drama and film; they are increasingly competing in daytime, factual, and cultural programming where production values and global reach matter. For daytime creators, the message is clear — quality non-fiction and specialty series can be as award-worthy as serialized dramas.
Food, culture, and fresh faces
The Food Network's Delicious Miss Brown and host Kardea Brown won in culinary categories, which demonstrates how niche instructional shows continue to resonate with audiences looking for comfort, personality and practical tips. HBO Max's Chasing Flavor with Carla Hall took home Outstanding Culinary Cultural Series, highlighting a moment when food television celebrates identity and storytelling as much as recipes.
The ceremony introduced a new category, Outstanding Emerging Talent in a Daytime Drama Series, awarded to Lisa Yamada for her role on The Bold and the Beautiful. That inaugural prize is an important signal: daytime wants to nurture young actors who can carry serial storytelling forward as veteran performers age out or move to different platforms.
Noteworthy moments and behind-the-scenes trivia
- The ceremony was hosted by Mario Lopez, who brought a pop-culture energy that balanced reverence for soap history with playful banter.
- Beyond the Gates, a CBS show that premiered in February, earned shout-outs but was ineligible this year due to the Emmy window; it's set to compete next year following a renewal.
- Deidre Hall presented Deborah Norville with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her decades-spanning career in broadcast news and syndication — a salute to a presenter who has crossed daytime and news genres.
Fans were vocal online: social posts celebrated Nancy Lee Grahn’s emotional acceptance and debated whether streaming nonfiction should sit alongside traditional soaps in the same categories. The community pulse showed both affection for legacy storytelling and excitement about new formats gaining recognition.
Critical perspective and industry context
Daytime's landscape is in transition. Soaps still deliver serialized drama with complicated character webs and daily audience rituals, but streaming services are expanding the category by investing in high-end documentaries, science series and cultural programming. This year's winners list reflects both continuity and change: a nod to the endurance of daytime drama and host-driven talk shows, and a clear signal that production quality — from cinematography to sound design — now determines awards success across formats.
Film critic Anna Kovacs, who has tracked television's evolution for two decades, summed it up this way: 'The Daytime Emmys have always been a barometer of changing audience habits. This year, the ceremony highlighted how daytime storytelling is branching out — streaming brings cinematic craft, while soaps maintain serialized intimacy. Both approaches are necessary for the genre's future.'
Selected winners to remember
- Outstanding Drama Series: General Hospital (ABC)
- Outstanding Lead Actress in a Daytime Drama Series: Nancy Lee Grahn, General Hospital
- Outstanding Lead Actor in a Daytime Drama Series: Paul Telfer, Days of Our Lives (Peacock)
- Outstanding Daytime Talk Series: Live with Kelly and Mark
- Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host: Drew Barrymore
- Outstanding Science and Nature Program: The Secret Lives of Animals (Apple TV+)
- Outstanding Arts and Popular Culture Program and Writing: Black Barbie (Netflix)
- Outstanding Culinary Instructional Series and Host: Delicious Miss Brown and Kardea Brown (Food Network)
- Outstanding Entertainment News Series and Daytime Personality – Daily: Entertainment Tonight
Beyond the headlines, technical categories rewarded craft: lighting, sound mixing, editing and set design accolades spanned network and streaming projects alike. The wins for cinematography and single-camera editing on series such as National Parks: USA and The Secret Lives of Animals show how daytime-adjacent nonfiction is embracing cinematic standards.
What this means for viewers and creators
For viewers, the 2025 Daytime Emmys reaffirmed that daytime television remains diverse: serialized dramas, live talk shows and carefully produced nonfiction all coexist and evolve. For creators and producers, the awards underlined the value of investing in production quality and talent development. Whether a producer is crafting a daily soap, a streaming nature series, or a syndicated talk show, the path to recognition increasingly depends on storytelling craft as much as on format.
The night also nudged conversations about eligibility, category definitions and how awards bodies balance heritage programming with streaming innovation — debates likely to continue as the industry restructures around audience attention and platform competition.
Ultimately, the evening in Pasadena felt celebratory and forward-looking. General Hospital's repeat win honored daytime tradition, while the strong showing from streamers and specialty programs hinted that the next chapter of daytime television will be broader, more cinematic and more global than ever.
Source: deadline
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