Daytime Emmys Announce 2026 Nominations (FULL LIST)

The 53rd annual Daytime Emmy nominations announcement is underway. Among early nominees: Recently ended talkers “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (recognized for talk series and talk host) and “Sherri” (with a nod for talk host).

The Daytime Emmys, administered by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, recognize daytime dramas, talk series, entertainment news, culinary, adventure, instructional and legal/courtroom programming. This year’s Lifetime Achievement honoree, Gold & Silver Circle inductees, and ceremony host will be announced at a later date.

Formerly held in June, the Daytime Emmys moved to mid-fall last year; the 2026 event is scheduled to take place as a single ceremony on Friday, October 30, in Los Angeles.

“We’re proud to honor the extraordinary talent and creative teams whose work continues to define and elevate daytime television,” said NATAS president/CEO Adam Sharp. “As the Daytime landscape evolves and new forms of storytelling emerge, we remain committed to recognizing the innovation happening across the industry.” 

This year’s Daytime Emmys nominations come after serveral rule changes were announced this spring. Among the modifications: Submissions will now be episode-based, which it calls a “primetime format,” allowing programs to enter multiple submissions for different episodes and potentially receive several nominations.

Additionally, NATAS has opted to determine how many nominations a category will get based on a scale of how may submissions there were, much like what happens at the Primetime Emmys. The default number of nominations in a category are:

10 – 29 submissions: 5 nominations
30 – 59 submissions: 6 nominations
60 – 89 submissions: 7 nominations
90 – 119 submissions: 8 nominations
120 -149 submissions: 9 nominations
150 or more submissions: 10 nomination

If there are fewer than ten submissions in a category, the default number of nominations is 50% of the category’s submissions, rounded up to the nearest whole number. Categories with three or fewer submissions have no nominations, “though the National Awards Committee may proceed with an award based on a standard of excellence if the category is not otherwise merged or eliminated.”

Meanwhile, there’s a new threshold for when you’re eligible for guest actor in a daytime drama (“To be eligible for the guest category, you must be seen in a maximum of 19% of episodes aired/streamed for the first time during calendar year 2025. Otherwise, you must enter in categories eligible only in the Leading, Supporting, or Emerging Talent categories.”).

And the science and nature programming category has been eliminated in Daytime, as programs will now have to submit in Primetime, News & Doc or Children’s & Family, depending on eligibility.

Finally, daytime dramas and non-fiction programs will now enter alongside each other in categories except writing and directing. The categories will be split again if both the daytime drama and daytime non-fiction tracks have at least 10 submissions each.

NATAS Productions is behind the Daytime Emmys. Adam Sharp and Lara Gates are executive producers, and Leon Knoles is back as ceremony director for a fifth straight year. “Each year, the Daytime Emmy Awards celebrate the creativity, passion, and dedication that drive this vibrant community of storytellers,” said Daytime Emmy awards head Rachel Schwartz. “Congratulations to this year’s nominees, whose work continues to entertain, inspire and connect with audiences every day. We look forward to celebrating their remarkable achievements in Hollywood this October.” 

Here are this year’s nominations, starting with four categories that were revealed Monday night during the broadcasts of entertainment news magazines “Extra” and “Entertainment Tonight”:

Outstanding Lead Performer in a Daytime Drama Series: Actress

Outstanding Lead Performer in a Daytime Drama Series: Actor

Outstanding Daytime Talk Series

Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host

More to come as the remaining nominees are announced on Tuesday morning.