For the last five years, the Daytime Emmys ended with General Hospital winning the coveted Best Daytime Drama Series prize. But now, there’s a new soap in town, and the long-running hospital-set drama could find itself flatlining.
Beyond the Gates came on strong in its inaugural outing with 15 nominations, compared to 13 for General Hospital (the noms leader was The Young and the Restless at 18). While the buzz is undoubtedly with BTG given that it’s the first new daytime soap opera in decades, GH still has two things going its way.
First and foremost, General Hospital is a proven champion, with five consecutive Best Daytime Drama Series wins and 18 overall. It’s also one of only two programs this year (the other being Days of Our Lives) that received bids in the top four categories: series, acting, directing, and writing. Beyond the Gates missed directing.
Best Drama Series
1.
2.
3.
4.
The Young and the Restless
Per the Gold Derby odds, Beyond the Gates has a 72% chance of winning its inaugural trophy for Best Daytime Drama Series. General Hospital is in the runner-up position at 19%. Rounding out the category are Days of Our Lives at 8% and The Young and the Restless at 1%.
If the race really is between Beyond the Gates and General Hospital, the Acting Branch of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences could be what determines the outcome. And this influential group went head-over-heels for BTG on the show’s debut.
Best Drama Actress
1.
Tamara Tunie
Beyond the Gates
2.
Michelle Stafford
The Young and the Restless
3.
Stacy Haiduk
Days of Our Lives
4.
Heather Tom
The Bold and the Beautiful
5.
Karla Mosley
Beyond the Gates
Beyond the Gates earned an impressive eight acting bids: lead actresses Karla Mosley and Tamara Tunie, supporting actress Trisha Mann-Grant, supporting actors Timon Kyle Durrett and Mike Manning, emerging stars Ambyr Michelle and Arielle Prepetit, and guest performer Jasmine Burke. Tunie (at 79%), Mann-Grant (at 68%), and Burke (at 55%) are the odds leaders in their three respective races.
Best Emerging Talent
1.
Giovanni Mazza
General Hospital
2.
Ambyr Michelle
Beyond the Gates
3.
Braedyn Bruner
General Hospital
4.
Alice Halsey
Days of Our Lives
5.
Al Calderon
Days of Our Lives
6.
Arielle Prepetit
Beyond the Gates
To compare, General Hospital only received six acting nods: lead actor Steve Burton, supporting actress Amanda Setton, emerging stars Braedyn Bruner and Giovanni Mazza, and guest performers Jeff Kober and Eva LaRue. Notably, the program missed the lead actress category for the first time in 12 years. Mazza has the edge to win his category, at 70%.
Best Drama Actor
1.
Eric Braeden
The Young and the Restless
2.
Steve Burton
General Hospital
3.
Scott Clifton
The Bold and the Beautiful
4.
Thorsten Kaye
The Bold and the Beautiful
5.
Christian Jules LeBlanc
The Young and the Restless
The Young and the Restless earns bragging rights this year with nine acting citations, the most for a soap. However, its writing snub could prove to be its Achilles’ heel; the last time it missed writing was in 2009. The show’s acting nominees are for lead actress Michelle Stafford, lead actors Eric Braeden and Christian Jules LeBlanc, supporting actresses Camryn Grimes and Beth Maitland, supporting actors Sean Dominic, Michael Graziadei, and Roger Howarth, and guest performer Ray Wise. Braeden (at 69%) and Dominic (at 55%) are currently projected to win.
Beyond the Gates may be the new kid in town, but Emmy voters have a long history with General Hospital — and that kind of loyalty is hard to ignore. Find out who wins during the star-studded ceremony at the Hollywood Palladium on Oct. 30.
