We want to thank Abe Fried-Tanzer for doing so much Emmy contender coverage for us this year. The Primetime Emmy Awards are, of course, the "draw" but it occurred to us recently that "primetime" and "daytime" have surely lost their meaning in our current streaming era. That is to say but for the vestigial meaning they carry, who actually thinks of TV based on its airtime sanymore? People now watch whatever shows they watch whenever they want to watch them. Even live events aren't always screened as they air but often piecemeal through clips on the following day(s).
Eastsiders, up for 8 Emmy Awards in its final season
So herewith 5 brief notes on the Daytime Emmy Nominations just announced...
• Did you know that the gay drama Eastsiders, which airs on Netflix, is considers a "daytime" show? That's a strange designation given that Netflix literally has no air times. We liked the first season years ago but admittedly lost track of it. Its fourth and final season received 8 nominations including three acting nominations. That's a very healthy tally for the Daytime Emmys (tying with the iconic children's program Sesame Street and the often buzzy talk show The View). The show has never won any Emmys but this is its third time competing for "Outstanding Digital Daytime Drama Series"
• After the crash in viewership of daytime soaps and many cancellations throughout the past 20 years, a few long-running network shows still remain. General Hospital, Days Of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless, and The Bold and the Beautiful are competing for Best Daytime Drama for the gazillionth time. We exaggerate but basically the nominated lineup has not changed since almost all of their competitors went off the air six plus years ago. General Hospital is the program that's won this award most often (13 times) and The Young and the Restless is the all-time nomination leader (34 times).
Sara Ramirez in "The Feels"• Soap fans and web series fandoms can be obsessive (or so we hear) but the stars have weirdly low profiles outside of those specific hermetically sealed worlds. Still, there are some nominees you may have heard of even if you don't watch these particular shows: "Willam" (of RuPaul's Drag Race fame) is up for Best Supporting Actor for Eastsiders; Tony winner Sara Ramirez (Spamalot, Grey's Anatomy) is up for Limited Performance in a Daytime Program for YouTube's The Feels; Finally, Eva LaRue (Soul Food, CSI: Miami), gifted Broadway regular Veanne Cox (Caroline or Change), and Lin Shaye (horror film regular + the Insidious franchise) are all up for "Guest Performer" prizes for The Young and the Restless, Vimeo's Indoor Boys, and Netflix's Eastsiders respectively.
• Amazon Prime, which like Netflix, does not have "airtimes" and is thus an odd fit for Emmy distinctions between day and evening was a huge player last year at the Daytime Emmys for their program After Forever which is about a 50something man who has to rebuild his life after his partner dies. Last year it won six prizes including "Outstanding Digital Drama Series" and "Best Lead Actor" for Broadway producer/actor Kevin Spirtas (though he wasn't nominated for a victory lap this year). The series employs Broadway regulars for those of you who are into that sort of thing (*raises own hand*) three of whom are Emmy nominated for it this season: Lenny Wolpe (Bullets Over Broadway, The Drowsy Chaperone), Tony winner Cady Huffman ("Ulla" in The Producers) and Tony nominee Mary Beth Piel ("Dowager Empress" in Anastasia). We haven't watched this show, now in its second season, but we'll definitely give it a trial spin now that we've learned of its existence.
• Because we like animation at TFE here are the nominees for Outstanding Children's Animated Series:
Arthur (PBS)
Craig of the Creek (Cartoon Network)
The Dragon Prince (Netflix)
The Loud House (Nickelodeon)
Niko and the Sword of Light (Amazon Prime)
Trolls: The Beat Goes On! (Netflix)
Have you watched any of the shows listed in this article? If so recommend the good ones!
The DayTime Emmy Award winners will be held (virtually) on June 26th, live on CBS. The Primetime nominations we've been speculating about will be announced on July 14th after the June 15th-24th balloting period with the 72nd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on September 20th.