‘The Young and the Restless’ leads Daytime Emmy nominations with 18, Kelly Clarkson has top talk show

“The Young and the Restless” leads the way at the Daytime Emmys with 18 nominations including Best Drama Series. It’s the most nominated program of any genre at these awards. Check out the complete list of nominees here.

This is the first time in years that “Y&R” has led the nominations total, and it’s a vast improvement from last year when the show only received 10 total bids. This year the show has nearly that many bids (eight) in the acting categories alone. It’s up twice for Best Actor for Peter Bergman and Jason Thompson, both of whom have won that award before. Meanwhile, previous Best Supporting Actress nominee Mishael Morgan gets a promotion to the Best Actress race for the first time.

“General Hospital” is close behind with 17 nominations, including Best Drama Series and Best Actress bids for both Cynthia Watros and Laura Wright. Both have won the award once apiece, though for different shows. Wright prevailed for her role as Carly on “GH,” the same role she’s nominated for again now, but Watros won way back in 1998 for playing the villainous Annie Dutton on “Guiding Light.” This is Watros’s first nomination since then. On “GH” she plays Nina Reeves, a role that had been originated by Michelle Stafford. But “Y&R” poached Stafford back from “GH” to reprise her iconic role as Phyllis on the CBS soap, prompting “GH” to recast the role with Watros, a hire that clearly paid off.

Also in the mix for the first time is “Beyond Salem,” the Peacock spinoff of the NBC soap “Days of Our Lives.” It’s only nominated for three awards, but it’s a big three: Best Drama Series, Best Writing Team, and Best Directing Team. It managed to knock “The Bold and the Beautiful” out of both the writing and directing contests.

Outside the world of soaps, “The Kelly Clarkson Show” is the top nominee with nine bids including Best Entertainment Talk Show and Best Entertainment Talk Show Host. Conspicuously absent from Best Entertainment Talk Show for the first time ever is “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” which leaves the airwaves this month after 19 seasons on the air. It holds the record for the most Best Talk Show victories (12), but it won’t add to that record this year. What do you think of who’s nominated — and who’s not?

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