ABC's 'General Hospital' was the big winner at the 52nd Daytime Emmy Awards, taking home seven prizes including outstanding drama series. The ceremony, held at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on Friday night, was hosted by Mario Lopez and streamed live on The Emmys app and watch.theemmys.tv, marking the first year the show was not broadcast on CBS since 2020.
Among the wins for 'General Hospital' were lead actress Nancy Lee Grahn, supporting actor Jonathan Jackson, and guest performer Alley Mills. The show also won awards for its writing team, directing, and costume design/styling. The series' dominance helped ABC tie with Netflix for the most wins of the night, with nine each.
Netflix's 'Secret Lives of Orangutans' made history when narrator Sir David Attenborough, at 99, became the oldest Daytime Emmy winner ever, surpassing Dick Van Dyke's record set last year. The documentary won three awards, including outstanding directing team for a single camera daytime non-fiction program.
Other multiple winners included 'The Drew Barrymore Show' with three awards, and 'Entertainment Tonight', 'Days of Our Lives', and 'The Delicious Miss Brown' each with two. Notable changes to this year's competition included new categories such as Outstanding Emerging Talent in a Daytime Drama Program, won by Lisa Yamada of 'The Bold and the Beautiful'.
The ceremony also featured a lifetime achievement award for Deborah Norville and a tribute to 'Days of Our Lives' on its 60th anniversary. Executive producers Adam Sharp and Lisa Armstrong oversaw the event, which was held as a single ceremony for the first time, replacing the separate Creative Arts event.
