As the television landscape changes -- and more people watch television on something other than a television -- the definition of a daytime drama series is also changing. This year saw the Emmy-winning series The Bay join the "Category 1" lineup of Outstanding Daytime Drama Series nominees. The Bay had previously been considered a digital series, but changes to the way that The Bay structured its episodes allowed it to compete opposite the four "traditional" soap operas.
It isn't just the night's biggest honor that has shifted over the years. All of the children's programming categories have moved to their own Children and Family Emmys competition. Other changes affected the behind-the-scenes categories, like lighting and set design being opened up to all daytime programs, including those on the major streaming platforms.
As Emmy Night closed, General Hospital picked up a record-breaking 16th Outstanding Daytime Drama Series crown. The previous record had been 15 wins -- set by GH last year. General Hospital has won the top honor for the past three years.
Accepting the award for General Hospital was the show's executive producer, Frank Valentini. While Valentini has gained a reputation for not really enjoying the public speaking part of his job, he smoothly took a few moments to plug the show's upcoming 60th anniversary primetime special on ABC.
Valentini thanked the show's crew and dedicated the award to Sonya Eddy and GH producer Nneka Garland, both of whom passed away in the last year. On social media, fans noted that the ABC soap had lost a plethora of stars in the previous twelve months, including actors Jackie Zeman and Billy Miller.
Valentini also revealed that ABC exec Nathan Varni is back overseeing General Hospital. Later, on X, formerly Twitter, an excited Varni promised to win back fans who might have stopped tuning in every day. "Congrats to the hardest working crew, producers and talent, it's a pleasure to be back with my #gh family," Varni wrote. "To our fans, thank you for sticking with us! My 2024 goal is to win back our lapsed viewers, we have a lot of work to do but we're all ready to work hard for YOU!"
"When I came into this family 12 years ago, we weren't sure whether the show was going to make it, but we dug deep and we got to our 50th and 55th [anniversaries] and now we're at 60," Valentini said later in the evening.
