49th Daytime Emmy Awards: Kelly Clarkson dominates with 7 wins, Mishael Morgan makes history as first Black lead actress winner

The 49th Daytime Emmy Awards were handed out on Friday night and The Kelly Clarkson Show was the runaway leader with seven wins including Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show and Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host for Clarkson herself. This is the second win in a row for the show and the third in a row for Clarkson, taking the award every year since her show has been on the air.

Clarkson’s show, which launched in September 2019, won five Daytime Emmys at last week’s Creative Arts Awards, netting a total of seven this season. That’s more than the show won in its first two seasons combined. It had previously won three awards in each of its first two seasons.

The two-hour telecast returned to a live event ceremony and was hosted by Entertainment Tonight anchors Kevin Frazier and Nischelle Turner from the Pasadena Convention Center.

General Hospital was the big winner of the daytime soaps, taking five awards including Outstanding Daytime Series, directing and both supporting performance wins. This was General Hospital’s 15th win in the top category, a Daytime Emmy record.

Mishael Morgan became the first Black actress to win Outstanding Lead Performance in a Daytime Drama Actress for her role as Amanda Sinclair on CBS’s The Young and the Restless. “We are breaking glass ceilings left, right and center,” Morgan said. “We can and we will do this thing called equality and unity together.”

Jeopardy! won Outstanding Game Show for a record 19th time and for the third year in a row, while Family Feud’s Steve Harvey won Outstanding Game Show Host for a third time.

For its final season, The Ellen DeGeneres Show pulled off a surprise win for its writing, ending the long-running show with a whimper as it closed out its 19th season under a cloud of behind the scenes controversy over its host’s behavior towards staff. The show holds the record for most wins in the Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show category with eight.

Jennifer Aniston presented her father John Aniston with the Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award. He was not able to attend in person and she presented the award remotely. His co-star Suzanne Rogers accepted the award in person on his behalf. Susan Lucci introduced the In Memoriam presentation, a touching moment as her husband, Helmut Huber, passed away this March. Michael Bolton sang his 1983 hit “How Am I Supposed To Live Without You?” during the segment.

The Daytime Emmy Awards have recognized outstanding achievement in television programming and crafts since 1974, honoring work in a variety of categories, including daytime dramas, talk shows, instructional programming, hosting, and legal/courtroom programs.

The 49th annual Daytime Emmy Awards were produced by NATAS and Associated Television International (ATI). Adam Sharp and Steve Ulrich were executive producers from NATAS, while David McKenzie was executive producer from ATI.

Here is the list of last night’s winners.

Outstanding Daytime Drama Series
General Hospital (ABC)

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Daytime Drama, Actress
Mishael Morgan, The Young and the Restless (CBS)

Outstanding Lead Performance In A Daytime Drama, Actor
John McCook, The Bold and the Beautiful (CBS)

Outstanding Game Show Host
Steve Harvey, Family Feud (Syndicated)

Outstanding Game Show
Jeopardy! (Syndicated)

Outstanding Writing Team For a Daytime Drama
Days of Our Lives (NBC)

Outstanding Entertainment News Series
Entertainment Tonight (Syndicated)

Outstanding Younger Performer in a Drama Series
Nicholas Chavez, General Hospital (ABC)

Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host
Kelly Clarkson, The Kelly Clarkson Show (Syndicated)

Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show
The Kelly Clarkson Show (Syndicated)

Outstanding Directing Team for a Drama Series
General Hospital (ABC)

Outstanding Informative Talk Show Host
Tamron Hall, Tamron Hall (Syndicated)

Outstanding Informative Talk Show
Turning the Tables with Robin Roberts (Disney+)

Outstanding Supporting Performance, Actor, in a Daytime Drama
Jeff Kober, General Hospital (ABC)

Outstanding Supporting Performance, Actress, in a Daytime Drama
Kelly Thiebaud, General Hospital (ABC)

Outstanding CULINARY SERIES
Barefoot Contessa: Modern Comfort Food

Outstanding CULINARY HOST
Frankie Celenza, Struggle Meals

Outstanding LEGAL/COURTROOM PROGRAM
Judy Justice

Outstanding LIFESTYLE PROGRAM
Sparking Joy with Marie Kondo

Outstanding TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND NATURE PROGRAM
Penguin Town

Outstanding DAYTIME PROGRAM HOST
Bear Grylls, You vs. Wild: Out Cold

Outstanding INSTRUCTIONAL AND HOW-TO PROGRAM
Home Work

Outstanding ARTS AND POPULAR CULTURE PROGRAM
First Film

Outstanding DAYTIME SPECIAL
Shelter Me: Soul Awakened

Outstanding WRITING TEAM FOR A DAYTIME NON-FICTION PROGRAM
The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Outstanding DIRECTING TEAM FOR A SINGLE CAMERA DAYTIME NON-FICTION PROGRAM
Shelter Me: Soul Awakened

Outstanding DIRECTING TEAM FOR A MULTIPLE CAMERA DAYTIME NON-FICTION PROGRAM
95th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Outstanding GUEST PERFORMANCE
Ted King, The Bold and the Beautiful

Outstanding SHORT FORM DAYTIME PROGRAM
Cornerstones: Founding Voices of the Black Church

Outstanding INTERACTIVE MEDIA FOR A DAYTIME PROGRAM
You vs. Wild: Out Cold

Outstanding DAYTIME PROMOTIONAL ANNOUNCEMENT
Entertainment Tonight

Outstanding MUSIC DIRECTION AND COMPOSITION
Cat People

Outstanding ORIGINAL SONG
The Young and the Restless

Outstanding LIGHTING DIRECTION
The Kelly Clarkson Show

Outstanding TECHNICAL TEAM, CAMERA WORK, VIDEO
The Kelly Clarkson Show

Outstanding CINEMATOGRAPHY
Penguin Town

Outstanding SINGLE CAMERA EDITING
Power On: The Story of Xbox

Outstanding MULTIPLE CAMERA EDITING
The Kelly Clarkson Show

Outstanding LIVE SOUND MIXING AND SOUND EDITING
The Kelly Clarkson Show

Outstanding SOUND MIXING AND SOUND EDITING
Penguin Town

Outstanding MAIN TITLE AND GRAPHIC DESIGN
Headspace: Guide to Meditation

Outstanding CASTING
The Young and the Restless

Outstanding ART DIRECTION/SET DECORATION/SCENIC DESIGN
The Kelly Clarkson Show

Outstanding COSTUME DESIGN/STYLING
The Drew Barrymore Show

Outstanding HAIRSTYLING
Red Table Talk: The Estefans

Outstanding MAKEUP
The Real

Outstanding SPECIAL EFFECTS COSTUMES, MAKEUP, AND HAIRSTYLING
The Drew Barrymore Show

Wins By Program
(2 or more)

The Kelly Clarkson Show – 7
General Hospital – 5
Penguin Town – 3
The Young and the Restless – 3
The Bold and the Beautiful – 2
The Drew Barrymore Show – 2
Entertainment Tonight – 2
Shelter Me: Soul Awakened – 2
You vs. Wild: Out Cold – 2

Photo: CBS/NATAS