
Courtesy/NATAS
It’s “game on” for some of your favorite performers in the world of daytime drama with the official annoucement Wednesday morning from The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS). Today, the organization has revealed the Drama Performer Pre-Nominations for the upcoming 44th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards.
Before we get to the list of who is still in the running for Emmy gold, here was the process used to determine those chosen as Pre-Nominated performers: An online judging ballot containing all entrants in each of four performer categories (Lead Actor and Actress and Supporting Actor and Actress) was sent to all registered, eligible peer judges. The ballot contained a randomized order of performers in each category, regardless of their show affiliation. Judges were required to view clips online containing the work of each performer entry before selecting their top 10 performer choices in each category. Ballots were then submitted directly to Lutz & Carr, Inc., an independent accounting firm, who tabulated the results.
The Pre-Nominated performers who received the highest number of votes will now advance to the blue ribbon and final screening round, scheduled to begin on February 20, 2017. It is that round which will determine both the finalist nominees and the eventual winner. In addition, the names of the Younger Actor and Actress in a Drama Series have been revealed as this list goes directly to the blue ribbon round without having to go through a pre-nomination submission process.
Look for the nominations for the 44th Annual Daytime Emmys to be announced live on Wednesday, March 22, 2017, once again on the CBS afternoon series, The Talk!
Congratulations to all the men and women who are moving on in the awards competition! So without further ado, here are the pre-nominated performers in the Outstanding Lead Actress, Lead Actor, Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor, Younger Actress and Younger Actor.
Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series

Courtesy/CBS
Kristian Alfonso (Hope) Days of Our Lives
Sharon Case (Sharon) The Young and the Restless
Melissa Claire Egan (Chelsea) The Young and the Restless
Mary Beth Evans (Kayla) Days of Our Lives
Nancy Lee Grahn, (Alexis) General Hospital
Jen Lilley (Ex-Theresa) Days of our Lives
Gina Tognoni (Phyllis) The Young and the Restless
Heather Tom (Katie) The Bold and the Beautiful
Jess Walton (Jill) The Young and the Restless
Laura Wright (Carly) General Hospital
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series
Maurice Benard (Sonny) General Hospital

Courtesy/NBC
Peter Bergman (Jack) The Young and the Restless
Scott Clifton (Liam) The Bold and the Beautiful
Billy Flynn (Chad) Days of Our Lives
Roger Howarth (Franco) General Hospital
Vincent Irizarry (Deimos) Days of Our Lives
Christian LeBlanc (Michael) The Young and the Restless
John McCook (Eric) The Bold and the Beautiful
Kristoff St. John (Neil) The Young and the Restless
Jason Thompson (Billy) The Young and the Restless
Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series
Eileen Davidson (Ashley) The Young and the Restless

Courtesy/ABC
Judi Evans (Adrienne) Days of Our Lives
Stacy Haiduk (Patty) The Young and the Restless
Amelia Heinle (Victoria) The Young and the Restless
Elizabeth Hendrickson (Chloe) The Young and the Restless
Finola Hughes (Anna) General Hospital
Anna Maria Horsford (Vivienne) The Bold and the Beautiful
Kate Mansi (Ex-Abigail) Days of Our Lives
Michelle Stafford (Nina) General Hospital
Kelly Sullivan (Ex-Sage) The Young and the Restless
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series
John Aniston (Victor) Days of Our Lives
Obba Babatundé (Julius) The Bold and the Beautiful
Steve Burton (Dylan) The Young and the Restless
Sean Carrigan (Ben) The Young and the Restless
Chad Duell (Michael) General Hospital
Bryton James (Devon) The Young and the Restless
Wally Kurth (Justin) Days of Our Lives
Jeffrey Vincent Parise (Carlos/Dr. Joe Rivera) General Hospital
James Reynolds (Abe) Days of Our Lives
Dominic Zamprogna (Dante) General Hospital
Outstanding Younger Actress In A Drama Series
Lexi Ainsworth (Kristina) General Hospital
Camila Banus (Gabi) Days of Our Lives
Reign Edwards (Nicole) The Bold and the Beautiful
Hayley Erin (Kiki) General Hospital
Olivia Keegan (Claire) Days of our Lives
Hunter King (Summer) The Young and the Restless
Chloe Lanier (Nelle) General Hospital
Alyvia Alyn Lind (Faith) The Young and the Restless
Paige Searcy (Jade) Michaels Days of Our Lives
Outstanding Younger Actor In A Drama Series
Jared Breeze (Max) The Young and the Restless
Bryan Craig (Morgan) General Hospital
Rome Flynn (Zende) The Bold and the Beautiful
Pierson Fodé (Thomas) The Bold and the Beautiful
James Lastovic (Joey) Days of Our Lives
Kyler Pettis (Theo) Days of Our Lives
Tequan Richmond (TJ) General Hospital
Anthony Turpel (R.J.) The Bold and the Beautiful
So, what did you think of the daytime drama Pre-nominations for Lead Actor and Actress, Supporting Actor and Actress, Younger Actor and Actress? Who are you most happy to see score a pre-nom and remain in the running for the gold statuette? Who are you most shocked and suprised to see not moving on, or left off the ballot? Who should have been on this list that isn’t? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!
If Lexi submitted her scenes with Maurice and NLG then its in the bag…then again younger actress has produced some surprise winners.
Although I am not a big fan of Lexi Ainsworth; Haley Erin being included in this category, alongside some real talent, baffles me. I cringe whenever Kiki enters a scene.
Haley Erin has improved tremendously since the days of her wailing over Silas’ death. And now thankfully out of Morgan’s orbit, She and RPW’s Dillon are a compelling couple.
I’ve just never cared for the character and I don’t think that I ever will-the character, in my opinion, is Tuesday/Wednesday “filler.” I agree, however, that there has been an improvement.
I think Hayley is highly underrated. She was excellent in the scenes post Morgan’s death. I personally think she’s better in the role than Kristen Alderson was. Agree with Steve also, I like Dillon and Kiki as a couple.
Dan, I agree with you there-Haley is much better in the role than Kristen was-in my opinion.
I loved Kiki.. I think she is talented and much better fit for the Kiki role than the previous talented actress from OLTL.
Who cares it’s not being shown on MTV
Will be on tv Michael
only if you brokered the entire deal lol…no announcement has been made they hope it’s possible
A lot of these nominations I am completely here for. I cannot wait for the final rollout! Gina, to me, is a standout in the Lead Actress category. As if Heather Tom, etc. This is going to be a tight race this year!
Hopefully the folks that post here will not have another meltdown when Sharon Case is not nominated.
The academy have not nominated her since 2004 yet the posters over here act like the world is ending every spring when she fails to receive a nomination.
Mishael Morgan needs to be on the list .
AGREE
She’s fantastic. Did she submit, do you know?
I see again good actors are not getting recognized..
It’s the show’s producers who actually decide which actors will compete in specific categories, and if they will even submit a reel for consideration. So, strangely, daytime nominations are more of a popularity contest within the actors’ own shows than they are for the actual Emmy. They are a lot more political than primetime Emmys, which tend to have smaller casts, and defined lead actors.
That’s not true, the actors themselves decide whether or not to submit their names for the Emmys and for which category, if they feel they’re Lead or Supporting, or what have you. Anyone on any show can choose to submit their name for consideration, or an actor can choose not to submit their name, like Maura West and Jane Elliot apparently decided to do this year. It’s not up to the shows producers.
Ugh sucks so many nominated just for one spot don’t really care for this anymore
TJ on GH…did he have a story to get a nod???
Wally Ingalls Wilder – My man made the cut… he’s still to be remembered
“…Jeffrey Vincent Parise (Carlos/Dr. Joe Rivera) General Hospital ”
pre – nom or otherwise, the dead trio of Frank / Jean / Shelley mucked so much up
his dancing eyes are forever… and his natural REELS made up for all the lack of color
he proved he had range with Dr. Joe.
BORING!
Congratulations to all of them. Cant see who wins….
Doesn’t Heather Tom have enough Emmys already?
I agree with pretty much all the pre noms
The younger actor catagory is very sparse, tho. Several noms hardly appeared in screen.
good grief .. how old does one have to be to get out of the ”’young”’ 50?
Outstanding Younger Actor In A Drama Series
Bryan Craig (Morgan) General Hospital
And, I am luvin this–
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series
Roger Howarth (Franco) General Hospital
But-
Maurice/Sonny will bring home the gold ….
MB dials in his performance so much. If the award was for hissing and stammering, I’d give it to him. Lead actor, not so much for me.
I do think Laura Wright deserves a nom and a win.
TJ receiving a nom is ludicrous. Given how infrequently he aired, he should be considered a guest star.
Omg I can’t wait congrats too all the nominee and go Days of our lives please give some Tie in the actress category please please please!!!!
Katherine Kelly Lang is overlooked again…She is so overdue for an emmy.
Jess Walton should be in supporting.
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series John Aniston (Victor) Days of Our Lives Wally Kurth (Justin) Days of Our Lives Jeffrey Vincent Parise (Carlos/Dr. Joe Rivera) General Hospital James Reynolds (Abe) Days of Our Lives Dominic Zamprogna (Dante) General Hospital look at all this color…. wide range of dynamic for love of this genre… I’d give it to John Anniston so close to this win… Wally Kurth definitely must make the top 5 and honorable mention… James Reynolds because he was carelessly “let go” and should have remained as Dr. Joe… GH had so many reasons to keep him.… Read more »
How on earth can B&B’s star of the year, Rena Sofer, not be nominated? Oh, yeah the same way last years’ star of the year, Karla Mosley, was overlooked.
Crazy! I agree.
The first snub coming to mind is William deVry. Besides that, congrats to all nominees.
Speaking only about GH, Maurice Benard, Laura Wright and Bryan Craig should all be winners in my view for the Morgan’s death storyline. Maurice hasn’t been nominated since 2011, and if he doesn’t make the final cut this year, it will be such a slap in the face. Laura has some tough competition from GH with Nancy Lee Grahn. A couple names I expected and I’m disappointed not to see, William deVry, Maura West, Jane Elliot. But I know Jane particularly has avoided submitting her name in the past, so it’s possible she might not have put herself in the… Read more »
Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series Jen Lilley (Ex-Theresa) Days of our Lives THIS is a nice acknowledgement and stamp of approval of how talented Jen Lilley can be ; when given script she’s a solid presence who can mix it up with any and all cast members… a ready repertoire. she’s always intriguing LOVE Jenn Lilley. OK I think the top 5 Mary Beth Evans (Kayla) Days of Our Lives Nancy Lee Grahn, (Alexis) General Hospital Jen Lilley (Ex-Theresa) Days of our Lives Gina Tognoni (Phyllis) The Young and the Restless Laura Wright (Carly) General Hospital 1. Mary… Read more »
Yes, Patrick, Jenn Lilley is waaaay up there, but Nancy Grahn overshadows all these multi-talented ladies. Her acting as the “town’s lush” is overwhelming. Speechless and breathless….that’s a fact, in my opinion. Stacy Haiduk as supporting ( unbrlievably moving), with Finola Hughes right behind. I do not understand the reasoning behind Eileen Davidson, or Melissa Egan–as “fulminating” as Eileen is, her talent has not been showcased lately. To me, she has been dormant, as has Melissa, albeit I have never considered the latter as such a prize; even in her AMC days. JMO. Younger: Chloe Lanier–Nelle walked in as a… Read more »
William Devry should have been on there. I would boycott, but NLG needs to win.
Wen is goin to be on tv wath daet
wow
Hi, Domenica,
I believe you are asking for the date? It is April 30th, 2017.
If Italian is your first language: la data e’ il 30 aprile, del 2017, al canale “POP”.
Spero che l’informazione ti aiuta.
Thank you, Celia. Sweet.
It’s not set to be televised yet and that’s the truth. Pop is not set to televise these awards as of yet
@mollie.
Hi, mollie,
Likewise, mollie. Thank you!
Where’s my Eric Martsolf???? Congrats to all my friends who got nominated!
Someday, before he leaves soaps, I hope to see Stephen Nichols win sometime.
Love him too. He’s so steady.
For the scenes on Cassadine Island, Genie Francis should have been up for Supporting Actress.
Too soon for Chloe Lanier. What storyline was DZ really prominent in this past year?
Genie is being wasted right now! This very talented actress needs and deserves a front burner story.
My vote goes to Genie, also! And, yes, those scenes, particularly the exquisitely written scene where Kevin declares his love for her, merit a win for both Genie and Jon.
Billy Flynn – Billy Flynn – Billy Flynn! This year, for sure, he blows away the competition!!
I see him as the one to beat, also. Good luck to him!
I’m pissed. Where’s Tracey Bregman’s name on the pre-noms? She’s only the most beautiful lady on soaps and everything she does is great. Guess I can give up hope on the Emmys.
I think she’ll be there in next year noms, for sure, as she is getting a front burner story line now (2017). Yep, she is pretty amazing and ageless!!
I am Really Surprised that Robert Palmer Watkins (Dillon GH) – Younger Actor & Will DeVry (Julian GH) – Lead Actor, were Not Pre-Nominated. They both gave excellent performances this year & Deserved the nomination. I hope 2017 brings them both power driven storylines to tackle
Watkins, yes; deVry, no.
Great performances this year on all of the shows. I hope Heather Tom wins for Best Actress. Jen Lilly also did a great job. The biggest snubs were Melissa Reeves, Rena Sofer and Katherine Kelly Lang. As much as I like Julius and Vivienne on “The Bold and the Beautiful,” I am not sure they deserved a nomination this year. They have not been on the show in months and can’t remember a standout performance with the exception of Julius confessing to be Sasha’s father. I am glad to see Billy Flynn, John McCook and Scott Clifton nominated in Lead… Read more »
The other big snub was Justin Hartley (ex-Adam Newman; Y&R). I was dumbfounded that he did not get nominated this year. Does anyone know if he submitted for this year?
Both Melissa Reeves and Justin Hartley refuse to sumbit this year, so there was no snub.
He does have that look, doesn’t he? I think he may be going places1
I don’t think it should matters how long you were on a show, IMO if you had some great work, you should be recognize for it! Obba and Anna Maria, did fabulous work, and hopefully Emmy voters will love them enough to help them make the cut.
Where is Rena Sofer?
Don’t understand Obba and Anna Maria as they haven’t been on in ages. Wish they would be on. I think B&B should feature them again.
Yeah, Rena Sofer was snubbed, I agree.
The Emmys don’t count how long you were on a show, its your performance, and Obba & Anna Maria did some AMAZING work during his love child, Sasha, secret coming out!
where is Jane Elliott for her work during her medical crisis? or hostage situation with Hornsby; another great actress snubbed.
I agree, Jane is always excellent in whatever she does. In the past, she said in an interview that she hasn’t submitted her name for Emmy consideration, because she doesn’t believe in the whole actors competing against actors thing, which I respect. So it’s possible she didn’t submit her name again this year.
So Happy for Sharon Case and Steve Barton really hope their make the final cut. No one deserve it more than SC
I really think Daytime Emmys should be rollback to main Emmy Awards.The Younger SupportingActor/Actress should be eliminated. That said.I hope Maurice Benard would win after the supporsed death of Morgan, his son. Nancy Lee Grahn has given powerhouse performances with the battle with Julian and the bottle. She is major soap opera actress who delivers whengiven material. It is Nancy Lee’s time, imo. Think Wally Kurth is a fav on two soaps at one time. With the wandering DAYS storyline, Justin K remains one to tune into DAYS .Judi Evans has been agreat contributor – whatever Dena or Josh handed… Read more »
I hope Nancy Lee Grahan win!!
THIS; bar none… is the toughest category; can’t even come up with a TOP 5 Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series definitely, TOP 4 Judi Evans (Adrienne) Days of Our Lives Stacy Haiduk (Patty) The Young and the Restless Finola Hughes (Anna) General Hospital Kate Mansi (Ex-Abigail) Days of Our Lives THIS category is so LOADED Eileen Davidson (Ashley) The Young and the Restless Amelia Heinle (Victoria) The Young and the Restless Elizabeth Hendrickson (Chloe) The Young and the Restless Anna Maria Horsford (Vivienne) The Bold and the Beautiful Michelle Stafford (Nina) General Hospital Kelly Sullivan (Ex-Sage) The Young and… Read more »
I cannot believe Camryn Grimes isn’t on this list again!
Great list! There is some amazing talent in daytime. I know the work of many. I watch GH. OLTL was my show. NLG on GH has an amazing storyline to support her talent. As did FH on GH. She is always a pleasure to watch, unlike the hot mess of NLG’s Alexis, which is hard to swallow. I’m even wondering if Julian did hold a knife to her throat, maybe she was drunk when it happened. And my favorite favorite favorite man in daytime RH of GH. He is carving out a new character and does humor and drama together… Read more »
I have not, naysayed Nancy Lee Grahn in so long, she’s delivering… she’s getting turn on.. less notice , come on, f me
it’s a Nancy Lee Grah moment
hello
nice to see you
less virtue
more me
me
yes
that’s it
us
f
get
Maurice Bernard has also done great work this past year. But I have little sympathy for Sonny Corinthos!