Interviews

Digital Drama Daytime Emmy Preview: Patrika Darbo Talks On Her Nominated Performance in ‘Studio City’

By Michael Fairman

Published

6 years ago

July 18, 2020

Michael

Photo: JPI

In Sunday night’s Digital Drama Daytime Emmys (9 p.m. EST/6 p.m. PST) former Days of our Lives and The Bold and the Beautiful star, Patrika Darbo (Ex-Nancy, Ex-Shirley, respectively) is one of the notable nominees of the night for her powerhouse performance as Violet in Studio City.

Darbo is always working on projects in Hollywood, and her resume is long … whether it is in sitcoms like Seinfeld, series like Desperate Housewives, daytime dramas, the hottest digital drama, commercials, and more.

Having a complicated history with the Emmys; Patrika has won a Primetime Emmy for her work in Acting Dead, had her previous Daytime Emmy for The Bay rescinded, and now has a shot at another one when the winner is revealed in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Digital Drama Series category in which she is nominated.

Studio City was nominated for 8 Daytime Emmys this year including for Darbo, and series creator and star, Sean Kanan (Ex-GH, B&B, Y&R). The show tells the tale of the cast of a fictional daytime drama as they navigate through the chaotic world of soap operas and their own very messy personal lives. In it, Darbo delivers a tour de force monologue which just might have sealed the deal for Emmy voters. She has already won, along with Studio City castmate, Carolyn Hennesy (Diane, GH), an Indie Series Award for her work, when the two actresses tied in their category. They are both nominated together again for the Daytime Emmy.

Michael Fairman TV caught up with Patrika to talk playing those heavy emotional moments in Studio City, longevity in Hollywood, and Emmy night. To watch the first season of Studio City via Amazon Prime Video click here, and to watch the Digital Drama Daytime Emmys click here. Now here’s what Patrika shared with us.

Photo; JPI

We all knew that your memorable scene in Studio City was so strong. Your performance is really such a standout that I just thought, “Of course she is going to get nominated for this,” and you did! How did you feel about this nomination?

PATRIKA: I have been through the many ways that Sean Kanan has put this show together. I mean, he has worked on it for a long time. I read for it with him, as his mom, being a comedy, and now we’ve gone all the way to the dramatic. I think Sean did some pretty good rewrites and gave me some great, meaty material. I so appreciate the fact that he recognized the fact that I am not just a comedic actress, that there is a dramatic part of me.

Photo: StudioCity

The big moment in Studio City for your character was just so heartbreaking. Did you deliver that performance in one take?

PATRIKA: Yes, and then of course I had to do it a couple of times because we had to see it from Sean’s side for his reaction shots to what I was doing. I come from the school that even though the camera is on my back, it is now on my partner’s front. So, I tried to give Sean as much to react to when the camera was on him as when it was on me, and I got the same from him, so it was a very nice collaboration.

I watched Sean in that scene. He was so good in it. So, whatever you were doing, it triggered such honest reactions from him.

PATRIKA: I think just as far as actors go; it is not that we always have to remember that it is not about us as an individual. It is about the end product, and the end product is about who you are working with. I got from Sean things to work with that made Violet’s emotion’s there, and then I wanted me to be able to take my emotions and give them back to him.

Photo: StudioCity

Was it hard to go there for you, to that deep emotional place; that Violent had been traumatized in her not so humble beginnings in Hollywood?

PATRIKA: You know, I have great admiration for all of these women who have come forward in the whole #MeToo movement. I have always been a short, round, fat, little character woman, who was never approached in those ways. So, there were things I couldn’t relate to. I had to go to my own personal darkness, which is mine to use when I need it, but to try to be sure that I made sure that women who had faced what I was talking about could appreciate that I was showing tribute to them, because that is a horrible thing, and any kind of situation when you are bullied into something that you don’t want to do or taken advantage of, those kind of situations.

For Violet, all of this stemmed from her desire to be in show business; that at an early age she found herself in a horrible situation with a scuzzy show biz type.

PATRIKA: Yes, she got into town and it was like a dream come true. She got invited to parties, and everything was wonderful, and “Oh, he’s going to put me in the movies,” you know. I think that’s what happens: Hollywood is so glorious, and kids come in and get off the bus to be a star, and the first thing you have to do is wait tables … and the second thing is sometimes when you are very pretty, and thin, and attractive, and bad things happen, and I’m not just saying it happens just to women. It happens to young men as well, and it can happen to some older people. It’s just a thing that we have now identified, and I think people are being made aware of it.

Photo: JPI

It almost seems like you get nominated for all sorts of things in you career: primetime, daytime, stage etc. Have you ever figured out in your own mind, why you think you get the recognition?

PATRIKA: I think because people know me, and I try to give out what I want back. You know, I treat people the way I want to be treated, which means that if there are a thousand things you’ve got to watch, and you go, “Oh, there’s Patrika, let’s see what she is doing now! She’s always so nice to me,” they take a look at my work. Do you know what I am saying? It’s a numbers game. We think about how many are in primetime at this moment, and even though there are only four soaps left on the major daytime calendar, there are still the new digital shows that are coming up. I think I am very fortunate that people know my name, they know me, and they want to take a look and see what I am up to again, and the young actors and actresses that I mentor, and kids who I’ve work with, the most important thing, I always say, is to be nice. No one should have to tell you that, but sometimes you have to reinforce it and say, “You know what? The casting assistant today is the casting director tomorrow, the assistant director today is the director tomorrow. The kid over here is the writer today, and tomorrow he is the show runner.” I don’t think you should approach your life like “What’s in it for me?”

Photo: wireimage

What did you think of the whole of Studio City? I think it’s a little gem. I loved its look and feel, as well.

PATRIKA: As we go along in this digital world, it is becoming more film-like, more real life looking. We’ve kind of gotten away from the flat, three-camera take. It’s bringing more things to life, and people are just enthralled with it. This is the new genre of the hour-long soap. I think with the attention span of people these days; digital drama they may wind up enjoying more and because it looks more real, they will enjoy it more.

You were in a middle of a firestorm, in 2018, when your Daytime Emmy win for your wok in The Bay was revoked. Did you at all think about that when you found out you got nominated For Studio City?

PATRIKA: At first, you kind of go, “Are they giving me this nomination for this reason?” but then you kind of go, “You know what? It really has nothing to do with NATAS. It has to do with my peers appreciating my work. So, I know even though I had some problems in the past, NATAS was so apologetic and they’ve made a lot of changes to try to make sure that things like that don’t happen to anyone else, which I am so appreciative of, but this nomination came from my peers. So I feel I earned it, and I don’t think it has anything to do with what happened in the past except for the fact that there are changes that are for the good.

Photo: Studio City

Now, you are nominated in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Digital Drama Series category along with your Studio City co-star, GH’s Carolyn Hennesy. You both tied in this category at the recent 11th annual Indie Series Awards as well.

PATRIKA: Carolyn is wonderful in anything that she does. I wish Sarah Brown had been nominated for her work in Studio City, too. She is a wonderful actress. You kind of go, “Oh, they didn’t acknowledge her this time,” but it’s like she is still in the show, the show is going to keep going, so she will have another opportunity for people to recognize her work. Listen, Carolyn and I could cancel each other out this time, because people know us and like us and appreciate our work.

Photo: JPI

As a working actress in Hollywood, how to you feel about production starting back now for several shows, and concerns amidst the coronavirus pandemic that has crippled the show business community with the loss of so many jobs over the last several months?

PATRIKA: I think there are still going to be concerns. Listen, my husband has a heart problem. He’s had a couple of stints, so he is going to be a high-risk. So, if I am asked to go to work, I want it to be very safe where I am going, so when I come home, I don’t bring something to him, or I don’t get anything. I think we are all going to be a lot more careful, but I think what people have to realize in general is that it is not just the actors who did not have work. There are the camera people, there’s the director, there’s props, there are the electricians, there are a lot of people involved to make a show, whether it’s a daytime show or it’s a film. So, things will be a little different. There are going to be a lot of changes, but I’m hoping that we will at least get back, and are safe, and that we take care of each other.

On virtual Emmy night this Sunday, will you be participating and watching from home?

PATRIKA: I’ll be at home, absolutely. I’ll be trying to figure out how to push the Zoom button or the what button, and trying to figure out the computers. I’m a dinosaur in a digital world, but I’ll be doing my best!

So, will you be rooting for Patrika in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Digital Drama Series category on tomorrow night’s Digital Drama Emmys? Did you see Studio City and if so, what did you think of it? Do you hope Patrika comes back to daytime soon? Comment below.

Up Next

Y&R’s Amelia Heinle Talks What’s Next For Victoria & Returning To Work With The Newman Clan

Don't Miss

Digital Drama Daytime Emmys Preview: Graham Sibley Talks On His Nominated Performance In ‘Dark/Web’

Click to comment

0 Comments

oldest

newest

Interviews

‘The Young and the Restless’ Eric Braeden Talks Daytime Emmy Nomination, State of Nikki and Victor’s Marriage, and His Co-Stars (Exclusive)

Published

4 days ago

July 30, 2026

Michael

Eric Braeden has been playing Victor Newman on The Young and the Restless for 46 years. The iconic star of the #1 rated daytime drama series has thus far won once for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Daytime Drama Series back in 1998 in a ceremony he did not attend. Fast-forward to 2026 and the 85-year-old Braeden is once again nominated in the category for the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards.

Earlier this month, Eric, along with 4 other actors learned they were going for gold at the ceremonies on October 30. In a twist of fate, fellow co-star and also Lead Actor nominee, Christian LeBlanc (Michael, Y&R) and Braeden submitted the same scenes which centered around Victor firing his longtime attorney and friend, Michael Baldwin.

In a new interview, now on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel, Braeden shares: his thoughts on the nomination, if he will attend daytime’s biggest night of the year, what he thinks will happen with the current cracks within the relationship of Y&R’s Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) and Victor, his reaction to the heartbreaking scene where Nick (Joshua Morrow) admits to Victor that he has a drug addiction, and much more.

Photo: JPI

VICTOR NEWMAN AND MICHAEL BALDWIN EMMY SCENES

On his Lead Actor Emmy-nominated reel, Eric recalled, “The show submitted it for me and I said, ‘Yeah, go ahead.’ Had I known Christian was part of it, I would’ve said, ‘No!’ I’m kidding. It’s difficult to do a scene with Christian without beginning to laugh in the middle of it. Anyway, he’s wonderful to work with and he did a wonderful job, and I’m grateful for the nomination.”

Braeden also shared plans for attending this year’s Daytime Emmys with his granddaughter making it all the more special, “I will go this year. You know why? It’s an honor first of all, and secondly, my granddaughter, when she heard about it, she says, ‘Opa, can I go? I already know what dress I would buy.’ I mean, it was so sweet. But you bet. Now, I’ll really go to the Emmys!”

Photo: JPI

CAN NIKKI AND VICTOR’S MARRIAGE SURVIVE?

Over the past year, Nikki and Victor’s marriage has been on shaky ground, especially after Victor caught his nemesis, Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman) alone in a hotel room with his wife. Nikki went on a bender and Jack was her AA sponsor, but in order to help her, he almost OD’d himself. Victor believes the two hit the sheets.

Now in 2026, Victor was there after Nikki woke up after surgery to save her eyesight, and she has yet to see post-procedure. However, Braeden notes ‘not so fast’ on a reconciliation.

“I would say it will be a rocky road, because you don’t get over these things so quickly. You don’t,” teased Eric. “It’s jealousy and it’s a very, very deep emotion, and every time there’s something that reminds Victor of that incident, he will feel that emotion. It’s an emotion that is not taken seriously enough by people. Relationships are very difficult because of that sometimes.”

Photo: CBS

JOSHUA MORROW DOING THE FINEST WORK OF HIS CAREER

Back in March of this year, in one of the most unforgettable in this, or any soap season, Nick Newman accompanied by his brother Adam (Mark Grossman), came to see Victor where Nick admitted he now has a drug addiction to fentanyl and how he is so ashamed of himself. In the scene, Victor goes to comfort his son, calling him, “My boy” while broken-hearted.

Eric recalled the taping of the scene: “It touched me deeply and it was one of those moments that a father and son don’t want. They’re horrified by that. I think Joshua made an enormous leap in acting in that scene. He showed what he is capable of. It was a very, very touching scene. We had some scenes after that, again, about the same thing. Now, there’s a whole deeper connection between father and son. Any father would almost have a breakdown knowing that his son is on drugs or his daughter. It was a very well-written scene.”

Photo: JPI

ERIC BRAEDEN AND MICHELLE STAFFORD MUTUAL ADMIRATION SOCIETY

The Young and the Restless led the 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Nominations with 18, more than any other series or programs. One of the nominations belongs to Michelle Stafford (Phyllis) who nabbed another Lead Actress nod.

Recently, Eric and Michelle have shared much screen-time since Phyllis took Victor’s company from him. During the Michael Fairman Channel’s Daytime Emmy Nominations Special 2026 Live!, Stafford she loved working opposite Eric in the storyline, to which Eric has now responded.

“It’s mutual because I love watching her work,” exclaimed the TV icon. “I just don’t know what she’s going to do in a scene and I love spontaneous moments. I don’t like it to be set and adhered to. I like it to be improvised as much as possible. Michelle is just so facile, so quick, so smart as an actress. She’s wonderful.”

Check out the full conversation with Eric below.

Now weigh-in: are you happy to see Eric receive a Lead Actor nomination? Do you think Nikki and Victor will continue to have issues in their marriage? Did you like the scenes with Michelle Stafford and Eric, and of course the hankie-inducing moment between Joshua Morrow and his TV dad? Weigh-in via the comment section.

Interviews

‘The Bold and the Beautiful’s’ Scott Clifton Talks His Lead Actor Daytime Emmy Nomination, and the Omission of His Scene Partner, Annika Noelle (Exclusive)

Published

1 week ago

July 25, 2026

Michael

Less than two weeks ago, The Bold and the Beautiful’s Scott Clifton (Liam Spencer) received the news he was nominated for a Daytime Emmy in the Outstanding Lead Actor category at the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards.

Clifton delivered what may have been the best work of his career in 2025; in a heartbreaking story arc where a believed-to-be-dying Liam tries to come to terms with his fate, and what his exit from the land of the living means, and what it would do to the daughters he leaves behind, the women he’s loved, and his father.

Going into this year’s Emmy race, Scott is already a three-time Daytime Emmy winner and a record holder for being the only actor to have won in the three acting categories throughout his career: the now defunct Younger Actor, Supporting Actor and Lead Actor.

Shortly after receiving the news of his latest nomination, Scott shared his reaction and what scenes he decided to include on his now Emmy-nominated reel when he participated in the Michael Fairman Channel’s Daytime Emmy Nominations Special 2026 Live!

During the conversation with Scott, it was very apparent that he feels his on-screen partnership with Annika Noelle (Hope) was a key to his success in 2025, and one of the reason for a key scene he chose. However, Annika’s name was left off the nomination list which disappointed Clifton as he shared below.

Photo: JPI

HOW SCOTT CLIFTON WENT ABOUT CRAFTING HIS LEAD ACTOR REEL

“They got a lot of reels to watch. So, I just picked three scenes. It’s important to create a context so that people aren’t completely lost,” explains Clifton on his best practices strategy. “I picked the scene where Liam found out the diagnosis (about his inoperable brain mass), where Finn (Tanner Novlan) and Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) tell him which sets the stage. And then, there is a scene where Liam is saying “don’t tell anyone.”

Next, there’s the scene at Il Giardino between myself and Don Diamont (Bill) where Liam is telling his father without telling him, by saying, ‘I just want you to know how much I love you, and how grateful I am to you.'”

Then, the final scene, and I owe it all to Annika, was between Liam and Hope. This is where Hope kind of says, ‘I know,’ and then they just have a conversation about their lives and their daughter. Liam also talks about his mom. It just seemed real to me and the best way to close it out. That was it. That was the whole reel about 11 minutes long.”

Photo: JPI

ANNIKA AND SCOTT’S BITTERSWEET EMMY MOMENT

When Scott connected with his on-screen wife, Annika Noelle, following the news of his nomination, which actually came on the Monday before the full nominations were revealed on Tuesday via Extra, there were a rollercoaster of emotions.

Scott detailed, “Annika sent the most beautiful congratulations, and I was trying to figure out if they had announced her category. However, it was in the middle of that conversation that she said. ‘no.’ And then, the conversation turned into my rage for her not being recognized because that whole story was just as much hers as it was mine.”

“My, God,” Clifton continued. “The way that she had to downplay so many things and keep the secret that she knew, that I knew, that she knew. The end of that scene, I couldn’t not include it. It’s more a scene about her and how hard this is for her than it was about Liam. It blew me away that she wasn’t recognized for it this year, but she will next year.”

You can check out Scott’s segment on the Daytime Emmy Nominations Special 2026 Live! below at roughly the 25:46 mark into the show.

So, were you happy to hear what scenes Scott submitted that earned him a Lead Actor Daytime Emmy nomination? Do you think he’s one of the frontrunners to take home the gold when the Daytime Emmys are handed out on October 30? Do you feel as Scott does that Annika Noelle should have been a nominee for her work in 2025? Let us know via the comment section.

Days Of Our Lives

‘Days of Our Lives’ Christopher Sean Opens Up About His Daytime Emmy Nomination to Honor His Late TV Father, Drake Hogestyn (Exclusive)

Published

2 weeks ago

July 18, 2026

Michael

There was not a dry eye in the house when in June of 2025, Paul Narita (Christopher Sean) gets up to eulogize his father, John Black (Drake Hogestyn), after the iconic character passed away and his funeral brought Salem together for one last goodbye.

In real life, Drake Hogestyn had passed away of pancreatic cancer at the age of 70 back on September 28, 2024. When DAYS taped the funeral episode, Drake was still alive and had given his blessing to the series longtime executive producer, Ken Corday, that it was OK with him to kill off his character and to have a memorial. Sadly, shortly after the cast filmed the scenes, Drake died leaving a lasting legacy on DAYS that will never be matched.

Earlier this week on Tuesday, Christopher Sean received the bittersweet news that he had received a Daytime Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Guest Performer category for the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards for his performances. Christopher appeared shortly after the news of his nomination on the Michael Fairman Channel’s Daytime Emmy Nominations Special 2026 were he shared his emotional reaction. Here’s part of what he expressed below.

Photo: JPI

WHAT DID CHRISTOPHER SEAN SUBMIT?

“I submitted Paul’s lowest moments in his life, and Paul’s highest moments, meaning the eulogy with John Black, his father, and for my hero, Drake Hogestyn, and Paul getting married to Andrew (Colton Little). So it was two very opposite ends of his life. But what a great culmination of 12 years of being on Days of Our Lives it was.”

ALWAYS BEING GRATEFUL TO DRAKE HOGESTYN

“Even talking about it now, I have so much love for Drake. I’ve got him here on my wall and I wake up every day and I try to make him proud. It’s hard to talk about it, but I feel that my life is on the path that I am because of him, because of him being my role model, because of him loving and guiding me, because of everything that he has taught me on and off the set.”

Photo: JPI

THE EARLY STRUGGLES WITH PAUL’S EULOGY AND HEARTFELT ADDITIONS TO THE DIALOG

“I had been texting back and forth with Drake and I was actually pretty angry, because I felt that we shouldn’t exploit this, but Drake was so attached to the fan base that when Ken Corday spoke with him and gave him the permission to allow the fans to grieve with us, that’s when I said, ‘OK, if that’s what he wants, then I’m going to go full throttle with it.’ In Paul’s eulogy and monologue I’d read it and without asking the writers, I added a few lines and they allowed me to keep them.”

Christopher continued, “One of the lines was, ‘anytime I see a rainbow in the sky’ and I said, ‘and a baseball up high, or a rainbow in the sky,’ because I wanted to attribute it to baseball and to Drake. It was already perfect the way it was written, but that was my nod to Drake. We all loved him and there’s not a person I know who didn’t love him. Drake lit up any room he was a part of. I would not be here, again, without Drake.”

You can catch Christopher’s conversation on the Daytime Emmy Nominations Special at the 2:14:25 mark below.

The 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards will be handed in a ceremony on October 30 from the Hollywood Palladium in Hollywood California. Current plans are for the event to stream live on the National Academy Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), watch.theemmys.tv and associated apps.

So, will you be rooting for Christopher to take home the gold for his heartbreaking performance of Paul’s grief over losing John and then marrying Andrew? Were you touched by how much Drake Hogestyn had meant to his life and career? Let us know via the comment section below.