Daytime Emmys 2026: How 15-Minute Reels Become Golden Statuettes

Winners of the 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards were already determined before Friday night's ceremony at the Hollywood Palladium — and even NATAS does not know who they are. Rachel Schwartz, head of Daytime and Children's & Family at NATAS, told Gold Derby: "We here at NATAS do not know the winners. Only our accountants do. We will find out when you guys find out on stage."

How does a reel become a nomination?

Performers from five soaps submitted acting reels of up to 15 minutes for consideration. The shows are ABC's General Hospital, Peacock's Days of Our Lives and CBS' Beyond the Gates, The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless. Each reel could contain material from any episode broadcast during the 2025 calendar year. Schwartz confirmed: "An acting reel can contain material from any episode within that time window."

The system replaced an older two-stage model. Under the former rules, voters picked from a "players directory" containing headshots, actor and character names, and show titles. Voters could choose up to five performers per category, with no more than two from one show. The top nominees — usually five per category — then submitted two complete episodes for a Blue-Ribbon panel. Now, as Schwartz put it, "the nominees and winners are determined in the same round of judging."

Why 'judging' instead of 'voting'?

Schwartz deliberately avoids the word "voting." She said: "We refer to it specifically as 'judging' because it's a unique process in the awards ecosystem. Our judges are predominantly members of either Television Academy." Judges apply through peer groups, and Schwartz assigns them to one, two or three categories based on expertise. Performers judge acting categories; writers judge writing categories.

Judges get roughly three weeks to complete their work. The viewing requirements are strict:

• Full-episode categories do not require 100% viewing.
• Clip-reel categories now carry a 100% viewing standard.
• Acting judges must watch 100% of every submitted reel in their category.

What stops conflicts of interest?

Acting carries the strictest safeguard in the program. "Acting is the only category in which you cannot review your own category if you're submitted there," Schwartz said. Performers may still judge other acting categories. "You can review the work of other people even on your own show," she added.

Schwartz acknowledged that bias cannot be fully engineered out. "I do know that there is always a human component to judging," she said. "We can't completely remove human bias from a process." She noted judges may face categories where co-stars or former scene partners are nominated.

What makes a winning reel?

The 15-minute limit is a ceiling, not a target. "I won't accept anything beyond 15 minutes, but it does not mean that you are required to use 14 minutes and 59 seconds," Schwartz said. She called assembling a reel from a year of storylines "almost an impossible task" and advised performers to grab judges' attention immediately — her personal opinion, not a rule.

Do the rules change year to year?

NATAS reviews categories and policies annually. Schwartz described her process bluntly: "I call it my 'shower thoughts.'" Changes pass through a manager overseeing all NATAS awards, a daytime subcommittee acting as an advisory council, and a formal committee process before finalization.

Schwartz, a Northwestern University theater graduate who once handed out Academy Awards ballots to sixth-grade classmates, said of the process: "It puts integrity above all else." The awards honor talk shows, culinary programs and other daytime programming alongside the soaps. On Friday, the sealed results open on stage.