The Kelly Clarkson Show won outstanding daytime talk series at the 2026 Daytime Emmys on Friday (Oct. 30), though its star, Kelly Clarkson, lost outstanding daytime talk series host to Sherri Shepherd for Sherri.
Clarkson won in one or both of those categories in six of the show’s seven seasons on the air. She has won a total of nine Daytime Emmys in seven years – five in the talk series category and four for talk series host – compared to three Grammys in a recording career which has lasted more than 20 years. Clarkson wasn’t present at the ceremony, which was held at the Hollywood Palladium for the first time.
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Clarkson recently made headlines for an incident at a curiosity shop in Brooklyn where she maintained that she was treated poorly. But “Birdgate” had no bearing on the outcome here. There is just one round of Daytime Emmy voting, which determines both the nominations and the eventual winner. That round closed on June 10, four months before the incident.
The Kelly Clarkson Show won three other awards this year – best directing for a daytime studio non-fiction series; outstanding sound mixing and sound editing for a live daytime program; and outstanding art direction/set decoration/scenic design for a daytime program.
Ray Chew won outstanding music direction and composition for a daytime program for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. His award was accepted by his wife, who explained that he was busy working on Dancing With the Stars. Chew has also served in music direction capacities on American Idol, Saturday Night Live, the Emmy Awards, the BET Awards and the Grammy Awards’ Premiere Ceremony.
Keke Palmer won her first Daytime Emmy – outstanding daytime short form program as producer of Glam Through the Ages. Palmer has won two Primetime Emmys, for Keke Palmer’s Turnt Up With the Taylors and the reboot of Password.
Tracee Ellis Ross won outstanding travel and adventure program for Solo Traveling With Tracee Ellis Ross. It’s her first Emmy Award (Daytime or Primetime) following six Primetime Emmy nods for ABC’s blackish. Ross’ legendary mom, Diana Ross, has yet to win an Emmy.
Off Script With The Hollywood Reporter won outstanding arts and popular culture program, beating a pair of programs produced by their sister brand, Variety – Variety & CNN Actors on Actors and Variety Studio: Actors on Actors.
Star Jones won her first Daytime Emmy in a 35-year TV career – outstanding daytime personality – daily for Divorce Court, which she won alongside Corey Jovan. Jones thanked two late legends who she described as “her two mentors – Johnnie Cochran, who taught me about justice, and Barbara Walters, who taught me to ask the tough question.”
General Hospital won outstanding daytime drama series for the sixth consecutive year – and 19th time overall, both records. Runner-up for most total wins in the category is The Young and The Restless, with 11 wins.
Genie Francis received a lifetime achievement award to celebrate her soon-to-be 50th anniversary playing Laura Spencer on General Hospital. Her co-star on that show, Anthony Geary, the other half of the Luke & Laura storyline which took daytime drama to new heights in the early 1980s, died in December 2025. He was remembered in the In Memoriam segment alongside critic Gene Shalit and such other actors as June Lockhart and Sally Kirkland.
This is the second year in a row that the Daytime Emmys didn’t air on linear TV. Instead, the ceremony streamed live on the NATAS YouTube channel at YouTube.com/@theemmys and watch.TheEmmys.tv.
The full list of winners is available on the Daytime Emmys’ website. Here are the nominees in the two talk show categories and other categories of special interest to the music community, with winners marked.
Outstanding Daytime Talk Series
3rd Hour of Today, NBC
The Drew Barrymore Show, CBS Media Ventures
WINNER: The Kelly Clarkson Show, NBCUniversal Syndication Studios
Live With Kelly and Mark, Disney Entertainment Distribution
Today With Jenna & Friends, NBC
The View, ABC
Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host
Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, and Ana Navarro — The View, ABC
Kelly Clarkson — The Kelly Clarkson Show, NBCUniversal Syndication Studios
Tamron Hall — Tamron Hall, Disney Entertainment Distribution
Jennifer Hudson — The Jennifer Hudson Show, Warner Bros. Television [Telepictures]
WINNER: Sherri Shepherd — Sherri, Debmar-Mercury
Outstanding Daytime Personality – Daily
Mona Kosar Abdi, Derek Hough, and Terri Seymour — Extra, Warner Bros. Television [Telepictures]
Cassie DiLaura, Denny Directo, Kevin Frazier, Rachel Smith, and Nischelle Turner — Entertainment Tonight, CBS Media Ventures
Scott Evans, Zuri Hall, Kit Hoover, and Mario Lopez — Access Hollywood, NBCUniversal Syndication Studios
WINNER: Star Jones & Corey Jovan — Divorce Court, FOX
Outstanding Daytime Personality – Non-Daily
Joy Behar, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, and Ana Navarro — The Weekend View, ABC News Live
Derrick Campana — The Wizard of Paws, BYUtv [Nomadica Films|The Dodo|Vox Media Studios]
WINNER: Giada De Laurentiis — Giada in My Kitchen, Prime Video [Butternut]
Keke Palmer — Glam Through the Ages, KeyTV Network
Joseph Rosendo — Joseph Rosendo’s Steppin’ Out, PBS [Joseph Rosendo Presents]
Eva zu Beck — Superskilled With Eva zu Beck, National Geographic
Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for a Daytime Program
Beyond the Gates, “Episode 103,” CBS; Music Supervisor: Ashley Neumeister; Music Composers: Daeus Cannon, Kurt Farquhar, Zuberi Mackson, and Joshua Mosley
Have Guitar Will Travel World, “The Shetland Sound,” American Public Television [Have Guitar Will Travel World, LLC]; Music Supervisors: Kevin Doherty and Andrea Engleson; Music Composers: Mark Allen and John Rodrigue
The Kelly Clarkson Show, “Episode 5033,” NBCUniversal Syndication Studios; Music Director: Jason Halbert
Let Frankie Cook, “Getting the Band Back Together,” Tastemade [Linguine Pictures]; Music Composer: Luke Celenza
WINNER: Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, NBC | Peacock [Done & Dusted]; Music Director: Ray Chew
Outstanding Sound Mixing and Sound Editing for a Prerecorded Daytime Program
Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi, “Wild Atlantic Way North, Ireland,” PBS [Sauce & Liver Productions, LLC]; Production Mixer: Daniel Gaughran; Sound Editor: Jenna Escalera
Dream of Europe, “London Part 1 with Abbey Road Studios,” PBS [Dream of Italy Productions, LLC]; Production Mixer: Jeff Ingram Watson; Re-Recording Mixer: Jonathan Taft; Sound Editor: Chuck Barney Smith
Expedition Unknown, “The Man-Eating Lions of Kenya,” Discovery Channel [Ping Pong Productions]; Re-Recording Mixer: Ian Howard; Sound Supervisors: Mike Curtis and Freddie DiPasquale; Supervising Sound Editor: David Miraglia
Forever Young with Dr. Pablo Prichard, “Wheel of Age,” NBC [Hearst Media Production Group | Agency X]; Supervising Sound Editor: David Barnett
WINNER: Long Way Home, “Lost in Lapland,” Apple [Long Way Productions]; Re-Recording Mixer: Tristan Powell; Sound Supervisor: Tim Boylan; Sound Editors: Will Chapman and Patrick Fripp; Dialogue Editor: Claire Ellis
Outstanding Sound Mixing and Sound Editing for a Live Daytime Program
The Bold and the Beautiful, “Episode 9658,” CBS [Bell-Phillip TV Productions, Inc.]; Production Mixers: J. Aaron Lepley and Tommy Persson; Boom Operators: David Golba and Justin LaMont; Re-Recording Mixer: Brian Connell
The Jennifer Hudson Show, “Episode 4039,” Warner Bros. Television [Telepictures]; Audio Supervisor: Mike Stock; Music Mixer: Josue Pena; PA Mixers: Phil Gebhardt and Tig Moore; A2s: Liza Tan and Ron Thompson; Boom Operator / Band A2: Isaiah Reyes; Monitor Mixers: Liz Cabral and Carlos Torres
WINNER: The Kelly Clarkson Show; “Episode 5007”; NBCUniversal Syndication Studios; Music Mixer: Robert Venable; Front of House Mixer: Omatali Beckett; Associate Music Producer: Rachel Orscher; Audio Supervisor/ Production Mixer: James Slanger; Monitor Mixer: Bob Lewis; Music A2: Bryon Smith; Production A2s: Rebecca Malsburry and Rosa Howell Thornhill
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, NBC | Peacock [Done & Dusted]; Production Mixers: Greg Acker, Paul Adams, John Ariz, Jay Carrie, Mel Cubero, Frank Duca, Will Finan, Brian Flanzbaum, Josh Flower, Ricardo Gomez, Burton Ishmael, Ultan Molloy, Efrain “Alex” Ortega, Chris Prinzivalli, Alex Raytses, Brian Ready, Sasha Rosario, Tayler Stendel, Ryan Stotts, Yuri Suzuki, Al Theurer, Gianluca Trombetta, and Dave Winslow; Audio Supervisors: David Chessman, Steven Giampaolo, and John Karwecki; Pre-Production Mixer: Katie Reif; Music Mixers: Charles Campbell, Michael Cruz, Michael Fortunato, Peter Gary, Carl Glanville, Mike Hetzel, and Joel Singer; Front of House Mixers: Chris Acker, Jack M. Goodwin, KC Hoffman, Robert Lapp, Jorge Silva, and David Swanson; PA Mixers: Jim Van Bergen and Bob Selitto; A2: Amanda Wong
The Young and the Restless, “Episode 13260,” CBS [Sony Pictures Television]; Production Mixer: Andrzej Warzocha; Post-Production Mixer: Dean Johnson; Boom Operators: Joseph Lawrence and Giovanni Meza; Audio Assists: Godofredo Galvez and Gereald Rojo II; RF Operator: Denise Palm Stones
Outstanding Arts and Popular Culture Program
Beyond the Gates: Welcome to the Neighborhood, An Entertainment Tonight Special, CBS Media Ventures
WINNER: Off Script With The Hollywood Reporter, The Hollywood Reporter [IFC]
Variety & CNN Actors on Actors, CNN Digital|Variety
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors, PBS
Working in the Theatre, AmericanTheatreWing.org
Outstanding Entertainment News Series
Access Hollywood, NBCUniversal Syndication Studios
WINNER: Entertainment Tonight, CBS Media Ventures
Extra, Warner Bros. Television [Telepictures]
Outstanding Daytime Special
Critics Choice 2nd Annual Celebration of LBGTQ+ Cinema & Television, Here TV
Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade, ABC [Disney Yellow Shoes Studio|Film 45|EverWonder Studio]
Living Proof, Hulu [The DIVA Foundation|Shivelight LLC|Zables & Associates]
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, NBC|Peacock [Done & Dusted]
WINNER: Unleashing Hope: The Power of Service Dogs for Children with Autism, Hulu [NY27 Productions|Shivelight LLC|Zables & Associates]
Outstanding Daytime Short Form Program
Catalyst, LinkedIn News
WINNER: Glam Through the Ages, Key TV Network
Most-Ordered, Eater
The Path with Ryan Roslansky, LinkedIn News
Stand Up and Do Something with Michael Jr., BYUtv [Monument Pictures]
Outstanding Travel and Adventure Program
Expedition Unknown, Discovery Channel [Ping Pong Productions]
Long Way Home, Apple [Long Way Productions]
The Lovely Lemurs of Madagascar, Pets.TV [Allen Media Group]
WINNER: Solo Traveling With Tracee Ellis Ross, Roku [Joy Mill Ent.|Story Syndicate|Artists First]
Superskilled With Eva zu Beck, National Geographic
