The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) announced this past Thursday there will be changes to the Daytime Emmy Award nominations, one of which included eliminating the Younger Performer category. Beginning this year, younger actors will have to submit in either Lead, Supporting, or Guest categories.
Starting in 1985, younger actors were recognized at the Daytime Emmys, when they introduced the Outstanding Ingenue and Young Man categories. It would go through many name changes over the years, including Outstanding Male and Female Juvenile, before it became more commonly known as Outstanding Younger Actor and Actress in a Drama Series. Not only did it go through name changes, it also went through age brackets. When first introduced, there was no age limit. As time went on, the cutoff to be able to submit in the younger categories was 25. That age would eventually decrease to 21. However, with less soaps on the air, NATAS established a combined Younger Performer category, which included all genders, and the cutoff was age 18.
Adam Sharp, President of NATAS, released a statement regarding the category elimination:
“Programming is always changing, and NATAS continues to adapt its competition rules to reflect these shifts in the television landscape. We’re looking forward to gathering again at the 51st Daytime Emmys to celebrate all the nominees and the entertaining and enlightening programs they create.”
Call for nominations are now open with a deadline of March 7th. The Daytime Emmy Awards will announce the nominations in April, with the ceremony date to be announced in the coming weeks.
