The first incarnation of the award was the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Short Format Daytime,[1] which was given to the soap operaweb seriesVenice: The Series at the 38th Daytime Emmy Awards in 2011.[2] The category became Outstanding New Approaches Original Daytime Program or Series in 2013,[3] and evolved into Outstanding New Approaches Drama Series in 2014.[4] It was renamed Outstanding Digital Daytime Drama Series in 2016.[5][6][7] In 2015, Alina Adams of Entertainment Weekly attributed the addition and evolution of the category to the increasing audience for, and presence of, independent soap opera web series.[4]
The associated category Outstanding Performer in a New Approaches Drama Series was added for the 42nd Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards in 2015, with Martha Byrne the first recipient for her role as Alexis Jordan/Joanne Edwards on Anacostia.[8][9][10] In 2016, this was split into two categories, Outstanding Actress in a Digital Daytime Drama Series and Outstanding Actor in a Digital Daytime Drama Series,[11] with Mary Beth Evans and Kristos Andrews winning for their mother-son roles of Sara and Peter Garrett on The Bay.[7] These performer categories were further expanded to four for the 44th Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Digital Daytime Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Digital Daytime Drama Series, Outstanding Supporting or Guest Actress in a Digital Daytime Drama Series, and Outstanding Supporting or Guest Actor in a Digital Daytime Drama Series.[12][13][14] In 2018, the Outstanding Supporting or Guest Actress/Actor in a Digital Daytime Drama Series categories became Outstanding Supporting Actress/Actor in a Digital Daytime Drama Series, and a fifth performer category was added, Outstanding Guest Performer in a Digital Daytime Drama Series. New categories were also added for Outstanding Writing in a Digital Drama Series and Outstanding Directing in a Digital Drama Series.[15]
To be eligible for the Outstanding Digital Daytime Drama Series category, programming was required to be "continuous, episodic works of dramatic fiction from over-the-air, cable, satellite and internet broadcasters" which have more than three but less than 35 original episodes; 35 episodes was the minimum required for the main Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series category. The award recognized producers, directors, and writers credited on a minimum of 19 percent of total episodes first aired in the applicable year.[16] The performer categories applied to actresses and actors who appeared in these series.[17] The Digital Daytime Drama Series and related performer awards were typically awarded as part of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony, a separate presentation of awards which included recognition of technical and craft categories.
In December 2021, the ATAS and the NATAS announced a major realignment of the Daytime and Primetime Emmy Award ceremonies. Other than daytime serial dramas (as defined as an episodic, multi-camera drama serial that airs on a weekday basis, or a reboot or spin-off of such a series) or children's programming (which will move to the new Children's & Family Emmy Awards), all categories for scripted comedies and dramas will now fall under Primetime Emmys, regardless of scheduling.[18]
Winners and nominees
Crystal Chappell won the first Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Short Format Daytime in 2011 as an executive producer of Venice: The Series. She won again for Venice in 2014, when the category had been renamed Outstanding New Approaches Drama Series.Martha Byrne was the first recipient of the newly established Performer in a New Approaches Drama Series award in 2015.
^In 2018, Patrika Darbo initially won in this category for her performance as Mickey Walker on Amazon's The Bay The Series. The award was revoked and vacated after it was determined that Darbo appeared in a prior season of The Bay and entered scenes from multiple episodes for judging, both violations of the TV Academy's submission guidelines. An award was not given to runner-up Jennifer Bassey, portraying Beverly Newman on YouTube series Anacostia, because she too submitted scenes from multiple episodes. Thomas Calabro, nominated for his role as Arthur Tobin on The Bay, also had his nomination in this category rescinded for appearing in a prior season.
^"Digital Daytime Drama Series"(PDF). 43rd Annual Daytime 2015–2016 Emmy Awards by Category Submission Guide. National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences: 5. January 27, 2016. Archived from the original(PDF) on March 22, 2016. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
^"Actress/Actor in a Digital Daytime Drama Series". 43rd Annual Daytime 2015–2016 Emmy Awards by Category Submission Guide. NATAS: 36–37. January 27, 2016.
