The Kelly Clarkson Show was the biggest winner at the 2026 Daytime Emmy Awards, taking home five prizes — but Kelly Clarkson herself went home without the hosting award.
The 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards took place on Friday, October 30, at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. Clarkson’s show led all programs on the night, winning Outstanding Daytime Talk Series along with four craft awards.
It was a strong finish for a show that aired its final episode on August 31, 2026, after seven seasons. Clarkson was not at the ceremony, but she shared a heartfelt message with her former team after the wins.
What did The Kelly Clarkson Show win?
The show’s five awards were:
- Outstanding Daytime Talk Series
- Outstanding Directing for a Daytime Studio Non-Fiction Series
- Outstanding Sound Mixing and Sound Editing for a Live Daytime Program
- Outstanding Art Direction, Set Decoration and Scenic Design for a Daytime Program
- Outstanding Hairstyling and Makeup for a Daytime Program
It was the third-largest haul in the show’s history, after seven wins in 2022 and six in 2023. No other program won more on the night. General Hospital and the newcomer Beyond the Gates were next, with four awards each.
Why Kelly Clarkson lost the host award
The one prize that got away was Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host. That award went to Sherri Shepherd for her show Sherri, which also ended this year.
The split was a talking point of the night. The program prize went to Clarkson’s show, while the individual hosting prize went to Shepherd — a reminder that the two awards are judged separately.
Clarkson has still had a remarkable run at the Daytime Emmys. She has won nine of the awards across the show’s seven seasons, including five in the talk series category and four as host. She won in one or both of the two main talk categories in six of the show’s seven seasons.
TheWrap published the complete list of winners, which confirms the five wins for Clarkson’s show and Shepherd’s host award.
A bittersweet night for daytime TV
The ceremony carried a bittersweet note because both The Kelly Clarkson Show and Sherri have now ended, yet both were still winning prizes. Under the academy’s calendar-year eligibility rules, episodes that aired in 2026 can still qualify for next year’s Daytime Emmys.
The Kelly Clarkson Show began in 2019, with Clarkson winning Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host in her debut season in 2020. The singer, who first found fame as the original American Idol winner in 2002, built the show into one of daytime’s most decorated programs.
Who else won at the 2026 Daytime Emmys?
Beyond the talk show categories, the night belonged to the soaps. General Hospital won Outstanding Daytime Drama Series for a sixth straight year, a record 19th win in the category.
Tamara Tunie won her first Emmy, taking Outstanding Lead Performer in a Daytime Drama Series for her role as Anita Williams Dupree on Beyond the Gates.
Other first-time winners included Keke Palmer, who won Outstanding Daytime Short Form Program as a producer of Glam Through the Ages, and Tracee Ellis Ross, who won Outstanding Travel and Adventure Program for Solo Traveling With Tracee Ellis Ross.
Entertainment Tonight won Outstanding Entertainment News Series, and Ina Garten took Outstanding Culinary Host for Be My Guest with Ina Garten.
EntertainmentNow reported on Clarkson’s reaction to the wins and her message to her former team.
What is next for Kelly Clarkson?
Clarkson has not announced a new daytime show, and her team has not said what comes next. For now, the five Emmy wins stand as a fitting send-off for a show that spent seven years at the top of daytime television — even if the host prize itself went to someone else on the final night.
How The Kelly Clarkson Show became a daytime hit
The Kelly Clarkson Show began in September 2019, and Clarkson won Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host in her debut season in 2020. The format mixed celebrity interviews with “Kellyoke,” the opening segment in which Clarkson covered a well-known song, and the show quickly became a fixture of daytime schedules.
Clarkson, 44, first found fame as the original winner of American Idol in 2002. She went on to win three Grammy Awards in a recording career lasting more than 20 years, and her nine Daytime Emmys now outnumber her Grammys three to one.
The show’s Emmy record tells the story of its run. After the debut-season win, it took seven awards in 2022 and six in 2023, before this year’s five. Few daytime talk shows have matched that consistency, and the 2026 wins came in the show’s final season, with episodes that aired before it ended in August.
There is one quirk to this year’s voting. The Daytime Emmys use a single round of voting that decides both the nominations and the winners, and that round closed on June 10 — months before the ceremony and before either show aired its final episode. The results were decided while both programs were still on air.
FAQ
How many awards did The Kelly Clarkson Show win at the 2026 Daytime Emmys?
Five, including Outstanding Daytime Talk Series. It was the most-awarded program of the night.
Did Kelly Clarkson win the host award?
No. The Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host award went to Sherri Shepherd for Sherri.
When did The Kelly Clarkson Show end?
The final episode aired on Monday, August 31, 2026, ending the show’s seven-year run.
