It was, perhaps, a fitting way to cap off the night: The Young and the Restless, the number one rated soap for the past 15 years -- 790 weeks if you're counting -- was named Outstanding Drama Series for the time.
While dominant in the ratings, The Young and the Restless hasn't earned top show honors since 1993. In total, the show has amassed 25 overall nominations since its debut in 1973, with 20 of those nominations coming consecutively since 1985. The Young and the Restless' previous wins for Outstanding Drama Series were in 1975, 1983, 1985, 1986 and 1993.
For the first time in Emmy history, all four CBS soaps -- The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, As the World Turns and Guiding Light -- secured Emmy nominations for Outstanding Drama Series. ABC's General Hospital locked down the fifth and final nomination.
For The Bold and the Beautiful, it marked only the second time that the half-hour soap had been nominated for top show honors. Guiding Light, meanwhile, snapped a ten-year drought this year with its nomination. The almost-52-year-old soap's most recent victory was way back in 1982. General Hospital remains the most-honored program, having earned seven wins in 18 nominations. In terms of total nominations, however, All My Children's 27 nominations for Outstanding Drama Series rank it at the top of the heap, with The Young and the Restless' 25 nominations in second.
