As the Daytime Emmys turn

Actors and talk show hosts. First-time nominees and previous winners. Series that will continue and others now canceled.

There's a little bit of everything at the Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards, as the 37th annual edition airs Sunday on CBS from the Las Vegas Hilton with Regis Philbin hosting. Many familiar faces will be on hand - afternoon-drama queen Susan Lucci among them - as this year's lifetime achievement award is presented to Agnes Nixon, creator of the ABC staples "All My Children" and "One Life to Live."

Just as last year's Daytime Emmys marked a last hurrah for a CBS serial that seemed to have run forever - "Guiding Light" - so it is again this time. "As the World Turns" ends its 54-year run Sept. 17, and among those who have earned one of the show's final 13 nominations is daytime drama veteran Jon Lindstrom ("General Hospital," "Port Charles"), who has played the ever-ambitious Craig Montgomery since late 2008.

Lindstrom, ironically, has landed his first Daytime Emmy bid, for outstanding lead actor in a drama series, for a job that's soon to end. His last scenes as Craig were slated to be taped just before the ceremony, and he says that though he has no idea how Craig's story will conclude, "I just hope somebody throws him under a bus, or he finds some way to change his ways spectacularly, so that it's authentic as well as creative," he says.

Among Lindstrom's rivals for the lead actor Daytime Emmy are his "As the World Turns" co-star Michael Park, Doug Davidson (CBS' "The Young and the Restless") and James Scott (NBC's "Days of Our Lives"). Also up for it is Peter Bergman, who has won the award three times as Jack Abbott on "The Young and the Restless." He claims his 16th Daytime Emmy nomination for the role is no less special.

"That year's going to come when I'm not a nominee," Bergman acknowledges, citing the current status of daytime drama in general. "We've been hearing about the end of it for a very long time, and I doubt there's an actor in daytime television who isn't saddened, either because they have friends who are on the shows or because they happen to be on the top floor of this slowly sinking ship. It gets a little more perilous."

Still, the ratings for "The Young and the Restless" are "doing just fine in comparison to last year," says Bergman, who scored his first Daytime Emmy bid in 1983 as Cliff Warner on ABC's "All My Children."

SEE PHOTOS2009 Daytime Emmy Awards

"While we've lost something," the actor reflects on the cancellations of some daytime shows, "we've also gained something. It's considerably more efficient now. Everyone realizes now that it's about the writing, so the writers are more engaged. For a long time, you could coast, and you can't do that anymore."

Meanwhile, it could be another big year for Rachael Ray at the Daytime Emmys. The food expert's eponymous, syndicated weekday show is up again for outstanding talk show / entertainment, which it won for two of its three past nominations in the category. Ray herself has her third chance to win for outstanding talk show host.

"I think our show is unique," Ray says, "in that we're truly a mixture of a cooking show and a chat show. What I'm most proud of is that people see a lot of themselves in the show. We're not totally celebrity-driven; we're thrilled to have the celebs on and have them sit at our kitchen table and make chitchat, but we have so much else, like our Human Labs and our Ambush Makeovers and all our parenting pieces.

"We were up in our ratings a bit recently, and that's hard to do in the daytime landscape," adds Ray, who typically spends her summer hiatus from "Rachael Ray" working on her Food Network projects (now encompassing a new one for the spun-off Cooking Channel, "Rachael Ray's Week in a Day").

SEE PHOTOSBest dressed at 2009 Emmy Awards

"We're just thankful for our jobs, and we just go to work to make the show the best visit that we can. People will let us know if that changes." 

This year's lineup of Daytime Emmy nominees 

DAYTIME DRAMA

"All My Children"

"General Hospital"

"The Young and the Restless"

SEE PHOTOSCelebs arrive at the 2009 Emmy Awards

"The Bold and the Beautiful"

LEAD ACTOR

Peter Bergman, "The Young and the Restless"

Doug Davidson, "The Young and the Restless"

James Scott, "Days of Our Lives"

Jon Lindstrom, "As the World Turns"

Michael Park, "As the World Turns"

LEAD ACTRESS

Maura West, "As the World Turns"

Crystal Chappell, "Guiding Light"

Michelle Stafford, "The Young and the Restless"

Sarah Brown, "General Hospital"

Bobbie Eakes, "All My Children"

TALK-SHOW HOST

Bonnie Hunt

Rachael Ray

Dr. Oz

Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa

Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Sherri Shepherd and Barbara Walters ("The View")

TALK SHOW / INFORMATIONAL

"The Doctors"

"The Dr. Oz Show"

"Dr. Phil"

TALK SHOW / ENTERTAINMENT

"The Ellen DeGeneres Show"

"Rachael Ray"

"Live! With Regis & Kelly"