What you missed at the Daytime Emmy Awards

Several years ago, television mostly gave up on the Daytime Emmy Awards. In 2012, the telecast shifted from broadcast TV to cable. Two years later, it moved to an online-only live stream, which was a train wreck. Thankfully, the production quality has improved since then, as the show looks as if it has found a permanent home on the Internet.

While many fans complain that it no longer airs on TV, Sunday night’s ceremony (streamed on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter) proved why this is a good thing. Yes, some viewers probably struggle to figure out where to watch. But given that the show — honoring everything from soap operas to game shows — no longer has to live up to ratings or the pressures of TV, the ceremony just operates on its own planet.

As a result, it has become one of the most earnest events on TV. Everyone looks thrilled to be there. Winners bring anyone they want on stage.

Plus, in all likelihood, only deeply invested fans will tune in — so when the ceremony kicks off with a flashmob dancing to “I Gotta Feeling,” no one needs to worry about social media snark.

So if you didn’t catch the show, here are six key moments you missed:

1) Former “Hollywood Squares” host Peter Marshall, 92, immediately hijacked the show. During the show’s opener, cohosts Mario Lopez (“Extra”) and Sheryl Underwood (“The Talk”) asked Marshall about hosting the first Daytime Emmy Awards in 1974. Marshall explained how the show was very low-budget, and that he and his co-host, Barbara Walters, arrived in a horse-drawn carriage. Then he looked up expectantly at a screen.

“Do they have it?” Marshall asked, as, presumably, the bit was supposed to end with a picture. No, they did not have it.

“It’s apparently still a low-budget show,” Lopez quipped.

“Its budget is so low I came here in a Lyft,” Underwood said. “And it was a ride share!”

Then Marshall started giving shout-outs to his friends in the audience: Larry King, Alex Trebek, etc. His appearance lasted around 10 minutes, and Lopez and Underwood confirmed when he walked off that those shout-outs were not planned. However, they reasoned, that’s the benefit of being 92 — you don’t need to be confined to a script.

2) Wayne Brady’s acceptance speech. Brady has hosted “Let’s Make a Deal” since 2009 and has been nominated for best game show host every year — this was the first time he won. He appeared genuinely stunned as he walked to the stage with his 15year-old daughter, Maile.

Holding the trophy, Brady confessed he had been thinking about leaving early so he could go to Morton’s steakhouse. “This has been a great show, but I’m hungry, and I was waiting for Steve Harvey to come up here and get the award,” he said. (Harvey won for “Family Feud” last year.)

3) “The Real” acceptance speech. The co-hosts of “The Real” had some of the best reactions when they won for best entertainment talk show hosts, triumphing over “The View,” “Live With Kelly and Ryan,” “The Talk” and Harry Connick Jr.’s “Harry.”

“We are in pure shock,” Loni Love said, and started crying. The other hosts — Tamera Mowry-Housley, Adrienne Houghton and Jeannie Mai — took turns at the microphone, emphasizing the importance of a talk show that stars women of color.

4) A dog presented an award. “General Hospital” actor Chris Van Etten, a Marine who lost both his legs when a bomb went off in Afghanistan in 2012, presented an award and told his story. Actor Brandon McMillan, the host of “Lucky Dog,” joined him to talk about the importance of military dogs — and they brought out Harley, Van Etten’s service dog and “best friend.”

5) The Hayes family. Longtime “Days of Our Lives” couple Bill Hayes and Susan Seaforth Hayes (married in real life since 1974) won the Lifetime Achievement Award. They have some high-profile fans: “Breaking Bad” star Bryan Cranston, making a surprise video cameo, shared a story about how he landed a three-day guest stint on “Days of Our Lives” back in 1980. He accidentally overslept the first day and showed up hours late — yet Bill Hayes was still extraordinarily kind to him.

6) The Cosby sign. Early in the ceremony, Lopez and Underwood declared the show’s support for the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements. Still, Lopez told the crowd, “Let me be clear: This is not a show about politics.”