The 2nd Children's and Family Emmy Awards were presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), to honor the best in American children's and family-oriented television programming in 2022 and 2023, following on from the inaugural ceremony held a year prior. The eligibility period ran from June 1, 2022, to May 31, 2023, mirroring that of the Primetime Emmy Awards.
The winners were announced during two ceremonies, one focused on creative and technical arts, and the other dedicated to performances and programming, on December 16 and 17, 2023 at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles. with the latter night being hosted by Christopher Jackson. Nominations were revealed on November 2, 2023, with Sesame Street leading with twelve nominations, followed by Sweet Tooth with eleven.
The second annual Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to voice actor Peter Cullen.
Background For the 2023 ceremony, the NATAS announced several changes for different categories and eligibility rules: Three new categories – Outstanding Public Service Initiative, Outstanding Puppeteer Performance and Outstanding Puppet Design/Styling, were introduced. Two categories were removed: Outstanding Guest Performer - these performers are now eligible to compete in the Supporting category. Outstanding Special Effects Costumes, Makeup and Hairstyling - these "specialty looks" are now eligible to be featured as part of the reels for the Outstanding Costume Design/Styling and/or the Outstanding Hairstyling and Makeup categories. The Outstanding Original Song has been split into two separate categories (Outstanding Original Song for a Preschool Program and Outstanding Original Song for a Children's and Young Teen Program). The Outstanding Cinematography for a Live Action Single-Camera Program and Outstanding Cinematography for a Live Action Multiple-Camera Program categories will now only award the cinematographer and/or director of photography. Outstanding Lighting Design for a Live Action Program has been renamed Outstanding Lighting, Camera and Technical Arts and will now honor series, specials and variety shows with technical production teams.
Winners and nominees
Nominations were set to be announced on the week of October 17, 2023, but were postponed due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. The nominees were ultimately announced on November 2, 2023.
Programming + Sesame Street (HBO Max/PBS Kids) Blue's Clues & You! (Nickelodeon) Helpsters (Apple TV+) Slumberkins (Apple TV+) Waffles + Mochi's Restaurant (Netflix) The Muppets Mayhem (Disney+) Are You Afraid of the Dark? (Nickelodeon) Best Foot Forward (Apple TV+) Jane (Apple TV+) Malory Towers (BYUtv) The Crossover (Disney+) Ghostwriter (Apple TV+) High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (Disney+) The Mysterious Benedict Society (Disney+) XO, Kitty (Netflix) The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (Disney+) Chang Can Dunk (Disney+) Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock: “Night of the Lights” (Apple TV+) Ivy and Bean: Doomed to Dance (Netflix) Prom Pact (Disney Channel) 1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed (HBO) All-Round Champion (BYUtv) Mamas (The Roku Channel) NBC Nightly News: Kids Edition (NBC) Nick News (Nickelodeon) StoryBots: Answer Time (Netflix) The Adventures of Paddington (Nick Jr.) Spirit Rangers (Netflix) Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures (Disney+) The Tiny Chef Show (Nickelodeon) Zootopia+ (Disney+) Baymax! (Disney+) Big City Greens (Disney Channel) Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (Disney Channel) ONI: Thunder God's Tale (Netflix) Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur: "Moon Girl Landing" (Disney Channel) Looney Tunes Cartoons: "Bugs Bunny's Howl-O-Skreem Spooktacular" (HBO Max) Reindeer in Here (CBS) Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie (Netflix) Snoopy Presents: Lucy's School (Apple TV+) The Wonderful Summer of Mickey Mouse (Disney+) I Am Groot (Disney+) The Big Gathering (PBS Kids) Sesame Street: Wes' First Barbershop Haircut (YouTube) Sesame Street's #ComingTogether Word of the Day Series (YouTube) Storyline Online (YouTube) Nickelodeon Brand Campaign: "Quartet," "Car," "We Make Fun" (Nickelodeon) Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous: "Season 5 Campaign" (Netflix) PBS Kids: “Brand IDs” (PBS Kids) Galactic Catch (Baobab Studios) Alma's Way: Boom Boom Bah! (PBS Kids) Mission US: No Turning Back (Thirteen) Molly of Denali: The Big Gathering Game (PBS Kids) Momoguro: Legends of Uno (Baobab Studios) Out-Of-The-Box Science With Dr. Jeff (Generation Genius) Snacks with Spats (Noggin) Gabby's Kid Power Challenge (YouTube) Honorable Mention: Sesame Street: Quest for Health Equity (YouTube)
Performances
+ Tony Hale as Mr. Benedict on The Mysterious Benedict Society (Disney+) Tim Allen as Scott Calvin/Santa on The Santa Clauses (Disney+) Ella Bright as Darrell Rivers on Malory Towers (BYUtv) Veda Cienfuegos as Emily on Circuit Breakers (Apple TV+) Gina Rodriguez as Momma on Lost Ollie (Netflix) Adeel Akhtar as Dr. Aditya Singh on Sweet Tooth (Netflix) Nonso Anozie as Tommy Jepperd on Sweet Tooth (Netflix) Kal Penn as Simon Choksi/Santa on The Santa Clauses (Disney+) Neil Sandilands as General Abbot on Sweet Tooth (Netflix) Catherine Zeta-Jones as Billie Pearce on National Treasure: Edge of History (Disney+) Mykal-Michelle Harris as Alice Baxter on Raven's Home (Disney Channel) Marta Kessler as Constance Contraire on The Mysterious Benedict Society (Disney+) Matilda Lawler as Betty on The Santa Clauses (Disney+) Rupali Redd as Grace on The Santa Clauses (Disney+) Tabitha Brown – Tab Time (YouTube Originals) Valerie Bertinelli & Duff Goldman – Kids Baking Championship (Food Network) Emmanuel Carter – Noggin Knows (Noggin) Taylor Cassidy, Benjamin De Almeida, Kahlil Greene, Tejas Hullur, Jane McManus & Jillian Smith – Nick News (Nickelodeon) Juanpa Zurita – Elmo’s Mindfulness Spectacular! (YouTube) Eric Bauza as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety Bird & Marvin the Martian on Bugs Bunny Builders (Cartoon Network) Erin Fitzgerald as Bo, Eleanor Smartypants, Story StoryBerg, Ranger Dot, Oog the CaveBot & Fun Fact Hairdresser on StoryBots: Answer Time (Netflix) James Monroe Iglehart as Mr. Puppypaws/Announcer on SuperKitties (Disney Junior) Cree Summer as Lizard & DeeDee on Spirit Rangers (Netflix) Fred Tatasciore as Bang, BlimBlam the Barbarian & Chef Pierre on StoryBots: Answer Time (Netflix) Jack Black as Po, Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight (Netflix) Bob Bergen as Porky Pig, Looney Tunes Cartoons (HBO Max) Laurence Fishburne as The Beyonder on Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (Disney Channel) Tom Kenny as SpongeBob SquarePants on SpongeBob SquarePants (Nickelodeon) Rob Paulsen as Pinky, Dr. Scratchansniff & Yakko on Animaniacs (Hulu) Maria Nash as Pinecone on Pinecone & Pony (Apple TV+) Talon Proc Alford as Eddy Skycedar on Spirit Rangers (Netflix) Juliet Donenfeld as Piper on Interrupting Chicken (Apple TV+) Melissa Povenmire as Gretel on Hamster & Gretel (Disney Channel) Isis Celilo Rogers as Summer Skycedar on Spirit Rangers (Netflix) Momona Tamada as Onari on ONI: Thunder God’s Tale (Netflix) Ryan Dillon as Elmo on Sesame Street (HBO Max) Leslie Carrara-Rudolph as Abby & Tango on Sesame Street (HBO Max) Frankie Cordero as Purple Panda, Penguin Referee & Gregory on Donkey Hodie (PBS Kids) Haley Jenkins as Donkey Hodie on Donkey Hodie (PBS Kids) Eric Jacobson as Bert, Oscar & Grover on Sesame Street (HBO Max) Eric Jacobson as Animal/Baby Animal on The Muppets Mayhem (Disney+)
Writing
+ Sesame Street – Ken Scarborough, Belinda Arredondo, Molly Boylan, Jessica Carleton, Geri Cole, Joe Fallon, Christine Ferraro, Monique D. Hall, Liz Hara, Ron Holsey, Raye Lankford (HBO Max) Helpsters – Adam Peltzman, Marty Johnson, Tim McKeon, Roxy Simons, Eric Toth, Moujan Zolfaghari (Apple TV+) Jane – J.J. Johnson, Christin Simms, Tiffany Hsiung (Apple TV+) Lost Ollie – Shannon Tindle, Joanna Calo, Marc Haimes, Kate Gersten (Netflix) Raven’s Home – Jed Elinoff, Robin Henry, Anthony C. Hill, Scott Thomas, Rick Williams, Molly Haldeman, Jim Martin, Brittany Assaly, Danielle Calvert, Jai Joseph, Nori Reid, Jordan Mitchell (Disney Channel) Life by Ella – Jeff Hodsden, Tim Pollock, Vincent Brown, Susan Jaffee, Natalie McKearnin, Hernan Barangan, Alyssa DiMari (Apple TV+) Chang Can Dunk – Jingyi Shao (Disney+) The Crossover – Kwame Alexander, Damani Johnson, Valerie C. Woods, Ali Kinney, Aaron Carter, Jasmine Swift, Jake Lawler (Disney+) Growing Up – Travis Callahan, Nicole Galovski (Disney+) The Mysterious Benedict Society – Taylor Chukwu, Phil Hay, Heather Jeng Bladt, Matt Manfredi, Angeli Millan, James Rogers III, Todd Slavkin, Darren Swimmer (Disney+) StoryBots: Answer Time – Edlyn Capulong, Matt Chapman, Mike Chapman, Scott Emmons, Jeff Gill, Chris Harding, Henock Lebsekal, Kendall Nelson, Evan Spiridellis, Gregg Spiridellis, Maha Tabikh, Nate Theis (Netflix) The Adventures of Paddington – Jon Foster, James Lamont (Nick Jr.) Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood – Jill Cozza-Turner, Saurin Choksi, Mary Jacobson, Haley Hoffman, Alexandra Cassel Schwartz, Sara Farber (PBS Kids) Interrupting Chicken – Ron Holsey, Scott Gray, Jennifer Keene, Josh Riley Brown (Apple TV+) Molly of Denali – Peter K. Hirsch, Peter Ferland, June Thiele, Vera Starbard (PBS Kids) The Tiny Chef Show – Jim Nolan, Rebecca Delgado, Ta'riq Fisher, Jordan Gershowitz, Sarah Jenkins, Sara Karimipour, Laura Kleinbaum, Rachel Larsen, Teresa Lee, Sarah Nerboso, Adam Reid, Alec Schwimmer (Nickelodeon) Baymax! – Cirocco Dunlap (Disney+) Craig of the Creek – Matt Burnett, Ben Levin, Jeff Trammell, Dashawn Mahone, Najja Porter, Deena Beck, Ashleigh Hairston (Cartoon Network) Karma's World – Halcyon Person, Keion Jackson, Jehan Madhani (Netflix) Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur – Lisa Muse Bryant, Jeffrey M. Howard, Kate Kondell, Liz Hara, Halima Lucas, Maggie Rose, Taylor Vaughn Lasley (Disney Channel) My Dad the Bounty Hunter – Everett Downing, Patrick Harpin, Eric Rivera, Shakira Pressley, Adele Williams, Justin Gordon-Montgomery (Netflix)
Directing
+ Lost Ollie — Peter Ramsey (Netflix) Circuit Breakers — Annie Bradley, Romeo Candido, Matthew Hastings, Farhad Mann, Wendy Morgan (Apple TV+) The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special — James Gunn (Disney+) The Muppets Mayhem — Robert Cohen, Kimmy Gatewood, Matt Sohn (Disney+) The Mysterious Benedict Society — Kabir Akhtar, James Bobin, Lena Khan, Tara Nicole Weyr, Dawn Wilkinson, April Winney, Craig Zisk (Disney+) Sesame Street – Ken Diego, Shannon Flynn, Todd E. James, Jack Jameson, Benjamin Lehmann, Julie LoRusso, Noel MacNeal, Linda Mendoza, Alan Muraoka, Lily Olszewski, Scott Preston, Brittany Scott Smith, Matt Vogel (HBO Max) Hello, Jack! The Kindness Show – Leena Pendharkar, Brittany Scott Smith, Bridget Stokes (Apple TV+) Kids’ Choice Awards 2023 – Ryan Polito (Nickelodeon) Raven's Home – Raven-Symoné, Monica Marie Contreras, Robbie Countryman, Jade Jenise Dixon, Jed Elinoff, Morenike Joela Evans, Danielle Fishel, Leonard Garner Jr., Victor Gonzalez, Ian Jordan, Ian Reed Kessler and Lynda Tarryk (Disney Channel) The Tiny Chef Show – Rachel Larsen, Chris Tichborne (Nickelodeon) Ada Twist, Scientist – Jean Herlihy, Adrian Ignat, Alan Moran, Seamus O'Toole, David McCamley, Amnon Schwarz, Rajiv Singate, Shobhit Trivedi (Netflix) The Adventures of Paddington – Chris Drew (Nick Jr.) Mickey Saves Christmas – David H. Brooks (Disney Channel) Spirit Rangers – Dorothée Robert (Netflix) The Cuphead Show! – Clay Morrow, Adam Paloian (Netflix) Baymax! – Dean Wellins (Disney+) Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Knight – David Dick, Mike Goguen, Will Ruzicka, Kevin Wotton, James Yang (Netflix) ONI: Thunder God’s Tale – Daisuke "Dice" Tsutsumi, Erick Oh, Hikari Toriumi (Netflix) Zootopia+ – Trent Correy, Josie Trinidad (Disney+) Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur – Sam Riegel (Disney Channel)