Although the news was quietly revealed in a YouTube video dated May 4, 2023, “Days of our Lives” writer Jamey Giddens only recently confirmed that he has joined the Season 7 writing team of “Tyler Perry’s Sistas.”
“So, this cat is out of the bag… When you let God order your steps, you never go wrong!” said the Daytime Confidential co-owner on Twitter in response to the YouTube video reveal. When a follower congratulated Giddens on his next move, even going so far as to say that he could be the show’s next showrunner, Giddens said, “Thank you, but #DAYS is in good hands with Janet [Drucker, new co-executive producer] & Ron [Carlivati, head writer]! I’ll see y’all on cable.”
The Season 7 writing team of “Tyler Perry’s Sistas” also includes “David Makes Man” writers Lucien Christian Adderley and Richard Wilson, April Powell (“House of Payne”), Maggie Bush, and Kourtney Richard (“Raven’s Home”). This marks the first time that Tyler Perry has created a writers room for the series after previously writing every episode from Season 1 through Season 6 himself. Giddens is said to be writing the season’s first episode, titled “A New Beginning.”
Back in April, Giddens announced his departure from “Days of our Lives,” where he served as a breakdown writer, noting that he opted not to renew his contract and would be departing the series the following month with plans to join a “hit primetime soap that I won’t be able to discuss deets on for a while.”
A few weeks after Giddens made that announcement, the Writers Guild of America (WGA West/WGA East) announced that its writers were going on strike after the guild failed to secure a new contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). This has not only delayed Giddens’ ability to work on “Tyler Perry’s Sistas,” but he also now owes Corday Productions, producer of “Days of our Lives,” more scripts.
When asked if he’s still writing for “Days of our Lives” by a follower, Giddens noted, “Technically, yes. I resigned last spring, but I still had 2 weeks on my contract when we went on strike. Once the strike is over, I still owe #DAYS 2 weeks, aka 2 scripts.”
While Giddens makes it clear it was his choice to leave the soap, he does reveal that the show’s head writer, Ron Carlivati, had to fight to keep him and other writers of color on the payroll. He said, “Ron really fought for me and other writers of color. Unfortunately, the commitment wasn’t across the board. Honestly, I blame Sony. This problem also exists at #YR.” Giddens elaborated further in response to another tweeter, stating, “We all (daytime’s black writers) try to support each other but it was demoralizing as F%$*. Josh Griffith [head writer/executive producer, ‘The Young and the Restless’] fired his break[down writers] at #YR to save money. Sony wanted #DAYS to do the same, but Ron fought for his team. That has to be noted. There ARE good eggs.”
When someone pointed out that soap alum Victoria Rowell (ex-Drucilla Winters, “The Young and the Restless”) warned people about the lack of color behind the scenes at the four daytime dramas, Giddens responded to the tweeter, saying, “She totally did, and they gaslit her and called her crazy.” Further, he shared, “Daytime’s audience is 40% black, but the white powers that be have no interest in bringing on black voices.”
Despite all that, the positive will always outshine the negative. Referencing BET+, STARZ, ALLBLK and Tubi, among others, Giddens pointed out that other platforms are realizing “black audiences will turn up and turn out for diverse, sudsy content.”
Ultimately, Giddens is proud of his time at “Days of our Lives,” saying, “I will forever cherish my time at #DAYS, but booking my most recent gig with #SistasOnBET reminded me of my WORTH & to get…my…bag.”
Check out the writing team announcement video below for more information on what to expect from Season 7 of “Tyler Perry’s Sistas.” The series airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on BET.
