Ratings Report for the Week of December 28, 2015 – January 1, 2016

“Murder She Baked: A Peach Cobbler Mystery,” starring Alison Sweeney (ex-Sami Brady, “Days of our Lives”) and Cameron Mathison (ex-Ryan Lavery, “All My Children”), premieres Sunday, January 10 at 9p on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.

Here’s what’s coming up on “Days of our Lives” the week of January 11 to 15, 2016:

With reports that she has opted to leave NBC’s “Days of our Lives” leaking months before she last appears on screen, actress Kate Mansi has taken to social media to explain her decision for leaving the daytime drama series and promises there’s plenty of drama to see as her time as Abigail Deveraux comes to a close.

After eight years of playing suave Salem surgeon Daniel Jonas, actor Shawn Christian was let go from “Days of our Lives.” In a stunning move, his character was scripted as the victim in a fatal car crash caused by a drunk Eric Brady (Greg Vaughan).

Ratings Report for the Week of December 21-25, 2015

After months of rumors surrounding the possibility of a contract player telling producers of their soap they had no plans of renewing their contract when it came up for renewal, despite major plans by the show for their front-burner storyline, word has it that actress Kate Mansi is on her way out as Abigail Deveraux on NBC’s “Days of our Lives.”

Days of our Lives Spoilers Week of January 4 – 8, 2016

Now that all the holiday festivities and an extended vacation period are over for millions across the land with the work week that begins tomorrow, why not prepare for the next wave of great television by taking an early sneak peek at Showtime’s new drama, “Billions”? Hey, you might even spot former “Days of our Lives” actor Daniel Cosgrove (ex-Aiden Jennings) in what looks to be a major story arc!

Nearly a year after alleged network mandates reportedly forced the four remaining daytime soaps to trim some of the fat in their casts throughout 2015, word has it that at least one soap is about to make another round of “budget-dictated” cast cuts.

“The Bold and the Beautiful’s” Heather Tom (Katie Logan) is joining fellow daytime actresses Alison Sweeney (ex-Sami Brady, “Days of our Lives”), Kimberly McCullough (Robin Scorpio, “General Hospital”) and even former colleague Susan Flannery (ex-Stephanie Forrester) from in front of the camera to behind-the-scenes: The soap star directed the Tuesday, January 5 episode of the CBS daytime drama series!

In the January 4, 2016 issue of Soap Opera Digest, on newsstands now, “Days of our Lives” executive producer Ken Corday revealed the reasons behind the soap’s decision to bring back actor Brandon Beemer (ex-Owen Knight, “The Bold and the Beautiful”) to the role of Shawn Douglas Brady, the eldest child of Hope (Kristian Alfonso) and Bo (Peter Reckell), so soon after the blink-and-you-missed-it return and departure of original adult portrayer Jason Cook.

In the current issue of TV Guide, on newsstands now, the magazine examines the four remaining daytime soaps consisting of “The Bold and the Beautiful,” “Days of our Lives,” “General Hospital” and “The Young and the Restless” and how FOX’s “Empire” may have influenced a push for more diversity in 2015 during love in the afternoon.

Who says daytime soaps are dead? In 2015, CBS’ “The Young and the Restless” and “The Bold and the Beautiful” and NBC’s “Days of our Lives” all placed among 2015’s top searched non-reality TV shows on Yahoo! In fact, outside of “The Walking Dead” and “Game of Thrones,” all three dramas placed in the top five on the search giant’s year-end list.

Ratings Report for the Week of December 14-18, 2015

After reporting how daytime stacks up when looking at the Adults 18-49 demo as used by primetime advertisers, one has to wonder what daytime looks like in the actual key sales demo of Women 18-49 when it comes to the season-to-date rankings. What’s surprising is how poorly “The View” does overall, and how well “General Hospital” is actually doing when factoring in the Live+7* numbers vs. the traditionally reported Live+SD** numbers seen here on Soap Opera Network each week.

As we prepare to publish another week’s worth of ratings covering the daytime soaps “The Bold and the Beautiful,” “Days of our Lives,” “General Hospital” and “The Young and the Restless,” we felt it was worth noting the difference between daytime and primetime when it comes to demographics as part of a year-end report.

Best known for roles on “All My Children” and “Another World,” actress Alla Korot is set to begin filming at NBC’s “Days of our Lives” next month in the newly created role of Janet Bernard, Korot announced on her Twitter page over the weekend. A first airdate is not yet known but fans can expect for the actress to hit the screen sometime in June.

Melanie Jonas may have left Salem earlier this year just as Brady Black (Eric Martsolf) was coming to terms with dealing with his situation with Theresa Donovan (Jen Lilley), but she’s back beginning next month when actress Molly Burnett reprises her role on “Days of our Lives.”

Chloe Lane is heading back to Salem full-time now that actress Nadia Bjorlin has signed a contract with NBC’s “Days of our Lives.” Bjorlin, who had been spotted on numerous occasions touring with cast members as part of the “Days of our Lives: 50 Years” book tour, began filming scenes last week. The actress previously signed on for a short return engagement in the fall that’ll air sometime in early 2016. She’ll return in a full-time capacity in late Spring.