What started out as a typical week that began on July 25 ended up being one of the worst in Soap Opera Network history, but you wouldn’t have known it from a behind the scenes perspective.

On May 18, 2011, Robert Guza Jr. was fired as head writer of “General Hospital” and Garin Wolf was named the new head writer. With Guza leaving, it’s not surprising that his wife, breakdown writer Meg Bennett, was also let go from the show. Breakdown writer David Goldschmid was also fired. Replacing them on the breakdown team will be Shelly Altman, who’s been writing breakdowns for “One Life to Live” for the past 11 years, and current “GH” script writer Tracey Thomson (though she may only be helping out with breakdowns temporarily).

(SoapOperaNetwork.com) — Six years of “Passions” prepared “Days of our Lives” star Eric Martsolf (Brady Black) well when it came to expecting the unexpected, so when the NBC daytime drama series decided to make some drastic changes recently with new head writers and new producers, it was only natural that the “Passion” side kept all things positive. In his Soap Opera Network: On the Red Carpet interview, the actor shares what it has been like to work with former “Passions” writers Marlene McPherson and Darrell Thomasnow at the helm at “DAYS” and what fans can expect from the long-running drama series.

After weeks of reported firings, hirings and rumors, NBC’s “Days of our Lives” is breaking its silence. In a press release issued to Soap Opera Network, the program has outlined a series of changes that will be reflected on screen beginning in September that includes highlighting romance and the faces of beloved characters once more. Behind the scenes changes include the hiring of “Passions” scribes Marlene McPherson and Darrell Ray Thomas and naming Noel Maxam and Greg Meng as Co-Executive Producers. The duo replace Gary Tomlin, who was fired last week. The behind the scenes changes are effective immediately.

It has been three weeks since Ken Corday, Executive Producer and owner of NBC’s “Days of our Lives,” made his first move to save the soap from near oblivion with the firing of Head Writer Dena Higley and replacing her with former “Passions” scribes Marlene McPherson and Darrell Ray Thomas. In the weeks that followed, soap stars Crystal Chappell (Carly Manning), Louise Sorel (Vivian Alamain), Bren Foster (Quinn Hudson), Nadia Bjorlin (Chloe Lane), Tamara Braun (Taylor Walker), and Francisco San Martin (Dario Hernandez) were all out of jobs. If those changes weren’t enough to signal a revolution heading toward Salem, it was definitely made clear with the firing of Co-Executive Producer Gary Tomlin along with the expected returns of Deidre Hall (Marlena Evans), Drake Hogestyn (John Black), and Matthew Ashford (Jack Deveraux) and the rumored returns of several former cast members including Mark Hapka (Nathan Horton) and Bryan Dattilo (Lucas Horton).