All Things About
After 45 years on Australian television, The Nine Network has announced that on Friday, April 26 it will broadcast the American daytime soap opera “Days of our Lives” (currently in its 48th year of production) for the final time. In a statement released to TV Tonight, a representive for the network said, “We made a commercial decision not to renew ‘Days of our Lives,'” without revealing which program it will replace the drama series with.
Since it was first announced that Prospect Park’s The OnLine Network was looking to once again revive “All My Children” and “One Life to Live,” after they were canceled by ABC in 2011, it has been said that the company planned to take the shows into a sexier and edgier environment. In a recent teaser released by iTunes for its launch of the two soaps, Erika Slezak (Victoria Lord, “OLTL”) is heard saying, “My agent said, ‘What do you want in this contract?’ I said, ‘No nudity!” Fans shouldn’t expect anything too racy on either show as Prospect Park co-founder Rich Frank admitted to Michael Maloney, Contributing Editor at Bauer Publishing for Soaps In Depth, in an interview with Variety. “We are going to be a little hotter and sexier,” said Frank. He added, “That doesn’t mean we’ll be doing anything that’s offensive. We’re trying to be contemporary and have storylines that are relevant to people’s lives.”
As expected, NBC has renewed “Days of our Lives” through September 2014. The news comes just days after NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt said, “I think ‘DAYS’ is going to stick around,” during NBC’s portion of the Television Critics Association winter press tour. “I don’t know that I’m at liberty to say that officially yet, but it’s not going anywhere,” Greenblatt added. The “DAYS” renewal was announced today by Jennifer Salke, President, NBC Entertainment.
Eileen Davidson is returning to NBC’s “Days of our Lives” after Sony Pictures Television opted to transition her off of their soap “The Young and the Restless” and onto “DAYS” to re-create the magic of her character Kristen DiMera. Sony Pictures Television distributes “DAYS,” which is owned by Corday Productions, Inc.
On the heels of “Days of our Lives” replacing the head writing team of Marlene McPherson and Darrell Ray Thomas, Jr. with a new head writing team consisting of Gary Tomlin and Christopher Whitesell, TV Guide’s Stephen Battaglio is reporting that part of the deal NBC signed in order to keep Matt Lauer with the network late last week could include a possible fifth hour of “The Today Show.”
Earlier today, Soap Opera Digest shocked the soap world when it reported that after five years on “Days of our Lives,” actor James Scott (EJ DiMera) would soon be vacating Salem after a contract dispute with show producers Corday Productions and Sony Pictures Television hit a snag, now hours later like sands through the hourglass, Scott’s “DAYS” have changed.
As previously reported, the cast of “All My Children” have received offers from Prospect Park to return to the series upon re-launch in January 2012, nearly four months after the series completes its ABC run. According to Deadline Hollywood’s Nellie Andreeva, Prospect Park is offering Susan Lucci (Erica Kane) virtually the same salary she’s currently receiving from ABC.
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).
Today “Young and the Restless” co-executive producer Paul Rauch announced that he will be stepping down from the drama series as of Friday, April 1, which ironically enough is April Fool’s Day. This of course is no joke.
