Conflicting Reports That Long-Running Soap Opera NBC’s Days of Our Lies Cancelled After 54 Years?
TVL‘s initial report:
- Days of Our Lives: Entire Cast Released From Contract — Is the End Nigh?
The sand appears to be leaking out of the hourglass.
TVLine has learned exclusively that the producers of Days of Our Lives have released the entire cast from their contracts, with the venerable soap set to go on an indefinite hiatus at month’s end. While the NBC sudser has not been cancelled, the unprecedented — and decidedly ominous — move comes at a precarious time for ratings-challenged Days and the vanishing soap genre as a whole. It also comes as Sony Pictures Television and NBC are in negotiations to renew series.
Reps for NBC and Sony declined to comment for this story. A Sony source, meanwhile, tells TVLine that the studio is not involved in the contract negotiations with the cast. “The actor deals are through Corday Productions,” explains the insider, referring to Days‘ production company. A spokesperson for Corday Productions, meanwhile, did not reply to TVLine’s request for a comment.
An insider cautions that because Days shoots eight months in advance, the show will have enough episodes in the can when it stops production at the end of November to last through Summer 2020. If NBC does renew Days, production is expected to resume in March. But by releasing the contracted cast members from from their commitment to the show, producers have no guarantee who — if anyone — will return.
“It’s actually a shrewd — if cynical — business move,” sniffs one insider. “If Days gets picked up, [Corday] can offer the actors new contacts at a reduced rate and with a ‘take-it-or-leave’ it attitude. Worst case scenario, they lose half their cast. Best case scenario [for Corday], everyone agrees to return at a lower salary.”
Despite the gloomy turn of events, a source tells TVLine, “All indications are that NBC would like to keep the show going.”
The news comes as Days is shaking things up on-screen. This week, the soap is fast-forwarding the narrative by one year. “This is a great way to reset things in Salem,” executive producer Ken Corday told TVInsider.com of the time jump. “It will be a catalyst for many more [changes] to follow.
TVL‘s follow-up report:
- Days of Our Lives Star to Anxious Fans: ‘We Are Not Going Anywhere’
Days of Our Lives leading lady Kristian Alfonso is attempting to calm the soap’s jittery fan base in the wake of TVLine’s exclusive report that detailed producers’ unprecedented decision to release the show’s entire cast from their contracts.
“Today is Tuesday, November 12th, and we are still here and we are not going anywhere,” Alfonso assured viewers via Instagram. “You heard it here first, folks. Don’t listen to the news, always — especially that report.”
Per our initial story, Corday Productions is releasing all contracted cast members from from their commitment to the show amid renewal talks between Sony Pictures Television and NBC. The news comes as Days is set to go on an indefinite (and pre-planned) production hiatus. But because the sudser shoots eight months in advance, the show will have enough episodes in the can to last through Summer 2020.
“All indications are that NBC would like to keep the show going,” an insider previously stressed to TVLine. If NBC does renew Days, production is expected to resume in March. But by releasing the cast from their contracts, producers have no guarantee who — if anyone — will return.
As one source pointed out, “It’s actually a shrewd — if cynical — business move. If Days gets picked up, [Corday] can offer the actors new contacts at a reduced rate and with a ‘take-it-or-leave’ it attitude. Worst case scenario, they lose half their cast. Best case scenario [for Corday], everyone agrees to return at a lower salary.”
So, it appears that the hour long soap opera appears to be staying on the air with other one hour tenured soap operas like ABC’s General Hospital and CBS’ The Young and The Restless.
