The cast members of NBC’s long-running soap opera “Days of Our Lives” were reportedly blindsided by reports claiming that their show is going to bid farewell pretty soon this year to make way for Megyn Kelly’s incoming daytime news program.
The latest rumors were a deviation from previous reports that Kelly’s new show on NBC could replace the third hour of the “Today” show at 9 o’clock in the morning.
However, it seems that Kelly’s new program will take over the slot currently being occupied by the soap opera as reports have it that the cast members of “Days of Our Lives” have already been told that 2017 would probably be the show’s last year, reports News.com.au.
“Days of Our Lives” currently airs on the 1 pm to 2 pm timeslot on NBC from Monday to Friday.
An insider on the soap opera disclosed recently that they have heard that there would no longer be “Days of Our Lives” in 2018 and most of the cast members were caught by surprise by the rumors. However, since it is a network prerogative, they cannot do anything about it assuming that NBC executives have indeed made up their minds.
Year-to-year renewal only
Though the latest rumors may come as a shock to the general public, the source says that NBC has been renewing the soap opera on a year-to-year basis for quite some time now, indicating an impending finale for the show that has been airing since 1965.
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Kelly’s replacement in “The Kelly Files” in the 9 p.m. time slot at Fox News has already been announced as Tucker Carlson, so NBC is facing some pressure to announce some sort of plan when it comes to Kelly’s placement in their daily schedule.
The initial announcement that Kelly would be joining NBC News revealed vague plans for her to have a Sunday night news show in addition to her daytime program and involvement in major event coverage.
NBC has yet to come up with an official announcement regarding the exact last day of airing of “Days of Our Lives” this year but given the intensive preparations being made for Megyn Kelly’s new program on the network, it seems that it would just be a matter of weeks or a couple of months from today.
Trend to kill iconic soaps continues
“Days of Our Lives” has been running for 51 years but its airing is now in jeopardy after NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack mapped out three potential roles for Fox News journalist Megyn Kelly when she moves to the network.
US network ABC already canceled iconic soaps “All My Children” and “One Life to Live” five years ago to clear space for shows such as “The Chew” and “The Revolution.”
CBS also killed off the stalwart “Guiding Light” in lieu of an updated “Let’s Make A Deal” program, reports AOL.
Given the departures from the soap over the last few months, the cast may see the writing on the wall. Australian actor Alexander Bruszt has wrapped his role while Kate Mansi, who plays Abigail Deveraux, and Jen Lilley, who plays Theresa Donovan, are also departing “Days of Our Lives” soon.
The show has been a soap opera stable producing some wacky storylines like the time of Dr. Marlena Evans, played by Deidre Hall, being possessed by the devil.
The show has also been known to feature a steady stream of shirtless hunks and daytime divas that have made their names by delivering epic catfights and death stares to rival the competition.
“Days of Our Lives” first aired November 8, 1965, and has produced 13,000 episodes. It has since been syndicated to many countries around the world.
It rebroadcast same-day episodes on SOAPnet weeknights until the network’s closure in 2013. The series was created by the husband and wife team of Ted and Betty Corday.