The end is nigh for Days of Our Lives, as producers of the long-running soap have released the entire cast from their contracts, with the show set to go on an “infinite hiatus” from the end of the month.
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According to TVLine, actors were told not to come back to the soap opera, after questions were raised over whether it will return in 2020, as the NBC daytime TV show has been struggling in the ratings.
Talk shows and cable TV has offered stiff competition to the soapie, which has been running since 1965.
It is one of the longest-running scripted television programs in the world, airing nearly every weekday since November 8, 1965, and is now NBC’s last remaining soap opera.
A Sony source, told 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.
However fans may not immediately notice a change, as the show films eight months before its air date. That means DOOL has enough episodes to run until the middle of 2020.
The site added that if NBC was to go ahead with the show and not cancel it they would need to start filming again in March.
It was also claimed that if the show is renewed for another season, the cast could be forced to accept contacts at a lower salary.
“It’s actually a shrewd, if cynical, business move,” an insider told TVLine.
“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.”
NBC has yet to comment on the move, however the network and its parent company Sony are currently deciding what stays and what goes into the 2020 TV schedule.
Days of Our Lives is set in the fictional Midwestern town of Salem, Days follows the lives of the Horton, Brady, Kiriakis, Hernandez and DiMera families.
The series was created by husband-and-wife team Ted Corday and Betty Corday.
Many of the cast members stay with the soap opera for decades, with Suzanne Rogers the longest-serving member of the program’s current cast, having appeared on the show since 1973.
