It's been a rough couple of days for fans of NBC's Days of our Lives. First came reports that the series writers were told to stop writing until a deal between the show, NBC, and Sony was reached. Then came reports that NBC wanted the soap to change its production schedule before it would agree to an extension. The reports had Salem fans shaking in their boots, but it turns out it was all for naught; the serial has been renewed for a 51st season.
"NBC is incredibly proud of the legacy of Days of our Lives, and we couldn't be more excited to bring its fans new stories for the 51st season," Jennifer Salke, President, NBC Entertainment said. "In a business where having a show remain on the air for two seasons is considered a success, what DAYS has achieved is extraordinary."
In first reporting the news of DAYS' renewal, Deadline reported that the renewal may include an option for an additional year.
At this time, there's no information on whether the agreement requires DAYS to revert back to a more traditional production schedule. DAYS currently films about five months in advance; most other soaps are about a month-and-a-half ahead.
So far this season, DAYS is up about 15% in total viewers over last year. The soap's anniversary in November brought in a total of 2.721 million viewers, and the recent story in which Maggie (Suzanne Rogers) had to decide who would receive Daniel's (Shawn Christian) heart drew in 2.914.
"The magic that is DAYS continues," Thaao Penghlis (Andre DiMera) shared on Twitter after the official announcement.
"So excited for the @nbcdays family and for all our incredible fans," offered Galen Gering (Rafe Hernandez). "Many great stories will continue to be told. Congratulations #days"
"Bravo. The storytelling continues," added Eric Martsolf (Brady Black).
Are you relieved to hear DAYS has been renewed? What would you like to see the soap deliver in the year ahead? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
