‘Days Of Our Lives’ Will Continue On NBC, Chairman Paul Telegdy Says – TCA

Nellie Andreeva

Days of Our Lives is not going anywhere. While the network has not announced a renewal of its longest-running series for a 56th season, NBC Chairman Paul Telegdy at TCA this morning confirmed that the daytime drama will be coming back.

“We are in a middle of finding out very soon,” Telegdy said before adding, “Of course Days of Our Lives is going to carry on. We love it…. I know that will be good news for the fans.”

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Following the executive session, Telegdy confirmed that negotiations are still ongoing and the series will stay on NBC, not move to the upcoming Peacock streaming service. “When we looked at how many people watched this thing, people love it,” he said.

I hear the holdup has been related to distributer Sony Pictures TV finding ways to adjust the show’s business model so they can continue to make it. I hear there is full commitment on all sides to close the deal and keep Days Of Our Lives on the air.

Telegdy’s comments come almost two months after Days executive producer Ken Corday of Corday Prods., which produces the daytime drama, told the cast in November that the show has been renewed for a 56th season.

Corday’s announcement came a couple of weeks after word got out that the entire cast of NBC’s daytime soap had been released from their contracts.

The cost-cutting move came during the annual renewal window between NBC and Days distributor Sony Pictures TV; a renewal for Days typically comes at the start of the year. Negotiations for another season of the show on NBC, which had been underway, likely got accelerated by fan outcry over the news of contract releases.

After a big wave of cancellations of daytime soaps, the genre had been stable for the past few years with the four remaining series: NBC’s Days of Our Lives, ABC’s General Hospital and CBS’ The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful. Like any network programming, soaps have come under economic pressure amid declining linear ratings.

Days of Our Lives, which has aired more than 13,725 episodes, premiered as a half-hour drama in 1965 and expanded to an hour 10 years later. The show has garnered 61 Daytime Emmy Awards, as well as multiple People’s Choice Awards, GLAAD Media Awards and Prism Awards.

Set in the fictitious Midwestern town of Salem, Days of our Lives airs nationally on NBC in the United States and in more than 25 countries internationally. The core families are the Bradys, Hortons and DiMeras, and the multi-layered storylines involve elements of romance, adventure, mystery, comedy and drama.

Days of Our Lives is produced by Corday Productions in association with Sony Pictures Television. Ken Corday is the executive producer with co-executive producers Greg Meng and Albert Alarr.

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