LIFE IN SALEM TO LAUNCH SPIN-OFF/MINISERIES THIS SUMMER!

As LIS enters an intense May Sweeps, a huge announcement breaks! It can now be revealed that Life in Salem, which has been rather quiet lately, will soon split off into a spinoff/mini-series this summer! It will follow several characters already on LIS(who leave the original soap for the spinoff), and also some characters from Salem's past. It shall be used to tell a story too huge to tell on LIS, and to help trim down the bloated cast. A major event on LIS, a turning point for one of its hugest stories, will kick it off very soon! So don't expect to wait too long for it!

"ML(Co-EP/HW) and I think it will be great," Co-EP/HW Tara Smith comments "While we have managed to maintain many huge stories on LIS the past several months, there is more we want to do that we can't do on one soap with such a huge cast. While LIS does have a bit of balance, we think it needs more. This spin-off should really help that, and it will be focused on one big storyline, like a story arc in a sense."

It has already been confirmed that Deidre Hall(Marlena Evans), Alison Sweeney(Sami/Stan "Stami"), Arianne Zuker(Nicole Walker), LeAnn Hunley(Anna DiMera), Thad Luckinbill(Jeremy Horton), Bree Williamson(Alexis Kefer), Michael T. Weiss(Mike Horton), with an occasional appearance from Dan Wells(Stan), will all leave LIS to star in the mini-series, however a few of them may make some appearances on LIS from time to time(and vice-versa). Also, Thaao Penghlis(Tony DiMera) shall continue to be on contract status on LIS but also on the spin-off.

However, for now, this is all the news on the spin-off that could be revealed! Keep an eye out for the full cast list, the premeire of the spinoff, and its name!

In other LIS-related news, Missy Elliot(Suga), Gregg Marx(David Banning), and Ashley Benson(Abby) have all exited the cast, as Elliot and Marx's short runs have come to an end. But the door is always open for any of these to return!