NBC, Sony pick up shorter 'Days'

[Rakesh]

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111799568...yid=14&cs=1

NBC renews Sony TV's 'Days'

Veteran soap opera gets 18-month pickup

By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER

The Peacock currently shells out $1.7 million-$1.8 million a week in licensing fees for its longtime sudser 'Days of Our Lives.'

NBC has inked a deal with Sony Pictures TV to extend its run of daytime sudser "Days of Our Lives."

But in a sign of uncertain times for the daytime soap biz, the Peacock's pickup runs just 18 months. The previous renewal pact between Sony and Corday Prods. had a five-year term.

NBC's current deal for "Days of Our Lives" was set to expire in March, which means the new arrangement will keep the soap on the network only through September 2010.

Shortened renewal comes as the economics of daytime TV -- particularly soap operas -- continue to sour. NBC has gradually eliminated most of its daytime sudsers, most recently moving "Passions" to DirecTV (before eventually pulling the plug on that show altogether).

The reup also comes despite rumblings from NBC Universal topper Jeff Zucker a few years ago that "Days of Our Lives" might not be renewed at all. More recently, Zucker hasn't been as vocal about a "Days" cancellation, although the short renewal could signal that NBC's long-term daytime plans may not include sudsers.

It's unclear whether NBC also negotiated a reduced license fee for the show. The Peacock was most recently shelling out $1.7 million-$1.8 million a week for the show.

As part of the renewal it's understood that the show, led by exec producer Ken Corday, will be making some onscreen changes as well, including some cast shuffles.

Season-to-date "Days of Our Lives" is tied for third place in the daypart among women 18-49 and is tied as the No. 1 show in women 18-34.

SoapNet holds same-day repurposing rights for "Days," which is also available for download via Apple's iTunes.

The soap is celebrating its 43rd anniversary.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

The P&G soaps are renewed on a yearly basis, so an 18 month renewal, while it looks bad, is really on par with the P&G renewals. However, this is NBC we're talking about, so they could just give it an extra 18 months to plan its funeral. Didn't they give Santa Barbara, SuBe, and Passions some extentions before they canceled them finally?

I suspect the budget was slashed greatly for DAYS though. Though the article doesn't know much about the financial stipulations, they did mention that some shuffling would be done. I expect more actors to be let go and limited use of some sets.

[Toups]

Buh-bye Stephen Nichols and Mary Beth Evans.

People always made fun of Jim Reilly's "long days" but he save the show a money by having minimal set changes when he would spend weeks at one location.

[YRBB]

Well, at least that's something! Thanks for the info!

I personally always love long days on soaps. Y&R often did 8/9 episodes a day, and I think DOOL was way more than that? Do you have a number?

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Would that really be a bad thing? LOL! Two and a half years since their return, and they just haven't clicked IMO.

I guess they might bump a few people to recurring, like that ATWT and GL do. It's probably cheaper for the show not having to pay guarantees.

I wonder how much the licensining fees are, DAYS used to have the highest licensing fees in daytime.

[Toups]

8/9 episodes....that's nothing compared to Jim Reilly's days. LOL Every year, he would usually have one day that went 40-50 episodes, while having other days for 20 episodes mininum. I of course perosonally loved this. Hey, and it made sense economically.

[Toups]

Yeah, they've been wasted. Hogan Sheffer botched their return by putting them together so quickly and of course Dena doesn't know what to do with them.

[YRBB]

LOL I had a feeling it would be something around those numbers. I actually like it too. Not only does it make sense economically, but it also means cliffhangers galore and lots of talking, which is what soaps used to do so well back when.

[DaytimeFan]

18 months isn't bad. It's too long to plan a funeral but at the same time too short to be seen as a long term guarantee. I find it troubling that the show would face cancellation in SEPTEMBER of 2010...the very time slews of new shows debut in syndication. My bet is that, at the moment, NBC knows it's got nothing to replace the numbers DAYS gets, so they'll keep it around while they figure something out.

As far as cast cuts: Stephen Nichols and Mary Beth Evans should both be fired. They have not and will not click with audiences. They're 'over'...Thaao Penglis and Leanne Hunley will also likely see the shaft. Maybe they'll fire Nadia Bjorlin too. She's been sort of a bust.

I see Suzanne Rogers, Josh Taylor, Peggy McKay and James Reynolds getting bumped to ATWT/GL style recurring (meaning they'll still be on...but it's financially better for them to be on recurring).

I see contract re-negotiations for Lauren Koslow, Arianne Zuker, Bryan Datillo, Joe Mascolo, James Scott, Renee Jones and Jay Kenneth Johnson.

Deidre Hall, Drake Hogestyn, Alison Sweeney, Kristian Alfonso and Peter Reckell should be safe.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

From Jason47:

http://www.jason47.com/

[MarkH]

I feel the timing of the renewal to SEPTEMBER 2010 is ominous.

September is when you end old shows and start the new season.

I feel, now with some sad certainty, that this is not "better than P&G", but it represents a final renewal to get them through the end of the NEXT TV season. That gives them about 18 months to plan their talk shows/judge shows/reality shows to fill that time slot.

For those who believe in prayer, and who believe DOOL is worth praying for, it is time.

[JackPeyton]

I think people are reading way to much into the Sept thing.

Its a 18 month pickup, thats a year and a half. No tis not a standard for pickups ont v shows, bu its not the most abnormal thing ever.

[AMCHistory]

I think the "heavy recurring" model is the future of soap casts. It kind of reflects the original model of the soap cast, where so many supporting players were on recurring. These older shows have inflated casts. Part of the fault is the writers who do not write with what they have, instead focusing on newer blood. I think DAYS suffers from this syndrome greatly because of their "supercouple" trademark. It is hard to break up supercouples and still have fan support. DAYS characters are all paired off, limiting the potential "love story" drama, which is staple in Daytime.

My worry with DAYS is that so many of the people they would put on recurring we hardly see, and it basically can be tptb's excuse to not show these characters at all. Why didn't just let Mickey die so Maggie could have a story and new life is beyond me. They need to set Maggie up to be the new matriarch of the show, Frances Reid is not getting any younger or any more capable to work. I can see Peggie McKay, Jim Reynolds, Renee Jones, Josh Taylor, MBE, SN, and Thaoo all being dropped to recurring. Who knows of this bunch who would stick around.

The Dimeras have been getting more screentime. I really like their family dynamics. I think the actors work off each other better than the current crop of Bradys. Maybe because there have been less recasts with the Dimeras, and I am used to seeing this group of actors together. As long as Josh has been in the role of Roman, I still cannot see him as Roman. This became especially true when Wayne came back for his stint as Alex. The actors do not mesh well as a family. And what is the deal with Max? He grew up around Kayla, Bo... he is such a stranger among his siblings.

Back to the heavy recurring model, it does seems to work with other soaps. Y&R had a heavy recurring cast through the late 90's early 00's, allowing for more sub-storylines to go on. I actually really liked it when Traci came back for extended trips, or Esther kind of had her own thing going, as did Gina, etc... AMC has had relative success as of late with Jill Larson and Daniel Kennedy of clear standouts, actors who should be on contract for how much they are on. I swear, if they do not sign Daniel soon I can see him jumping ship. OLTL has a great recurring cast with RJ, Lindsay, Lee Halpert and Cain. GL seems to be the one who has failed. The characters on recurring are the ones we actually want to see. When the recurring players are brought on, they are nothing like how we remember them. Vanessa and Matt breaking up and getting together in a blink of an eye? Vanessa being such a pushover? Blake's desperate housewive turn? I ask myself what the hell Mel is smoking whenever she is on too. It is not the actors fault, they make up a majority of the talent at GL, it is the writers inability to write a proper sl. They use these characters as spoilers or tokens.

[Gray Bunny]

[Gray Bunny]

Steve & Kayla's return happened way too late to garner much interest; their subsequent storylines have all been duds. I would hope they would be the first two expensive casualties.