Not a dream, not an imaginary story, folks.

Like sands through the hourglass, another iconic TV title is switching to streaming: NBC’s Days of our Lives will become a Peacock exclusive starting September 12, Vulture has learned. The move will end the show’s 57-year run on broadcast television and also marks the exit of NBC from a genre it pioneered 73 years ago with the launch in 1949 of These Are My Children, widely credited as TV’s first-ever daytime sudser. It comes as two other major broadcast titles — Thursday Night Football and ABC’s Dancing with the Stars — prepare to shift to streaming this fall.

In the case of Days, there has been industry speculation about it jumping to Peacock for some time now. The series, produced by Corday Prods. in association with Sony Pictures Television, has dodged cancellation multiple times over the past 15 years, with Sony and NBC often engaged in very last-minute negotiations to hammer out deals which make financial sense to both parties. Days has been the least-watched of the four remaining network daytime dramas for years now, making it increasingly difficult for NBC execs to justify keeping the show around absent reduced license fees (which Sony has largely been able to deliver).

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“This programming shift benefits both Peacock and NBC and is reflective of our broader strategy to utilize our portfolio to maximize reach and strengthen engagement with viewers,” Mark Lazarus, chairman, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming said of the decision. “With a large percentage of the Days of Our Lives audience already watching digitally, this move enables us to build the show’s loyal fanbase on streaming while simultaneously bolstering the network daytime offering with an urgent, live programming opportunity for partners and consumers.” NBC will fill the gap left by Days with a new one-hour news program, NBC News Daily, anchored by Kate Snow, Aaron Gilchrist, Vicky Nguyen and Morgan Radford.

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Full article in Twitter link.

 

3 hours ago, AMCOLTLLover said:

I read all available scripts, books, synopsis and watched all available episodes from the 60’s and 79’s and I can see that. I just wish all of it was available like the 1966 episodes of June/July of Guiding Light I got hooked . I love the classic soaps so much. I was naive to think that they would give us 14400 episodes 🤣

No surprise the first week didn’t catched the audience and of course it wasn’t a big one. I still think that NBC just wants to burn off the current contract until 2023 and then it’s goodbye for Days

Younger viewers now scoff when I tell them that DAYS was once a mature, subtle, sophisticated and literate drama aimed at a thinking adults. They cannot wrap their heads around the fact that a formerly classy series could end up like...what it has collapsed into since the Reilly years. I find the show's shocking fall from grace hard to fathom as well, and I SAW it happen. In my most cynical moments, I snipe that DAYS is now written and produced for gum-chewing, 12-year-old high school drop-outs, who move their lips when they read, and still can't figure out the two syllable words.

There is a market for easy-on-the-mind camp programming. If folks like that sort of entertainment, great. To each his own and it makes sense to offer material that targets all sorts of audience taste and demographics. If TPTB at NBC or Corday productions wanted to present a low-brow, camp-fest aimed at teens, why not start a new series from scratch and have it be as outlandish as they want from the get-go? Why bastardize and decimate a classic, respected daytime institution?

Edited September 23, 20223 yr by vetsoapfan

18 minutes ago, vetsoapfan said:

Younger viewers now scoff when I tell them that DAYS was once a mature, subtle, sophisticated and literate drama aimed at a thinking adults. They cannot wrap their heads around the fact that a formerly classy series could end up like...what it has collapsed into since the Reilly years. I find the show's shocking fall from grace hard to fathom as well, and I SAW it happen. In my most cynical moments, I snipe that DAYS is now written and produced for gum-chewing, 12-year-old high school drop-outs, who move their lips when they read, and still can't figure out the two syllable words.

There is a market for easy-on-the-mind camp programming. If folks like that sort of entertainment, great. To each his own and it makes sense to offer material that targets all sorts of audience taste and demographics. If TPTB at NBC or Corday productions wanted to present a low-brow, camp-fest aimed at teens, why not start a new series from scratch and have it be as outlandish as they want from the get-go? Why bastardize and decimate a classic, respected daytime institution?

ITA. Days is supposed to be going in an edgy modern way come 2023. Under Ron’s writing I feel it will be a one note orgy with Days character names. Nothing of the Days we all know and have supported for decades. 

15 minutes ago, FancyShoes said:

ITA. Days is supposed to be going in an edgy modern way come 2023. Under Ron’s writing I feel it will be a one note orgy with Days character names. Nothing of the Days we all know and have supported for decades. 

Ron is but one of many "writers" whose repeated employment on soaps is a mystery.

2 hours ago, vetsoapfan said:

Ron is but one of many "writers" whose repeated employment on soaps is a mystery.

Has two inept characters CEO of major companies. Has a story about a company that is never seen. Has a woman who was married to a closet guy and then accepts a marriage proposal from a serial killer. Another woman falling in love with the serial killer's son who is also a serial killer and had his child. I could go on but I'd be here all night.

4 hours ago, vetsoapfan said:

Younger viewers now scoff when I tell them that DAYS was once a mature, subtle, sophisticated and literate drama aimed at a thinking adults. 

You're referring to the Bill Bell years, correct? I wasn't alive then so for me Days is best known for the supercouple era and Reilly's sci-fi era.

3 hours ago, Soapsuds said:

Has two inept characters CEO of major companies. Has a story about a company that is never seen. Has a woman who was married to a closet guy and then accepts a marriage proposal from a serial killer. Another woman falling in love with the serial killer's son who is also a serial killer and had his child. I could go on but I'd be here all night.

Yes, it would be easy to fall down the rabbit hole and spend hours pointing out the weaknesses and flaws in RC's writing. Unfortunately, DAYS (and the other soaps today) are not written or designed for critical thinkers, so nothing will ever change as long as TPTB are convinced that modern audiences will just sit back and passively accept any drivel they are given.

2 hours ago, kalbir said:

You're referring to the Bill Bell years, correct? I wasn't alive then so for me Days is best known for the supercouple era and Reilly's sci-fi era.

Right. For younger viewers, that's all they know. One of my fellow veteran soap friends once said, "People who grew up on a diet of hamburger helper don't know what they are missing by never having eaten filet mignon." Caustic, yes, and bitchy, but there's truth in the sentiment. A person can't miss what he's never experienced.

To me there's a dividing line that is more meaningful than the extremes of the Bill Bell years versus the Ron Carlivati years. And that is one event, Buried Alive. Mostly pre Buried Alive DOOL was a traditional soap opera, after it was not.

15 hours ago, BoldRestless said:

I'm surprised it's 10x as in demand as an average show. I wonder if that means on Peacock or all of streaming.

It's across all TV platforms. It's certainly not an exact science -- Parrot Analytics "quantifies interest in shows based on viewing, online buzz, press coverage, etc." - but its data is consulted by a lot of media companies and content creators.

As to the continued viability of Peacock:

The first official hint we’ll get about how Days’ performance will probably come when Peacock owner Comcast announces quarterly earnings late next month. The company will almost surely reveal how many new subscribers the service signed up over the past three months, and it’s possible execs will include a mention of what part Days played in boosting subscribers, assuming a large increase comes to pass. And odds are, Peacock will get a big bump this quarter due to a slew of high-profile content beyond Days, including the summer run of Love Island and new drama Vampire Academy, and big movies such as Jurassic World: Dominion and Minions: The Rise of Gru. 

15 hours ago, FancyShoes said:

I personally wished they would have ended the show. Back when NBC was with Hulu then the show would had a better shot on a stronger platform. But on peacock I mean talk about a weak streaming service. With the budget, the writing and some lack of effort it seems like from some of the cast. I think the air was let off the show long before the move. It’s sad to see. The life is just gone. 

This always happens. When a showdown occurs, there are people who would give ANYTHING for a new venue to be able to continue with their show & there are people who say they would prefer it if the show had just ended before things got any worse. And those two groups of people are at direct opposite points. The people who wish the show would just end have an option. They can walk away & not watch or follow the show anymore, effectively ending it for themselves. The people who would hang on no matter what have no option except to stick it out & hope for the best.

TO be fair though Days was the #1 show on the NBC app back when it was a thing, so hopefully it'll do well on peacock

Welcome to the SON board, @SoapAnon and @FancyShoes! I wanted to give a shoutout. 😃

Edited September 23, 20223 yr by Noel

15 hours ago, vetsoapfan said:

If TPTB at NBC or Corday productions wanted to present a low-brow, camp-fest aimed at teens, why not start a new series from scratch and have it be as outlandish as they want from the get-go? Why bastardize and decimate a classic, respected daytime institution?

I would suggest that they did that already. It was called PSSN.

1 hour ago, Noel said:

Welcome to the SON board, @SoapAnon and @FancyShoes! I wanted to give a shoutout. 😃

Thanks, nice to meet you

5 hours ago, Noel said:

Welcome to the SON board, @SoapAnon and @FancyShoes! I wanted to give a shoutout. 😃

Thanks. I look forward to chatting up days content with everyone. 

6 hours ago, Tonksadora said:

This always happens. When a showdown occurs, there are people who would give ANYTHING for a new venue to be able to continue with their show & there are people who say they would prefer it if the show had just ended before things got any worse. And those two groups of people are at direct opposite points. The people who wish the show would just end have an option. They can walk away & not watch or follow the show anymore, effectively ending it for themselves. The people who would hang on no matter what have no option except to stick it out & hope for the best.

I started watching days in 2000 so I have been through the JER years and among other writers. I have gone back and watched some earlier episodes some before I was even born and well idk something just feels different. I have watched days through some dumb storylines but this is the first time I had to take a break from watching because I felt like my brain cells were melting. The writing characters into corners and then having to redeem them like a month later. Creating new characters or old characters to keep certain actors. The same characters being written in circles. While other characters get no attention it seems like for months. Deep inside I hope days can make a turn around but it is going to take a real writing team and hopefully peacock provided some extra dough so that can happen.