I was annoyed by this from the Cwickly/Ford tvinsider item: “Arianna is a Brady, a Horton and a Hernandez, so we were eager to have her back on the canvas to round out the teen scene. We also love seeing the maternal side of Gabi.”
They didn't mention that Arianna is a Kiriakis, too.  Sonny is her third parent.  He's her godfather, her legal stepfather, a father of the heart, and also Gabi signed papers that Sonny would have some rights if anything happened to Gabi and Will.  And Ari calls both Will and Sonny some sort of Dad/Daddy/Pop etc. name
Edit to add: Sonny delivered Arianna at her birth. 

Edited April 30Apr 30 by janea4old

23 minutes ago, AbcNbc247 said:

In Ron's case, I think it was his obsessions and his biases that kept it from happening.

He definitely seemed obsessed with the Dimeras. The amount of characters in that family exploded, and I was always of the belief that the Dimeras worked in small doses, Chad being an exception for me.

6 minutes ago, 1974mdp said:

He definitely seemed obsessed with the Dimeras.

And the Kiriakises

Cwikly/Ford from April tvinsider:  “Gwen’s return was in the works before we were hired. We love Emily O’Brien and think Gwen can stir up a lot of mischief in Salem.”

Per SOD, EOB's return airdate as Gwen is July 7th
https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/comings-and-goings-the-latest-cast-changes-as-of-april-14/

As one that has less than zero use for Gwen, may I just say that I had to laugh when I read how the new writers made sure to note that Gwen's return was not them. Disavowing all knowledge. LOL!

Cautiously optimistic. I think there’s a fundamental problem with the way the show is produced, that it doesn’t matter who’s the writer the material on page doesn’t correctly translate onto the screen.

The original announcement of Bo&Hope's return-- they filmed in September 2024, for "for a special story arc that will air in May 2025."
https://www.tvinsider.com/1151674/days-of-our-lives-peter-reckell-kristian-alfonso-returning-bo-hope-brady/

17 hours ago, 1974mdp said:

Curious what others think...what keeps the writing teams from beefing up and maintaining the Horton clan?

Well, for one thing, I don't believe there are that many Hortons left; and in some cases, like with Jeremy, they were handled so badly by whoever was in charge at that time that I'm not sure I'd want them back.

Update: Ron's last episode is April 23.  Cwikly&Ford episodes start April 24,
per Jason47's post on the writers thread:
 

1 hour ago, JAS0N47 said:

Checked with the publicist today and she said his last episode is tomorrow and they start 4/24, so that puts him at 1971 episodes.

 

 

Edited April 23Apr 23 by janea4old

14 hours ago, MichaelGL said:

Cautiously optimistic. I think there’s a fundamental problem with the way the show is produced, that it doesn’t matter who’s the writer the material on page doesn’t correctly translate onto the screen.

That's been a problem for the better part of 25 years.

9 hours ago, Khan said:

Well, for one thing, I don't believe there are that many Hortons left; and in some cases, like with Jeremy, they were handled so badly by whoever was in charge at that time that I'm not sure I'd want them back.

I still wonder if Sheffer just drew an old name out of a hat. They never even bothered, beyond claiming Mike was a deadbeat or abusive.

There are still Hortons who should have returned, like Sandy...and then there was Bill, although that has likely long passed (I can't remember if he's dead). Such a waste all around. 

Re The Hortons living children and grandchildren of Tom and Alice

Julie, Steve,Marie, Sandy, Jennifer, Lucas,Hope, Shawn Douglas,Jessica, Mike, Jeremy, Melissa,Nathan,Scotty, Eli, Spencer

Then the next generation is JJ, Claire and Allie right?

Sure I've missed a few.

In terms of story possibilities, Spencer,Nathan ,Jeremy and Scotty seem viable to bring back.

Sandy could have some kids also.

 

 

By generation (on and offscreen)
Tom, Alice

Marie

Jessica, Steve, Julie, Hope, Lucas, Jennifer, Mike, Melissa, Sarah, Sandy
 
Spencer, Shawn-Douglas, Ciara, Allie, Will, JJ, Jeremy, Nathan, Victoria

Scotty; Eli; Claire; Ciara's children Bo2 and Addie2;
Allie's son Henry; Arianna; Abigail's children Thomas and Charlotte

Eli's children Jules and Carver

Edited April 27Apr 27 by janea4old

While not biological, Sarah is also a grandchild of Tom and Alice, making Victoria their great-granddaughter.

Same for Ciara (except she is biological, but the rest applies!) and her kiddies with the serial killer (I don't blame you for leaving her off. LOL!)

But yeah, there are a lot. And the show should bring Steve Olsen (Stephen Schnetzer) back again with his kids in tow, if the writers are serious about building up the Hortons again.

Edited April 23Apr 23 by Wendy

Wendy, we posted at the same time, LOL.  

It's interesting to see how the Hortons of a single generation are in very different agegroups.