In huge, and possibly devastating, Soap Opera news, the sands of the hourglass have run out for Days of Our Lives on NBC. But Peacock turned the hourglass around and will start it all over again on September 12th, according to Josef Adalian at Vulture.
That means, for the first time in 73 years, the network will not be airing a Daytime Drama, and that is devastating news for the genre that will only see three shows left on ABC and CBS. But, who knows, maybe DOOL will find a new audience on the streaming service.
So what prompted the move for the series, which has one more year left on its contract? “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.
ABC cancelled All My Children and One Life to Live for some talk shows that are no longer on the air. So, I am not sure how well another news program will do. However, it is a lot cheaper to produce than a Soap.
So, their decision could make sense if it wasn’t such a nail in the coffin for the Soaps.
I just hope that NBC and Peacock made this decision because the two Days limited series events that aired on Peacock did so well that they think the mothership will do just as well.
I am rooting for Days to succeed on its new home because I grew up watching it. And it is all about me.
