Will NBC resuscitate DAYS or cut its losses and pull the plug?

Posted Thursday, April 30, 2015 9:27:06 AM

It may have just won the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series, but low ratings have fans worried as Days of our Lives nears its 50th birthday. Have network executives already decided the NBC soap's fate, or is there still sand left in the show's iconic hourglass?

There's no doubt Days of our Lives is a much-loved soap opera. The series has brought to life a bevy of entertaining and memorable storylines, skyrocketed many previously unknown actors into household names and has become a daily staple in the homes of millions of fans. But despite its status among soap lovers, the NBC show -- which just took home this year's Daytime Emmy award for Outstanding Drama Series -- continues to suffer from dismal ratings that place it as the least-watched soap opera currently on the air. Can Days of our Lives be saved? Or better yet, should it be saved? Salem fans will most likely argue yes, but many execs would probably disagree. So as the show approaches its golden anniversary, Soap Central investigates whether or not the sand in the hourglass is nearing its final grain.

The soap opera community has already had to experience the painful loss of several beloved shows, including All My Children, As the World Turns, Guiding Light, and One Life to Live, to name a few. And while everyone from actors and producers to journalists and fans would much rather not see yet another iconic show sent to the graveyard, network executives aren't ruled by the same set of emotions; they are ruled by the bottom line..

Days of our Lives is approaching its 50th anniversary, which takes place on November 8 of this year, and it's rumored to be the show's final birthday. Consistently low ratings, the recent replacement of former head writers Gary Tomlin and Christopher Whitesell with new/returning head writers Dena Higley and Josh Griffith, and a slew of recent or impending exits from stars like Alison Sweeney (Sami Brady), James Scott (E.J. DiMera), Freddie Smith (Sonny Kiriakis), Chrishell Stause (Jordan Ridgeway), Molly Burnett (Melanie Jonas), and Melissa Archer (Serena Mason) have ignited the chopping block rumors, as have emails leaked during the major Sony hacking scandal that suggest NBC Chairman Ted Harbert would rather focus on low-cost info/talk shows than DAYS. And though the show just won its third Outstanding Drama Series Emmy, and several of the soap's most popular stars (including Sweeney, Peter Reckell [Bo Brady], and Stephen Nichols [Steven Johnson]) are returning for the 50th anniversary, some would argue it's time for NBC to cut its losses and not renew the series past its locked-in date of September of 2016.

"In the platinum age of quality and choice, broadcasters have to be more aggressive about letting go of the past," says producer and former NBC Entertainment President Warren Littlefield in a Variety article highlighting the shelf life of television shows. "More than ever before, there needs to be something that truly merits (a show) holding on."

But what exactly could merit DAYS holding on? Trying to up dwindling ratings has proven to be a tough challenge, and the show's executive producer, Ken Corday, isn't one to desperately grasp at straws to save a sinking ship, which he alluded to after Guiding Light's cancellation in 2009. After the news broke that the CBS soap (which his father, Ted Corday, once produced) was ending its 72-year run, he chastised GL's higher-ups for drastically changing the show's production model in a last-ditch effort save costs and create new buzz. "Not to name names, but in desperate times, desperate measures are sometimes the worst things to resort to and it's clear now in hindsight and it was clear to the viewers as it was going on what [GL became] was not soap opera," Corday remarked. "It smacked of ESPN or the evening news and done without any homage to the creator of the show."

Far too often, series on the brink of cancellation pull out all the stops to stay on the air, which Girls creator and star Lena Dunham says is a mistake. "I think America has a tendency to push shows past their due dates," she opines.

And Game of Thrones writer David Benioff agrees, stating that every show has an expiration date, and ignoring the signs could add to the devastation. "We've got a very definitive idea of how much longer [our series will last], and we're getting there," he says. "The idea that we're going to try and stretch it out by an extra couple years just because we're all having a good time doing it and people are making money off it just feels like it would be betrayal."

But the question remains: is it truly time for DAYS to retire its hourglass? Or does it still have a fighting chance? No matter what happens in the months ahead, the silver lining to Corday's GL quote is the assurance that if the show is indeed facing its final days, the end will likely be handled with the grace and respect show creators, Ted and Betty Corday (Ken's parents), deserve. However, it's a chapter Ken hopes won't be coming for quite some time -- if ever.

"My dad started this show and never dreamed it would make it to a year," Corday said upon winning this year's Outstanding Drama Series award. "He said, 'Maybe six months.' He didn't live to see the first anniversary of the show. My mother carried it through the 80s into its golden age, and she didn't live to see the 30th anniversary of the show. And I stand here tonight, very choked up, because we're embarking on what could be the next 10, 20, 30, 50 more years. Who's to say? It's just a golden moment, absolutely."