"Days of Our Lives" Faces Its Biggest Cliffhanger Ever

Like I said amp8230 history Make of it what you will but it needs to be said yet again that daytime soap operas are the only remaining program genre that are exclusive to broadcast television After this Friday even that will no longer be trueInvite job candidates to apply live during the Media and Advertising Communityamp8217s Black Talent Outreach Week at MediaVillagecom and AdvancingDiversityorg October 1720 Apply for jobssubmit your resume hereIndustry observers began fixating on the seemingly inevitable demise of broadcast television way back in the 3980s when cable networks began to build steam Those predictions of doom and gloom always felt a bit overwrought but here we are in the 2020s watching it happen NBC ending a run of more than 70 years of daytime drama is not another nail in the broadcast coffin rather it feels like another shovelload of dirt in its graveI don39t know anything about the new hour of content coming from NBC News that will replace Days in most markets but I do know this If there is one thing the broadcasters39 collective daytime offerings need it39s yet another hour of news andor talk programming amp8230 amiriteThere39s no need to repeat what I wrote when CBS and Procter ampamp Gamble Productions terminated two great American media institutions with the cancellations of Guiding Light in 2009 and As the World Turns in 2010 GL began its historic run on radio in 1937 ATWT which premiered in 1956 was as much a household name as any brand you care to name And then there was Disney39s unpopular cancellation in 2011 and 2012 of two beloved daytime dramas All My Children and One Life to Live respectivelyHow I wish Paramount and Hulu had been the formidable entities they are today when those four shows were killed off by executives who are no longer with their respective companies I might add Guiding Light could have become the first program to migrate from radio to black and white television to color television to a streaming service As the World Turns could have been close behind even though it didn39t start on radioLooking forward I39m choosing optimism for the future of Days of Our Lives despite those naysayers who assert that NBCU is merely fulfilling a contractual obligation by giving it a year on Peacock rather than simply ending it right now Peacock for those who may not know has already been busily expanding the Days franchise amp8230 with a holiday movie Days of Our Lives A Very Salem Christmas and two seasons of an overthetop series titled Beyond Salem that is not so much a spinoff as a companion program that runs parallel to the mothership And now they are adding OG Days to the mix with promises from its executive producer Ken Corday that the creative freedoms of streaming will allow for more progressive and provocative storytelling Sounds good to meUnder the guidance of head writer and recent Daytime Emmy winner Ron Carlivati Days and Salem has been expanding the definition of soap opera storytelling in ways not seen since the powermad Cassadine family tried to bring about global climate change with a machine that could control the world39s weather on General Hospital Recently on Days several lead characters have been possessed by Satan mad Dr Rolf pictured at top has brought several more back from the dead and has transferred minds and memories from one to another and characters have gotten away with sinister seductions by wearing a face mask that somehow alters their entire bodies their voices and their behavior in bed Salem has been even wackier all I39ll say about that is that heaven has been the setting for much significant storytelling The great Loretta Devine has stolen the show as an angel with powerful connections up thereThe paragraph above will either convince you to watch Days or not But the biggest cliffhanger Days now faces is whether viewers who may not have experience with streamers or may not have Peacock or may not have the money to pay for any more mediatechnology every month will follow the show The way they watch Days now is likely a comfortable habit and for NBC to break it comes with a certain degree of risk This is also true of ABC39s decision to move Dancing with the Stars to Disney this seasonMeanwhile I wonder if CBSParamount one day will contemplate similar moves for The Young ampamp the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful I39m told the latter is such a titanic hit worldwide that it doesn39t matter what CBS does with it Somebody will surely keep it available in the States The same goes for Disney and General Hospital I have to admit that I sometimes watch GH on Hulu at night rather than ABC during the afternoon Works for me but I enjoy having a choice as I currently do with so many primetime shows Still when it comes to television viewing I suppose we can get used to just about anything these days if we really want toClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

"Days of Our Lives" Faces Its Biggest Cliffhanger Ever

Author

Publish date

Channel

Archived in

Ed Martin

FEMA and the Ad Council Encourage AANHPI Communities to Enhance Disaster Preparedness in New PSAs - Ad Council InSites

More Videos:

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

"Days of Our Lives" Faces Its Biggest Cliffhanger Ever

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Ed Martin

Stay in the know with more from MediaVillage

TAGS:

FEMA and the Ad Council Encourage AANHPI Communities to Enhance Disaster Preparedness in New PSAs - Ad Council InSites

Cookies