Like sands through the hourglass, so our the days of our lives.
But after 55 years on the air, the sand appears to be leaking out for the longtime NBC daytime drama.
The producers of Days of Our Lives have released the entire cast from their contracts, with the venerable soap set to go on an indefinite hiatus at month’s end, according to TVLine.
The unprecedented — and decidedly ominous — move comes at a precarious time for ratings-challenged Days and the vanishing soap genre as a whole.
It also comes as Sony Pictures Television and NBC are in negotiations to renew the series.
The series began in 1965 and for decades was a big hit.
It is now NBC’s last remaining soap opera.
Because DOOL shoots eight months in advance, the show will have enough episodes to last through Summer 2020.
If NBC does decide to renew the show, production would resume in March.
But by releasing the contracted cast members from from their commitment to the show, producers have no guarantee who — if anyone — will return.
“It’s actually a shrewd — if cynical — business move,” according to one insider, speaking with TVLine. “If Days gets picked up, [Corday] can offer the actors new contacts at a reduced rate and with a ‘take-it-or-leave’ it attitude. Worst case scenario, they lose half their cast. Best case scenario [for Corday], everyone agrees to return at a lower salary.”
The show – the most widely distributed soap opera in the United States – is set in the fictional Midwestern town of Salem.
It follows the lives of the Horton, Brady, Kiriakis, Hernandez and DiMera families.
The series was created by husband-and-wife team Ted Corday and Betty Corday.
The biggest stars of the show are Jennifer Aniston’s father John Aniston, 86, who plays Victor Kiriakis, Kristian Alfonso as Hope Alice Williams, Nadia Bjorlin as Chloe Lane, Mary Beth Evans as Kayla Brady, and Deidre Hall as Marlena Evans.
Many of the cast members stay with the soap opera for decades.
Frances Reid, the matriarch of the series’ Horton family, remained with the show from its inception to her death in 2010.
Suzanne Rogers is the longest-serving member of the program’s current cast having appeared on the show since 1973.
Susan Seaforth Hayes – the second longest-serving actor currently on the program – is the only cast member to appear on Days of Our Lives in all six decades.
The news comes as DOOL has entered a bizarre and complicated storyline which fast-forwards the narrative by one year.
Whether the conclusion to that storyline was finished before today’s news is unknown.