Days of our Lives made a bold casting decision that has us wondering what’s going on with the younger scene in Salem. The fact is, the choice doesn’t bode well for the new generation on the show.
Key Takeaways
- Johnny, Chanel, Holly, and Tate are leaving the show later this year.
- A void is being left on DAYS with the younger generation of legacy characters.
- It’s been decades since the teen scene morphed into an adult scene, still in Salem.
Is The Next Generation in Salem In Trouble?
The news that Leo Howard (Tate), Ashley Puzemis (Holly), Carson Boatman (Johnny), and Raven Bowens (Chanel) were let go has us shaking our heads. These four are key players in the younger scene on the Peacock soap, which just got drastically smaller.
Let’s be honest, the younger scene was already lacking. When Chanel, Johnny, Tate, and Holly are gone, it will be virtually non-existent except for Ari (currently Marissa Reyes), Aaron (Louis Tomeo), Sophia (Rachel Boyd), Alex (Robert Scott Wilson), and Stephanie (Abigail Klein).
The jury is still out on whether Stephanie and Alex are considered part of the younger scene. Personally, we feel they are somewhere between that generation and the Shawn (Brandon Beemer), Belle (Martha Madison), and Philip (John-Paul Lavoisier) gang.
Wherever Alex and Stephanie fit in, one thing is clear. DAYS isn’t investing in the next generation of Brady, Horton, and DiMeras on the show.
A fan on X made it clear the Peacock soap need more of the younger scene not less, saying, “I like Johnny and Chanel. This sucks. It doesn’t make sense for #Days to get rid of 4 characters who are under the age of 30. They need more characters for this age demographic, not less.”
The last time the soap put real effort into making the younger generation have staying power was back in the early 2000s with Philip, Belle, Shawn, Chloe (Nadia Bjorlin), and Mimi (Farah Fath).
One fan echoed our sentiment on X writing, “These firings were unnecessary, especially Carson’s because Johnny was the last of Marlena’s grandchildren on canvas other than Rachel. We need a younger set on this show, even if I’ve never particularly cared about them since Shawn, Belle, Phillip, etc.”
Johnny and Chanel had the potential to have a lasting legacy in Salem. After all, he’s EJ (Daniel Feuerriegel) and Sami’s (Alison Sweeney) son. The directions the writers could have taken Johnny in were endless, especially as he vowed not to be like his father for Chanel and their family.
Now, as of later this year, none of Sami’s kids will be in Salem. Sami’s kids, as well as Belle and Shawn’s daughter, should be front and center as the next generation in Salem. Instead, fans get the Greene family at times and Sophia.
It’s time for DAYS to focus on who will carry the show on when the beloved vets can no longer do so. Don’t get us wrong, we still want to see plenty of Marlena (Deidre Hall), Maggie (Suzanne Rogers), Julie (Susan Seaforth Hayes), Steve (Stephen Nichols), and Kayla (Mary Beth Evans), to name a few, but the show won’t survive without a solid, entertaining new generation to keep it going.
Perhaps the writers plan to SORAS Rachel (Alice Halsey) and Thomas (Cary Christopher) when their characters are recast this spring. They are both legacy characters with many layers. Honestly, though, we enjoy them as devious and troubled children right now
Whether fans like it or not, a DAYS casting shake-up is coming with the younger generation. Only time will tell what comes next for the next group of young adults and teens in Salem.
