Days of our Lives Comings and Goings: Ron Carlivati Out as Head Writer

The head writer at Days of our Lives is changing. After a seven-year run, Ron Carlivati is out as the show’s head writer.

Changing of the Guard

According to a DAYS spokesperson, Paula Cwikly and Jeanne Marie Ford are the new DAYS head writers beginning immediately. As part of the change, Carlivati will depart the show after seven years. Episodes written by Carlivati will air through April 2025 due to the show’s unique tape-to-air schedule.

Cwikly has a long tenure in daytime television, having held positions writing for The Young and The Restless, As the World Turns, and Sunset Beach. She was with DAYS as both an associate and head writer in the early 2000s. Ford is currently on the writing team as a breakdown writer and also has a long history of writing for DAYS, having started her career as a writer’s assistant in 1992. Ford has also written for ATWT and One Life to Live.

“We look forward to approaching our 60th Anniversary next year with Paula and Jeanne Marie at the helm and fresh, exciting stories that we know the fans will embrace,” shares Ken Corday, executive producer. “We wish Ron nothing but the best and thank him for his dedication and the respect he has shown to me, the cast, and the show’s legacy.”

Carlivati won one Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team and four Writers Guild of America Awards for writing DAYS.

At press time, Carlivati hasn’t addressed his exit on social media. The scribe is fairly active on social platforms, though he exited X, formerly known as Twitter. However, late yesterday, he did post the climactic from Tootsie, the Dustin Hoffman movie in which he played actor Michael Dorsey.

Unable to land an acting job, Michael dressed up as a woman, calling himself “Dorothy Michaels,” and was cast on the fictional soap Southwest General. During a rare live broadcast of Southwest General, “Dorothy” revealed herself to be Michael. Check out the clip below.