It’s a known fact that the Days of Our Lives production schedule is different from the other soaps. The show often tapes seven months ahead of schedule. The end of the Writers Guide of America strike meant head writer Ron Carlivati and his writing staff returned to work in October 2023. Heads up: their scripted twists, turns, plots, and killer cliffhangers finally materialize on Friday, May 31. Carlivati recently previewed what’s ahead.
Baby Daddy Drama
Ron Carlivati and crew had to make the best of a unique situation. After all, the replacement writers’ material aired for months and months. The Emmy winner recently told TV Insider that he’s “very anxious and eager for our stuff to start airing again.”
Since he had no control over the 120 episodes that played over the last few months, the head writer and his staff had to create big moments and explosive situations where they could. First up: writing a satisfying confrontation between Nicole (Arianne Zucker) and Sloan (Jessica Serfaty), the woman who stole her baby. “For some reason [the replacement writers] had Sloan exit the canvas without ever having a confrontation with Nicole, which I thought was nuts,” Carlivati explained.
That wasn’t the only aspect of the Jude (Oliver McLarty) baby switch story he and his writing staff enjoyed tackling. “The Nicole baby secret is starting to come out. So, unfortunately, I didn’t get to play all of it, but the part with Eric (Greg Vaughan) finding out he’s the dad, at least I got to do.” (Check out Soap Hub’s 2-week breakdown of DAYS spoilers here)
Heir Apparent
Another big plot Carlivati and his writers plotted out was the reveal that Xander (Paul Telfer) is Victor’s (the late John Aniston) true heir. The head writer was “sort of hoping that the big things that we had laid in would be stuff that I would get to play off when I got back,” he said.
And it looks like some of that is happening. In addition to Xander discovering the big news, Alex (Robert Scott Wilson) will find out he’s not Victor’s son. Also, Theresa’s (Emily O’Brien) nefarious alliance with Konstantin (John Kapelos) will be outed. “That is something big I will still get to play.” (Discover the latest DAYS Comings & Goings here)
Dangling Murder Plot
Another storyline the Emmy winner and his staff got to write: Maggie (Suzanne Rogers) and Konstantin’s wedding. What else pleased Carlivati was how the replacement writers started to solve the Li Shin (Remington Hoffman) murder. This enabled the ball to get rolling “on Gabi (then Camila Banus) getting out of prison, which was our plan anyway,” Carlivati teased. “I was able to pick up the story, so look for some twists and turns and a new Gabi getting out of jail to shake things up, which I think will be really fun.”
Remembering Doug Williams
All of this adds up to a big summer and beyond. According to the head writer, “There are also some big events coming up at the end of the year into next where the writers are putting their focus.
“We have the 15,000th episode coming in November,” Carlivati continued. “So that was one of the first big things that we tackled when we got back. People are aware that Bill Hayes passed away [in January 2024] and that, ultimately, we would write Doug Williams’ passing into the show.”
He previewed that one way they’re honoring Doug is to bring back as many people as possible to pay their respects to the character and the man who played him.
Needless to say, Carlivati knows this is a crucial time for the show and is thankful that fans have stuck with DAYS. “I’m just very excited to be back and there is a lot of great story coming up. If you’re watching, keep watching, and if you’ve dipped out a little bit, it’s a great time to dip back in.”
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