DAYS’ Stars Deidre Hall, Drake Hogestyn, James Reynolds Talk Peacock

Days of our Lives no longer airs on NBC but the show is alive and well, available daily on Peacock, the network’s streaming service. Soap Hub chatted with series stars Deidre Hall (Marlena Evans Black), Drake Hogestyn (John Black), and James Reynolds (Abe Carver) on the show breaking new ground as it moves to the network’s streaming service.

Deidre Hall, James Reynolds, Drake Hogestyn, DAYS, and More

The Peacock is offering viewers subscriptions for $1.99 a month and $19.99 a year. Subscribers will get not only new DAYS episodes but access to recent episodes, two seasons of Days of our Lives: Beyond Salem, A Very Salem Christmas, and all the other programming on Peacock.

Soap Hub: Deidre, your video addressing fans’ concerns and sharing the news about the move to Peacock was heartfelt. How did you feel about it?
Deidre Hall: I knew they’d spent a number of days hammering out the copy. How do we say this? How do we reach people? When I laid eyes on it, I thought, ‘This is brilliant.’ It said, ‘We know you’re scared. We’re right here.’ It was so well-written.
James Reynolds: My wife, Lissa, loved what you did on that. She’s talked about it for days. She thought you were brilliant about it. I’ve read things online where people are worried and are concerned. There are people who may not be able to afford the $5 a month but the September special of $1.99 a month and $19.99 a year is astounding.

Soap Hub: There’s the potential for DAYS to become more graphic or adult in terms of content as streaming doesn’t have the same restrictions. What are your thoughts on that? Wasn’t daytime more provocative in past years?
James Reynolds: We were racy at one time. I think prime time caught up with us. I think the show will be grittier. The writers will be excited about presenting [an even more] three-dimensional story.

Soap Hub: Hope Brady (Kristian Alfonso) used an expletive upon seeing Megan Hathaway (Miranda Wilson) alive in Beyond Salem 2. What would Alice Horton (Frances Reid) say! Seriously, though, thoughts on using more provocative language?
Deidre Hall: I’m an old-fashioned girl. I’m not in favor of dropping standards. I don’t think we can do that.
Drake Hogestyn: We can do all that stuff ahead of time with looks and then, fade to black. People’s imaginations will do more than we could ever show. Back in the day, we used to do racy stuff [but] then cable came up and you can’t compete with that. You can’t compete with that graphic stuff so I think we backed off. You have to respect the core audience. I’m like Deidre.

Soap Hub: We recently saw a romantic scene with John and Marlena. Fans love those moments.
Deidre: The breakfast in bed scenes. Strawberries.
Drake: We love them, too. I think the audience that has watched for a while knows that romance doesn’t die after 45. There’s still a love of romance there in a more mature way and in a deeper way. Snow on the roof, fire in the furnace. It’s the bonding of two people. It’s what people want to see.

Soap Hub: When did you get the sense that a change was coming?
Drake Hogestyn: When we did the last Beyond Salem, I felt there was a transition happening. I asked Ken when we’d be moving [to the Peacock].
James Reynolds: It had been hinted at for six months.

Soap Hub: We’d seen Deidre’s message to the fans on social media. Drake, Jim, what do you have to say?
James Reynolds: This show has had such a close relationship with its fans. I feel most of our fans will follow us to the Peacock. I think the Peacock is counting on that. We’re counting on them to stay with us.
Drake Hogestyn: There must have been success with Beyond Salem and A Very Salem Christmas. I used sports metaphors so I see DAYS moving to the Peacock as us going from one league to another.

Days of our Lives (DOOL) airs weekdays on Peacock+ in the U.S. and The W Network or Global TV App in Canada. For more about what’s coming up in Salem, check out all the latest that’s been posted on DAYS spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.