Days of our Lives is leaving NBC and is moving to the network’s streaming service, Peacock, starting Monday, September 12, and episodes will drop at 6 a.m Eastern.
Eric Martsolf and Camila Banus Talk Peacock
Does this mean the show will alter its content? Or has daytime always been a bit racy? Soap Hub chatted with Eric Martsolf (Brady Black) and Camila Banus (Gabi Hernandez DiMera) about possible content changes to the beloved series that’s blazing new ground.
Soap Hub: What are your thoughts on DAYS moving to the Peacock? Eric, you actually have experience with a show going to a new platform. Your first soap, Passions went to DirecTV for about a year in 2007 after leaving NBC.
Eric Martsolf: I’ve heard comparisons between Passions and DirecTV and also, All My Children and One Life to Live and [The Online Network] in 2013. You can’t compare those times to what we’re in now. It’s a different animal altogether. Streaming is not a new form of watching TV now. It’s the form. People are catching onto the mobility [factor]. Our show will debut when the sun rises every day. People will adapt to this. They’ll say, why weren’t we doing this before? The trick will be getting people to change their habits.
Soap Hub: Do you think that DAYS being on Peacock will allow the show to push the envelope in terms of sexually explicit content? Die-hard daytime fans can attest to that envelope already having been pushed.
Camila Banus: People want to see that, I feel. That’s what people want to see.
Eric Martsolf: I still have more to show. I actually filmed my butt for the Christmas movie [A Very Salem Christmas]. It didn’t make it on. [A producer] called me at the last minute and said NBC wasn’t ready for that. It was the Love, Actually scene where I dropped the cards [in front of Kristen DiMera, then Eileen Davidson]. They filmed an alternate ending where I was naked [showing my butt].
Soap Hub: And what did you do to prepare for that scene?
Eric Martsolf: I took my pants off. That’s what I did to prepare for it.
Soap Hub: No extra crunches? Squats?
Eric Martsolf: No. I don’t believe in that. What you have is what you have. I’ll be honest with you. I asked my wife, ‘Can I pull this off?’ [and] I pulled my underwear down. She said, ‘Yes, you can.’
Camila Banus: She’s your wife. What’s she going to say?
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Eric Martsolf: She’s my wife. She would be the one to say, ‘Babe, you can’t do that.’ You ask someone who will be completely honest with you. If I was ever going to do this, now was the time. It just didn’t air.
Soap Hub: Do you feel you let people down?
Eric Martsolf: No. I was just disappointed. I spoke to my sons about it. I said there’s a chance your friends’ mothers will see this, and people might give you a hard time. They were like, ‘Dad! Awesome! Do it!’
Soap Hub: So, how do you feel if we start seeing more skin on Peacock?
Eric Martsolf: I think they’ll let the young boys do it. Maybe I’ll do it. Maybe I’ll put in a few more squats. But I don’t feel that the show needs to do it. I don’t want the show to compromise its integrity. I don’t want them to use cuss words. The show is comfort food. [Viewers] want their caramel corn the way it is.
Camila Banus: I’m excited about the move to the Peacock. There was a different energy when we were shooting Beyond Salem 2 and the Christmas movie. There’s an excitement. As far as pushing the envelope being pushed, I’m excited. I feel good about it. I don’t have a problem with doing a little bit more. I think Gabi could be down for whatever. I go back to that scene where Blake Berris [ex-Nick Fallon] was holding a very small pillow. It showed a lot. Every once in a while, we [may] do that. Will it hurt? I don’t think we should do everything. Should the story call for it, I think we now have the ability to do it.
Eric Martsolf: That’s a great point. We should [push the envelope] if it perpetuates the story and the romanticism and the connection between the characters.
Soap Hub: Daytime has often pushed the envelope with racy bedroom scenes. Do you recall any particular provocative episodes?
Eric Martsolf: I do remember one on Passions in particular. During a dry block, the director had Natalie Zea [ex-Gwen Hotchkiss], now on La Brea, and [I rehearsing a scene]. Natalie looked at me and said, ‘I want to be on top [in our scene].’ I had not been on the show maybe a month. I didn’t know if that had ever been done before. The director said, ‘Let’s try it.’ Also, Ari Zucker [Nicole Walker] and I had a scene where Brady was holding her down, and he took his belt off. It was a ‘revenge sex’ scene. After Brady and Nicole had sex, he said, ‘I hope you enjoyed that because that’s the last time I’m ever going to touch you.’
Camila Banus: I remember a montage where Gabi was having sex with Jake [Brandon Barash], and I was just surprised how long [the scene] was. There was one moment where I vividly remember [the director] said, ‘Gabi’s going to lay there, and I want her to turn over.’ I said, ‘You’re going to get my whole body rolling over?’ I said, ‘Okay.’ Then, people starting doing memes about it. You could see [a lot].
Soap Hub: What message do you have for loyal DAYS fans who are being asked to make a change to continue to watch the show?
Eric Martsolf: I think when people finally look at the analytics and the financial commitment and weigh it against what they’re paying now, for the amount of content they’re getting from Peacock [it will be worth it]. They can take their show wherever they go with their tablet or their phone. The mobility factor alone is worth the investment. I say don’t be afraid of change. Not much [else] will. it’s very simple to follow the steps to sign up for the Peacock and then, enjoy our show for the rest of your lives.
Days of our Lives (DOOL) airs weekdays on NBC. Starting September 12, you will need 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.
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