‘Days of Our Lives’ Executive Producer Ken Corday Talks the Future of the Soap and What’s to Come in 2025 (Exclusive)

Days of Our Lives celebrates its 59th anniversary^th anniversary is on Friday, November 8th, and this year there’s even more reason to celebrate – the show has just received a year’s worth of support from Peacock. “It’s great news that we’ve extended our contract until September 2026,” enthuses the executive producer. Ken Corday“It’s still a long way to go, but there’s still a lot to be done in the meantime. As I told the cast and crew on stage last Friday when we announced the news, “Let’s stop focusing on season 60 or 61. Let’s start thinking about Season 65 because I believe it’s a reality.”

Corday, whose parents Ted and Betty Corday and Irna Phillips created the show in 1965, admits he wasn’t entirely sure days’ future when in September 2022, he unexpectedly moved to Peacock. “Well, I felt 50/50,” he admits. “I couldn’t understand why NBC Universal took it off the air, but the subscriptions increased and our subscriptions increased. We continually test for Peacock’s top 10 shows, which shows our viewers haven’t drifted off completely. When we moved, almost half of them stayed with us, and it’s a pleasant surprise that the show is thriving on the new platform.”

One that he feels his parents will firmly support. “I’m sure my mother and father would have been thrilled because he was a true pioneer: leaving radio for television, leaving East Coast soap opera for West Coast television, and starting a show that wasn’t your typical soap opera in 1965.” “, suggests the executive director. “The show has always been like, ‘We’re going to be the first to pioneer,’ so why not? I like to be at the tip of the spear.”

Corday adds that he “feels fantastic” about the state of the soap, which has seen some upheaval over the past two years with the public departure of former co-executive producer Albert Alarra in 2023, followed by the show’s head writer, Ron Carlivatialmost a year later. As for Karlvati, Corday notes, “I just felt like it was time to take a different look at the show, frame the show differently, and tell the story in a new way. Our previous head writer had a wonderful and long career, but change is constant and sometimes change is necessary, and in this case it was clear to me that was the case.”

Todd Williamson/Peacock

These changes that Corday mentions will take fuller form in 2025. “We’re in for some powerful moments next summer, and judging by the behavior on set, which is the show’s best barometer almost as much as the audience, everyone is very excited. about what we’re doing and where the show is going.”

That includes the team he has to make it happen. “I am proud to work with three women in leadership positions,” states Corday. “I have two female head writers (Paula Quickley and Jeanne Marie Ford) and a female executive producer (Janet Spellman-Drucker), and it’s just wonderful. For the first time in my 40 years as a show producer, I can afford this luxury. I think it’s important to delve into serious women’s perspectives and the stories behind ordinary stories.”

While things do look promising, the real losses Bill Hayes (Doug Williams) in January, and more recently, Drake Hogestyn (John Black) in Septembercompensated for the jubilant spirit. “They’re both iconic and two of the seven greats of the series,” Corday praises. “Drake was Superman. Doug was a Super Rascal who became a Super Supercouple. They are irreplaceable, have been part of the show for decades, and we pay tribute to both of their characters.”

The first one will be Doug Hayes on December 2, also 15,000 viewers for the show.^th episode. “Bill died in January, and at that time we weren’t that far away from writing the article in November of this year because we were already so far ahead,” Corday explains. “For lack of a better cliché, the stars aligned correctly. So when we hit 15,000, we thought, “It’s time to do it.” Play out the death of a character on the show and how it affects everyone, and get a lot of people involved in it.” In addition to favorite favorites Christian Alfonso (Hope Williams Brady) and Melissa Reeves (Jennifer Deveraux) blasts from the past who will take part in the tribute include Stephen Schnetzer (Steve Olson) Gloria Loring (Liz Chandler) and Marie Cheetham (Marie Horton).

The memorial to John Black, which was removed before Hogestyn’s death from pancreatic cancer, will open later next year. His death at age 70 hit everyone hard, including Corday. “Drake and I were very close,” notes Corday. “Drake was a good friend to everyone on set. He was the glue, he was like a captain on the floor, he always knew his line, he always acted and was perfect for the game. Dee (Hall)Marlena Evans). We will also pay him due respect.”

Corday says there is a lot to be excited about: “The future looks very bright and bright. By mid-2025, big surprises await us. The stories will be great and will feature many familiar faces that we have known or loved in the past. I think it will be very useful for the audience.”

Days of our lives Everyday life, Peacock