Saturday, May 23, 2026

TV: “Days of our Lives” Renewed for 79th Season After Near Death Ratings Almost Killed It

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Fans of NBC’s “Days of our Lives” can breathe a sigh of relief. NBC has renewed the show for another season after 54 years of sturm und drang, also kidnappings, amnesia, paralysis and demonic possession.

“Days” was pretty much going down the drain until about six months ago when headwriter Ron Carlivati– ex of General Hospital and One Life to Live– took over. He immediately resuscitated a dead character (killed on screen) and brought back many favorite actors. Give the audience what they want– he did the same thing at General Hospital. It always works.

Meantime, Days’ most tenured actress, Susan Seaforth Hayes (she’s been on there since 1921) and her husband, Bill Hayes, will get Lifetime Achievement Awards at the Daytime Emmys. Seriously, they deserve it. They were on the cover of Time magazine in the 1970s!

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Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman is the founder and editor-in-chief of Showbiz411. He wrote the FOX411 column on FoxNews.com from 1999 to 2009 and previously edited Fame magazine and wrote the "Intelligencer" column at New York magazine. His bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the New York Daily News, the New York Post, Vogue, Details, and the Miami Herald. He is a voting member of the Critics Choice Awards (Film and Television branches), and his movie reviews are tracked by Rotten Tomatoes. is articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. With D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus, he co-produced the 2002 documentary "Only the Strong Survive," which screened at Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.

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