Only on a soap opera can dead characters return for new episodes.

Indeed, that’s what’s happening on NBC’s “Days of our Lives.” Peter Reckell, who on the show for years and years, is returning for a streaming series on Peacock called “Beyond Salem.” It really is ‘beyond’ since his character was killed off years ago quite definitely.

The new “Beyond Salem” will run for a week in July and include Kristian Alfonso, who quit “Days” a couple of years ago and vowed never to return. Never say never, kids. Also in this “Beyond Salem” will be all the “Days” regulars including Deidre Hall, who started playing Marlena Evans in 1921 and has not aged one day.

The logline for the show calls it “an adventure of a lifetime” and it sure will be if Reckell turns up as a ghost, or it’s revealed he had a twin brother no one knew about, or the ailment that killed him didn’t and he’s been held captive at NBC all this time. “Days of our Lives” can pull it off, I’m sure. They just won a Writers Guild Award for best daytime drama.

If you thought you saw the Slap of the Month a couple of weeks ago thanks to Will Smith, think again. There’s more slapping to come in “Gaslit,” the Starz Channel limited series starring Julia Roberts as Watergate era whistleblower Martha Mitchell and Sean Penn as her husband, Attorney General to Richard Nixon, John Mitchell. I won’t spoil it for you, but April has become slap-happy.

Listen, I grew up to this soundtrack. As Watergate evolved through 1972, Martha became an iconic figure, a Southern belle in DC calling reporters in the middle of the night ratting out the Republicans. John Mitchell was, as far as I’m concerned, as evil as Nixon.

Penn and Roberts are just sensational in their roles. Roberts, kind of expanding on her “Charlie Wilson’s War” character, has got the right mix of foxiness and grandness to make Martha appealing. Penn has a twinkle in his eye as he makes John Mitchell, I would guess, far more dimensional than he was in real life. What could this series have cost to have two mega watt Oscar winning Hollywood stars? The nice thing is, they are each line for line up to the challenge of pulling off an A+ show here.

This is an 8 part limited series, and the first of its kind for Starz when it comes to prestige. “Gaslit” will put them in the Emmy race, and set them up for more quality programming. So it’s all good news. Robbie Pickering created the series and wrote the episodes. Matt Ross, of “Captain Fantastic” fame, directed the first episode.

The first episode sets up a lot of characters from Watergate lore besides the Mitchells. Chief among them is John Dean, who I remember from the Watergate hearings as snot-nosed preppie who was ready to sell out anyone to stay out of jail. Dan Stevens, of “Downton Abbey” fame, plays him with a lot more panache than Dean deserves. Betty Gilpin is charming as Dean’s prospective second wife, Mo. It seems like this couple will figure big time as the series unfolds. (The Deans are alive and still together. The Mitchells had a rancorous divorce and are now dead.)

Quick kudos to Hamish Linklater, Shea Whigham, and young Darby Camp as the Mitchell’s 11 year old daughter. But there’s a lot more to come, as those of us know who lived through Watergate. And for younger people, “Gaslit” promises to be a highly entertaining education.

I’m hooked even though I know how it all turns out. The quality here is very high, and the fun is in the details.

Now that Oscar season is in the rear-view mirror, Emmy season is in full swing. The shows and their stars are front and center courting voters. This past week at the Harmony Gold in Hollywood, Seth Meyers, host of NBC’s “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” was there in front of a packed house for a conversation adeptly moderated by our pal Pete Hammond from Deadline.com.

Meyers currently has a bestselling children’s book called “I’m Not Scared, You’re Scared” and was asked what possessed him to write it. “Having kids, and having an ego. I’d rather read them my words. They don’t watch my show. They’re Trump supporters.” Meyers was asked later if Trump was a gift to comedians. “No not really. I’d rather he wasn’t around. I’m also not going to pretend he’s not around just because he puts me in a bad mood. It’s a serious thing, he’s a real thing. As much as some of us want to move on, we’re not going to do that till we feel like it’s over.”

Hammond asked him about Marjorie Taylor Greene recently reporting Jimmy Kimmel to the Capitol police over a joke. He quipped, “I tipped her off. Kimmel loves pranks so I thought he’d like that.” Speaking about the infamous post-rehab interview with comedian John Mulaney where Meyers was a part of an earlier intervention to save his good pal’s life, he commented “every now and then you have to create space for something like that. It’s easier with someone you know and love like John. But you do feel lucky at those times to have a platform to let something very authentic like that happen. I had Jerrod Carmichael [he recently came out as gay] on last week and had a similar feeling for someone I have such love and respect for. To share a thing like that on your show, well you feel very fortunate.”

His best memory of “SNL”? Seth recounted, “There are so many, but Stefon’s wedding with Bill Hader. We were live at the desk; I ran off to get him. I was backstage with Bill we were holding hands backstage watching the video and we both got emotional, we started crying. It was his last show, it was Fred Armisen’s and Jason Sudeikis’s last show, the previous year Andy Samberg and Kristen Wiig left and I would leave a half a year later. It was the end of this special time. It was in May and I was getting married that September and I’m thinking ‘oh I’d better cry at my real wedding.’ And I did. That’s the good news.’ His best advice to young comics? “Get up on stage every time somebody asks you. Because you never know the person that could change your life will be in the audience. Be out there.”

“Late Night” is way overdue for an Emmy for Best Variety/Talk Show, by the way. Meyers’ “A Closer Look” is one of the most insightful, humorous, and well written regular segments anywhere. And unlike some other shows in that category, “Late Night with Seth Meyers” is on five nights a week, with rare weeks off for reruns.