‘Days of Our Lives’ (DOOL) spoilers find that DOOL is not going anywhere anytime soon, yet a lot of fans, followers, and even the cast and crew probably don’t know what’s next for the NBC network’s longest running series ever. After news broke that the ‘Days of Our Lives’ cast was released from their contracts, there was a lot of speculation that suggested that NBC was looking to pull the plug on the daytime television series. And while it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen anytime soon, some fans can’t help but wonder what this news means for the stars and their futures in Salem. Here’s what you need to know.
Days of Our Lives Contract “Release” Fake News Lie Demystified!
According to TV Line, reports indicated that the cast of ‘Days of Our Lives’ would be released from their contracts with the peacock network but no additional information was given. Fans don’t know if this means NBC simply wants to give their stars a little freedom during the soap’s hiatus or if they are looking to renegotiate contracts after the break. Either way, it has a lot of people behind the scenes shaking in their designer boots, as knows one knows if the entire cast will be let go or if NBC will go through the painstakingly long process of working up new contracts for everyone in 2020.
Daily Soap Dish did some investigating, and it appears that TV Line misrepresented the facts. Here’s what they said in their original piece on the subject:
TVLine has learned exclusively that the producers of Days of Our Lives have released the entire cast from their contracts, with the venerable soap set to go on an indefinite hiatus at month’s end. While the NBC sudser has not been cancelled, the unprecedented — and decidedly ominous — move comes at a precarious time for ratings-challenged Days and the vanishing soap genre as a whole. It also comes as Sony Pictures Television and NBC are in negotiations to renew series.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjO8U583l8w
Days of Our Lives Stars Come Out Strong Against Fake News Articles
Multiple Days of Our Lives stars came out to state that they had not been fired. DSD corroborates those reports. It’s unclear if TV Line just got their facts wrong or if they intended to over sensationalize the facts to make it seem like they were breaking a story, but the stars, at the time of the article, WERE NOT released from their contracts. Wording matters, verbs matter, and if you’re going to report a story of this magnitude, you better get your basic verbs and facts right.
The way TV Line worded that paragraph is a flat out a lie. The publication actually came out with a follow-up article that kinda of addressed the outrage by DOOL stars, and kinda doubled down on the misconstrued facts of the original piece. However, there’s one change: the verb went from “have released” to “is releasing”. This might seem like a minuscule difference to some, but it makes all the difference in terms of reporting the facts accurately.
Per our initial story, Corday Productions is releasing all contracted cast members from from their commitment to the show amid renewal talks between Sony Pictures Television and NBC. The news comes as Days is set to go on an indefinite (and pre-planned) production hiatus. But because the sudser shoots eight months in advance, the show will have enough episodes in the can to last through Summer 2020.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B4yHllKg2hG/
But it doesn’t end there. In the world of digital media, there is a known tactic for when a publication wants to create a sensationalist piece without having all the facts. It is called the “source” or the “insider”. What exactly this term means is probably up to the discretion of the article writer. It could be someone that works behind the scenes at Days of Our Lives, just like it could be someone that the article writer spoke to on the street, just like it could be the director’s dog. There is no official journalistic definition outside of the fact that using the term can be a poignant tactic to achieve the intended end goal of the article, which here is to really drive home the point that Days of Our Lives is suffering in a big way. Here’s an example used by TV Line:
“It’s actually a shrewd — if cynical — business move,” sniffs one insider. “If Days gets picked up, [Corday] can offer the actors new contacts at a reduced rate and with a ‘take-it-or-leave’ it attitude. Worst case scenario, they lose half their cast. Best case scenario [for Corday], everyone agrees to return at a lower salary.”
This part sounds legit, it all makes perfect sense. However, anybody can come up with this logic. It doesn’t have to be an insider at the show, it could be someone working at TV Line. By not actually using a source name, the publication makes it seem like someone directly involved with DOOL actually said this to TV Line, which in turn plays into the intended end goal that TV Line tries to achieve: that Days of Our Lives is more or less ending, and that THEY have the insider scoop to prove it. None of the information in the article is actually breaking news of any sorts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40uMJboudJ4
The Insinuation That Days of Our Lives Is Cancelled
This is nothing but generic and general information fo what COULD happen, not something that is necessarily happening in this instance with DOOL. I will however give props for the masterful wordsmith job done here in trying to convey the message that DOOL, and Corday, is by trying to cut costs by any means necessary. The insinuation is clear: if Corday has fired their entire cast only to try to bring them back at a lower cost, why would the cast adhere to such ludicrous wage negotiation tactics? There are other soaps out there, other shows, prime time, netflix, Disney +, and so forth.
Using the above logic insinuates that the cast would have no reason to return to the show since they would be free to pursue other opportunities instead of succumbing to a terrible wage race towards the bottom by Corday. The article writer knew exactly that this wording would drive home the intended insinuated message, even though TV Line stated in that same article that NBC still intends to renew Days of Our Lives and notwithstanding its introductory sentence to the piece: “The sand appears to be leaking out of the hourglass.”
But there’s more. News of the Days of Our Lives cast going on an early hiatus has been available for weeks, if not months, prior to TV Line’s article. Daily Soap Dish was well aware that this was taking place way before. The other thing is, is that a hiatus is quite normal for Days of Our Lives. Every year, they have a hiatus for the holidays where they stop filming, and await for NBC to pick up DOOL again (typically early January), before contracts are renewed.
— Camila Banus (@camilabanus) November 13, 2019
NBC Plans To Renew Days of Our Lives For Another Season!
It only makes sense that NBC has to renew the show before Corday can hand out contracts to the cast, because it would be an idiotic move of catastrophic proportions to offer contracts worth thousands upon thousands of dollars with no solid ground footing. So this is only common sense. Like we said, the only difference is that his year the hiatus is taking place a couple of weeks prior. But no one, not the stars, not the Soap media, not even NBC, took this to mean any potential problems to DOOL’s survival.
But because TV Line’s original piece sounded so convincing, and because TV Line holds a lot of credibility, other media outlets, such as TMZ took the piece at face value and ran with the information. It wasn’t before the entire online media giants were all reporting on the story, and the avalanche effect was well under way: Days of Our Lives was a history of the past!
While there have been a lot of ‘Days of Our Lives’ fans who have taken to their social media accounts to set the record straight about the hiatus, no one really offered any new details or information about the contracts. There’s some speculation that the NBC network is looking to save money, as by the information above. Since production is about six months in advance, the series already has enough material to last them through at least the Spring of next year. And since money seems to be a factor here, there are some rumors that suggest those behind the scenes have a plan for the series, but what that plan is, no one knows yet.
What We Know About Days of Our Lives, NBC, and More!
All we know at this time is that DOOL stars have confirmed that the initial basis for this fake news slander attack was baseless since DOOL cast is still, and was still, under contract at the time of writing. We also know that NBC definitely intends to renew the soap for one extra year. So what exactly was the point of this hit piece that served absolutely no other purpose than to hurt the NBC soap and to provide a whole bunch of cheap clicks? That’s a rhetorical question.
This is sadly how media works today. We here at DSD give kudos to the Days of Our Lives staff for keeping positive and not even adressing the slanderous and outright fake pieces that all started with TV Line’s hit piece earlier this week. This is a mark of class, and this is exactly why we feel more than confident that NBC
For now, drop us a line with your thoughts in our comments section below. And as always, come back to Daily Soap Dish for all the latest news, updates and spoilers on The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, General Hospital and Days of Our Lives.