Days of Our Lives is about to pick up speed! After months of some slow-burn storylines, head writer Ron Carlivati returns in the May 31st episode.
More similar to serialized dramas, Days’ shooting schedule makes it so episodes are written several months before their air date.
This schedule caused some hiccups for the writing team when the Writers Guild of America went on strike last summer. Ron had episodes written through November 2023, but NBC produced 120 episodes in his absence due to a legal loophole known as Financial Core. Some writers, or “Fee Paying Non-Members” were allowed to work during the strike.
“To the credit of the show, I think what they tried to do was move things slowly in the hopes that the strike would end and respect where my storylines were,” Ron told TV Insider. “Unfortunately, the strike dragged on, so I understand that the show needed to make story decisions. From January to May, those were not my stories. I had nothing to do with those.”
Ron began working again in late September 2023. Fans will finally see where he takes their favorite characters after a confusing several months.
Keep reading to find out more…
Ron teased that his first episode back will feature some winks to the audience. He wanted it to be very evident there was a change of power behind the scenes, while giving the audience a laugh.
Ron was not able to oversee some storylines during his time on strike:
Nicole’s secret about the father of her child is starting to come out
The murder of Li Shin, and finding his killer
Gabi getting out of prison, which Ron said was his plan all along
“I was able to pick up the story, so, look for some twists and turns and a new Gabi getting out of jail to shake things up,” he said. “I think it will be really fun.
There are, however, lots of storylines Ron will be able to get his paws on!
Eric will find out that EJ is not the the father of Nicole’s baby, he is
Alex is still in the dark about being Victor’s son
Emily O’Brien’s Theresa still has not been outed for her forgery and lies
One of the first things the writers tackled when returning was a big anniversary. After 59 seasons, Days of Our Lives will celebrate its 15,000th episode this November! The episode will honor Bill Hayes, Doug Williams on the soap, who passed away in January.
“It is a way to honor this one actor and this character but make it feel bigger because we brought back a lot of people to honor Doug,” he said.
With the advanced nature of the writing on Days, Ron is well into crafting stories for the 60th year of the show airing in 2025.
“I just want to thank fans in general for sticking with the show after so many years and especially with the move to Peacock,” he said. “If you’re watching, keep watching, and if you’ve dipped out a little bit, it’s a great time to dip back in.”
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Did you see that the actress who played Gabi just recently dragged some former co-stars on social media?