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DAYS Chandler Massey Talks Re-Shoots Of Will’s Murder & His Highly-Anticipated Return!

By Michael Fairman

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Photo: Stephanie Nelson Photography

In one of his first interviews since being back at Days of our Lives, three-time Daytime Emmy winner, Chandler Massey, spoke to the New York Post about his upcoming on-screen return as Will Horton.

The back-story: fans followed Will’s coming-out journey as played by Massey. Then after Massey left the show, Guy Wilson stepped into the key role, only to eventually have the character murdered.

Now in true soap plausibility, there are many a back-from-the-dead stories, and it looks like that will prove true for Will.  Massey told the NY Post: “Will certainly wouldn’t be the first person to come back from the dead. They have a medically plausible explanation.”

In fact as part of his return, Massey had to re-shoot key scenes in Will’s storyline, including the character’s violent murder, in moments previously played by Guy Wilson.

Chandler related: “The scenes were very intense and required a lot of energy, but I don’t think it’s weird. When I first started working on the show, I was a recast. There’s a kid named Dylan (Patton), who played Will before me, and there were a bunch of Wills before him. So that’s just kind of how it goes, you know?”

As to what fans should watch for when Will return’s, it’s obvious he will be thrown into a romantic dilemma, since his one-time husband, Sonny Kiriakis (Freddie Smith) is about to marry another man, Paul Narita (Christopher Sean).  Massey weighs-in on what’s important to Will upon his return: “The most obvious thing will be Sonny, his longtime love, is involved with someone else now. It throws a pretty sizable wrench into (that) romance.”

Look for Massey to first appear back on DAYS in scenes with his on-screen father, Bryan Dattilo, which are slated to air this Friday, when Lucas has a vision of Will.  Then look for more Massey come October on the long-running NBC soap! 

So, excited to see how Will comes back to the Salem canvas? How do you think it will happen? Comment below.

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PRAISE THE SOAP GODS HE IS NOT A GHOST! ! this is the best NEWS EVER! Ron Loves the gays so he is about to deliver a FIRE love triangle of Will/Paul/Sonny! I CANNOT WAIT! SO glad tptb revived this legacy character! I cant wait to see him and Sami Brady! An EJ recast is doable too! Find that hot Aussie guy who played Simon on As The World Turns!!!!!

No EJ recast. Only original will do.

If TPTB had to bring Will back to “rewrite” the wrong of a legacy character’s death, thankfully they were able to bring back Chandler Massey and not Guy Wilson. I’m just not interested in this love triangle. Sonny has gone from a one time coffee house owner/”club” owner to a wannabee career criminal with slicked back hair carrying a weapon-no thanks. Sonny is laughable as a “thug.”

“Just what daytime needs: another mobster named Sonny,” said Jamesj75 in sarcastic tones…

“James, my friend…love the sarcasm and dry humor”, said Celia, in serious tones…..

James…your ‘sarcastic tones’ are perfectly noted, Brother…said I-I-I, The Jaybird369, in very supportive tones……….

Awwww…aren’t we just a great, fun bunch? Yeayyyy for us!!!! Love you James, and Jay and dmr and 4ever….love EVERYONE on this site…love my Jimmy…

I said he would come back…they probably found a pulse or something off camera and he has been in a coma…only Sami knew and staged a fake funeral to protect him from Ben…i guess Paul and Sonny will set a wedding date …the doors fly open…there stands Will…

Sounds perfect to me !!

The doors fly open there stands Will In an off the shoulder white dress and slicked back hair- he gingerly walks to the two grooms says “sonny I’m back” then falls to the floor unconscious as the wedding guests look on in shock. Oh wait. .that was Phyllis on Y&R LOL! !

Yes, you did, Jimmy….we had both agreed he was whisked away, and under his mother’s care. I remember it well.

YEP!

“You are always such a pleasure, Celia, and I appreciate that,” said Jamesj75 in sincere tones…

“great, fun bunch,” indeed! Thank you, Celia! 🙂

I do think someone faked Will’s death but i don’t think it was Sami because i can’t see her keeping Will away from his other loved ones for nearly 2 years.Plus i can’t see Will willingly staying away from his daughter for nearly 2 years.So my guess is Will had no part in faking his death.

Chandler being back as Will is great news. Hope he sticks around for a while. Looks like Ron is just what Days needed.

With the release of the picture today of Lucas seeing the vision of Will in church, I am very disappointed the return is only of him as a ghost, spirit or angel. Is Will only the imagination of a drunk Lucas?
Now if they had a story of Will’s spirit appearing which leads them to Memphis in search of Will in the flesh and Will is actually taken back to Salem, then I would be happy.
But now I have read Chandler Massey is only there to film scenes until April.
I was hoping this would be a story line of Will actually returning in the flesh and getting back together with Sonny.

It’s almost a given that Will’s first appearance is other than in the flesh, James, but not to worry, Chandler is still taping after he began six months ago. Will will be in the flesh!

Did you read the article?

If Will was just coming back as ghost i don’t think the show would have re-shot his death scenes.

Happy to have Chandler back as Will. Most excited to see Will with his daughter and Gaby.

Chandler Massey!!! Just a great big hell yes. I know it’s going to be hard to explain his on screen death and I am willing to suspend my disbelief for this character to come back and radiate. Ron Carlivati is the one writer who can make Will the great character he was. No shade on Guy Wilson. He had a HUGE void to fill with Chandler’s departure. I, personally, think Guy Wilson could not overcome his inability to be Will Horton. That is why at the end of his run he was always angry or pouty on screen. It was the only emotion he could convey convincingly. To me when Will was “murdered” on screen it was a relief because I couldn’t bear to watch the character any more. Chandler Massey always gave Will a sense of peace about him in the midst of having Sami as a Mom. I hope Chandler’s portrayal remains true to his previous portrayal. As for the Sonny/Paul/Will triangle I am ready for it. I have a question…and it isn’t a mean one, I just want to know if the actor who plays Sonny has gained weight. He looks bigger than he was when Will was around previously. I am just asking innocently because I feel bad making this even a question. Anyone care to share? Anyway, glad Chandler Massey is back and that he is ready to go. DAYS has got to be the most improved show and I have to say I give the credit to Carlivati for re-energizing his cast and crew and for giving the audience stories we want to get excited about.

I didnt even notice that about Sonny…anyway, its my belief about Will that off camera a faint pulse or heartbeat was found…maybe a paramedic seen him still breathing…he is is a coma…Sami is there and takes over-stages his funeral and all to protect him from Ben…she was seeing to his care..he wakes up-maybe with amnesia or not and now its safe for him to cone back home!!!…only plausible way i think it would work!!!

I read that the actor who portrays Sonny has lost some weight since some of these scenes were done – I don’t really “feel” the chemistry between Paul and Sonny even though I am happy to see gay characters back on the canvas. Fans, I thought, were very critical of Guy Wilson’s performance as Will when he was trying his best. Now I guess there will be a triangle with the return of Will as played by Chandler. To me, though, it feels odd because Will (as played at the time by Guy Wilson) wrote that story about Paul and now he’s being played once again by Chandler and sometimes it’s difficult to keep it all together – I DID feel a chemistry between Guy Wilson’s “Will” and Sonny regardless of whether I thought Guy Wilson was great in the role or not. Is this post making any sense?
I say bring back Derrick the Bell boy he was so cute to look at and the writers gave him NOTHING to do – they could have really thrown a curve into the storyline but they did nothing with it.

I just don’t like Paul. I don’t know what it is. I agree. I don’t feel any chemistry between Paul and Sonny. I think Sonny had more chemistry with the amulet.

I’m glad Chandler is bringing Will back. His coming out story was what got me hooked on DOOL.
I never cared for Guy’s portrayal of Will, so I wasn’t that upset when they killed him off.
However, I’m excited to have Chandler’s Will back and anxious to see how they resurrect him.

So not happy about this. what happened to dead is dead and how can you rewrite something that has happened so long ago. We all watched will get strangled. His body dumped in a different location still dead. Buried, dead. This is just stupid. Sorry not sorry

making the biggest wrong in soaps right, thank you Ron

I am sooooo glad Chandler Massey is returning to Days. I can’t wait to see his scenes with Sonny, Paul, Marlena, Gabi and Sami

This story is going to be so good and it hasn’t even started yet. Thank God for Ron!!!

first and foremost : Bryan Datillo as Lucas…. he’s going to be a father again.

inasmuch as it’s going to be great to see him with gramma Marlena

Will bond with both of them… are what I’m looking forward

————-

things that make you go hummmm

or whatever…. the matching black tank tops… on Paul and Sonny

just made me go – OK – reminded me of Jason and Sam.

Will has so many standout moments with so many characters

Sonny – Gabs – Kate – Abs – Arianna Grace

Thank you Soap Gods

The only thing is, when Will died and he was played by Guy Wilson, Sonny heard the news while out of the Country and of course came back for the Funeral in Fake Leaf Park. Now, Will is going to be played by Chandler (who “left to pursue school” which means really that they have renegotiated his contract at Days) and Chandler had no scene history with Christopher Sean who plays Paul. So, to me, it won’t feel like uh oh here we go again – it will have a different kind of an ‘edge’ to it. Right now, the show really kind of needs help because these ‘look-a-like’ characters (Marlena, Adrianne) are ridiculous and the storylines are weak. So, who can say, maybe this will be an improvement.

Well Chandler Massey did go back to college after leaving Days because he promised his parents he would do that once his contract with Days expired.

I have been enjoying the story with John and Marlina and they didnt drag it out and they will find out about bonnie in few days would be glad to see will back

Can’t wait to see Chandler as Will back on Days. Bring it on!

I have been hoping for Chandler to come back since the day he left. No one plays Will like Chandler. The Paul/Sonny storyline looks like two brothers. The affection Freddie and Chandler have for each other always showed in their work on camera. I love Paul but he needs to find someone else. He had more chemistry with Derrick.

And suddenly the universe has meaning again…

Massey seemed to have acting chemistry in almost every scene with almost every other actor. It should be interesting to see new chemistry with actors and characters who are new to him.

This I “gotta” see….how will the re-shoot be managed without Ben?? Lots of technical maneuvering? Can’t wait to see Chandler—–can’t wait to hear how Will is resurrected.
Maybe he was living stashed away in Switzerland with Sami, EJ and the kids, as I suggested months and months ago???? Did Marlena know? Who else?? Did Lucas??? Hmmmm.
In-te-resting!!

Rob Scott Wilson returned to re-shoot the “murder” scene, Celia. And because he returned for the recreated flashback, it’s a possibility to see Ben in the present. That may have been Ben at the end of yesterDAYS’ (09-11-17) episode!

You’re right….always are. Thanks, 4ever.

But if Rob Wilson returns as Ben (which has been announced) then I guess he will be shown strangling Will in a flashback but this time instead of Guy Wilson being killed it will be Chandler as Will in a re-creation of that chilling scene.

Yes, sounds good, Jake. That’s very logical.

Chandler was brought back instead of Guy because Guy was horrible. I didn’t like his interpretation of Will at all.

But of course, Chandler couldn’t say that. I don’t even know why they asked him that unless it was with the hope that he would say something controversial.

Did Chandler finish college?

It was stated by his representation that he left the show “to pursue his studies” but what that actually probably translates to is that his agents renegotiated a higher pay contract with the people at Days of Our Lives. I guess the fans were not happy with the temporary recasting of Will and they were certainly vocal about their disapproval, just as the fans have spoken (at times harshly) about the actress who was playing Hope’s daughter, Ciarra.

Chandler said in the past that he promised that once his contract with Days expired he’d go back to college.Now Chandler has admitted that he made a mistake in that he announced that he was leaving Days at the 2013 Daytime Emmys before he told the show.

Excuse the pun but where there is a Will there will be a way.

Beyond the Gates

53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Nominations Announced: ‘The Young and the Restless’ Tops With 18, ‘Beyond the Gates’ With 16

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The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) today announced the full list of nominees for the upcoming 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, and it was CBS daytime’s The Young and the Restless and broadcast television newest soap opera, Beyond the Gates that racked up the most nominations with 18 and 16, respectively.

The full reveal on Tuesday follows the announcement of several major categories including Lead Actor and Actress on Monday via Extra and Entertainment Tonight and The View today revealing Daytime Drama Series and more.

The 53rd Annual Daytime Emmys ceremony is set to take place on Friday, October 30 at the historic Hollywood Palladium in Hollywood, California.

Photo: CBS

In a statement, Adam Sharp, President and CEO of NATAS expressed, “We’re proud to honor the extraordinary talent and creative teams whose work continues to define and elevate daytime television, As the Daytime landscape evolves and new forms of storytelling emerge, we remain committed to recognizing the innovation happening across the industry.”

“Each year, the Daytime Emmy Awards celebrate the creativity, passion, and dedication that drive this vibrant community of storytellers,” said Rachel Schwartz, Head of the Daytime Emmy Awards. “Congratulations to this year’s nominees, whose work continues to entertain, inspire and connect with audiences every day. We look forward to celebrating their remarkable achievements in Hollywood this October.”

The Daytime Emmy Awards have recognized outstanding achievement in television programming and crafts since 1974, honoring work in a variety of genres, including daytime dramas, talk series, entertainment news, culinary, adventure, instructional and legal/courtroom programming.

This year’s Lifetime Achievement Honoree, Gold & Silver Circle Inductees, and ceremony host will be announced at a later date.

Now below, check out the nominees in the daytime drama, talk show, entertainment news series and creative arts categories and congratulations to all!

Photo: JPI

Outstanding Daytime Drama Series
Beyond the Gates
Days of Our Lives
General Hospital
The Young and the Restless

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
Stacy Haiduk (as Kristen DiMera), Days of Our Lives
Karla Mosley (as Dani Dupree), Beyond the Gates
Michelle Stafford (as Phyllis Summers), The Young and the Restless
Heather Tom (as Katie Logan), The Bold and the Beautiful
Tamara Tunie (as Anita Williams Dupree), Beyond the Gates

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Daytime Drama Series
Eric Braeden (as Victor Newman), The Young and the Restless
Steve Burton (as Jason Morgan), General Hospital
Scott Clifton (as Liam Spencer), The Bold and the Beautiful
Thorsten Kaye (as Ridge Forrester), The Bold and the Beautiful
Christian Jules Le Blanc (as Michael Baldwin), The Young and the Restless

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
Linsey Godfrey (as Sarah Horton), Days of Our Lives
Camryn Grimes (as Mariah Copeland), The Young and the Restless
Beth Maitland (as Traci Abbott), The Young and the Restless
Trisha Mann-Grant (as Leslie Thomas), Beyond the Gates
Amanda Setton (as Brook Lynn Quartermaine), General Hospital

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Daytime Drama Series
Sean Dominic (as Nate Hastings), The Young and the Restless
Timon Kyle Durrett (as Bill Hamilton), Beyond the Gates
Michael Graziadei (as Daniel Romalotti), The Young and the Restless
Roger Howarth (as Matt Clark), The Young and the Restless
Mike Manning (as Bradley “Smitty” Smith), Beyond the Gates
Lawrence Saint-Victor (as Carter Walton), The Bold and the Beautiful

Outstanding Emerging Talent in a Daytime Drama Series
Braedyn Bruner (as Emma Scorpio-Drake), General Hospital
Al Calderon (as Javier Hernandez), Days of Our Lives
Alice Halsey (as Rachel Black), Days of Our Lives
Giovanni Mazza (as Gio Palmieri), General Hospital
Ambyr Michelle (as Eva Thomas), Beyond the Gates
Arielle Prepetit (as Naomi Hamilton Hawthorne), Beyond the Gates

Outstanding Guest Performance in a Daytime Drama Series
Jasmine Burke (as June Hughes), Beyond the Gates
Jeff Kober (as Cyrus Renault), General Hospital
Eva LaRue (as Natalia Rogers-Ramirez), General Hospital
Christopher Sean (as Paul Narita), Days of Our Lives
Ray Wise (as Ian Ward), The Young and the Restless

Outstanding Writing Team for a Daytime Drama Series
Beyond the Gates
The Bold and the Beautiful
Days of Our Lives
General Hospital

Outstanding Directing Team for a Daytime Drama Series
Days of Our Lives
General Hospital
The Young and the Restless

Outstanding Casting for a Daytime Program
Beyond the Gates
General Hospital
The Young and the Restless”

Outstanding Daytime Talk Series
3rd Hour of TODAY
The Drew Barrymore Show
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Live With Kelly and Mark
TODAY With Jenna & Friends
The View

Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host
Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin & Ana Navarro, The View
Kelly Clarkson, The Kelly Clarkson Show
Tamron Hall, Tamron Hall
Jennifer Hudson, The Jennifer Hudson Show
Sherri Shepherd, Sherri

Outstanding Entertainment News Series
Access Hollywood
Entertainment Tonight
Extra

Outstanding Daytime Personality (Daily)
Mona Kosar Abdi, Derek Hough & Terri Seymour, Extra
Cassie DiLaura, Denny Directo, Kevin Frazier, Rachel Smith & Nischelle Turner, Entertainment Tonight
Scott Evans, Zuri Hall, Kit Hoover & Mario Lopez, Access Hollywood
Star Jones & Corey Jovan, Divorce Court

Outstanding Arts and Popular Culture Program
Beyond the Gates: Welcome to the Neighborhood — An Entertainment Tonight Special
Off Script With The Hollywood Reporter
Variety & CNN Actors on Actors
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
Working In the Theatre

Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for a Daytime

Beyond the Gates,” Episode 103
Have Guitar Will Travel World
The Kelly Clarkson Show Episode 5033
Let Frankie Cook,” Getting the Band Back Together
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Outstanding Technical Direction and Video for a Daytime Program

Beyond the Gates,” Episode 104
The Bold and the Beautiful,” Episode 9511
Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade”
The Jennifer Hudson Show, ” Episode 4041
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade”

Outstanding Hairstyling and Makeup for a Daytime Program

Beyond the Gates,” Episode 103
General Hospital,” Episode 15719
The Kelly Clarkson Show,” Episode 5033
The Young and the Restless,” Episode 13273

So, what do you think of the 53rd annual Daytime Emmy nominations? Who are you happy to see receive a nomination and who do you think was snubbed? Weigh-in via the comment section.

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Beyond the Gates

53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Nominations: Outstanding Lead Actress Drama Series

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Monday on Entertainment Tonight, the second set of nominations for the 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards were announced which included the highly-coveted Outstanding Lead Performance in a Daytime Drama Series – Actress and Outstanding Daytime Talk Series.

ET followed suit after Extra announced the nominees, as previously reported, in the Outstanding Lead Performance in a Daytime Drama Series – Actor and Outstanding Daytime Talk Host.

Now, five leading ladies of the soaps are vying for the gold for Lead Actress and the category marked the first-ever nominations for CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates when two actresses made the final cut. Only General Hospital is not represented among the actresses this year after Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis) took home the trophy last year.

Photo: NATAS

THE FIVE LEADING LADIES OF THE SOAPS ARE …

The 2026 Lead Actress nominees are: Stacy Haiduk (Kristen DiMera), Days of Our Lives, Karla Mosley (Dani Dupree), Beyond the Gates, Michelle Stafford (Phyllis Summers), The Young and the Restless, Heather Tom (Katie Logan), The Bold and the Beautiful, and Tamara Tunie (Anita Dupree), Beyond the Gates.

This marks the first Daytime Emmy nominations for Karla Mosley and Tamara Tunie. In addition, this marks the first-time in her career that Stacy Haiduk had received a Lead Actress nod after two Supporting Actress nominations.

Meanwhile, Michelle Stafford had previously won 3 Emmys – 2 for Lead Actress and 1 for Supporting, but this recognition makes it her 11th overall nomination.

Heather Tom currently is tied for the most all-time Daytime Emmy wins with One Life to Live alum and General Hospital guest star, Erika Slezak. The B&B star has 19 nominations throughout her career.

Photo: ABC

DAYTIME TALK SERIES

In the Outstanding Daytime Talk Series category, the nominees are: 3rd Hour of Today, The Drew Barrymore Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Live with Kelly and Mark, Today with Jenna and Friends and The View.

“We’re proud to honor the extraordinary talent and creative teams whose work continues to define and elevate daytime television,” NATAS president and CEO Adam Sharp said in a statement on the nominations. “As the Daytime landscape evolves and new forms of storytelling emerge, we remain committed to recognizing the innovation happening across the industry.”

The rest of the nominations will be revealed tomorrow on Tuesday July 14 starting on The View and then the full list of nominees in both the main and creative arts will be released by NATAS. The 53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards are slated for October 30th in Hollywood, California.

So, what do you think about the women who are vying for the Lead Actress Daytime Emmy? Happy with who got in? Who do you feel got snubbed? What do you think of the nominees for Daytime Talk Series? Weigh-in via the comment section.

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Beyond the Gates

‘Daytime Emmy Nominations Special 2026’ Live on the Michael Fairman Channel

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It’s Daytime Emmy nomination week, and as previously reported things kick-off on Monday, July 13 when Entertainment Tonight (7pm ET) will announce the nominees for Lead Actress category and Daytime Talk Series for the upcoming 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards. In addition on Monday, Extra (7pm ET) will reveal the nominees for Lead Actor and Daytime Talk Host.

On Tuesday, The View (11am ET) starts things off with their announcement of Daytime Drama, Entertainment News program and Outstanding Daytime Personality-Daily. That is followed by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) full reveal of all the categories beginning at 12noon ET/9am PT on their website and their official social handles on X and Instagram.

Then, Tuesday night at 8pm ET/5pm PT join Michael Fairman as he hosts his 12th annual Daytime Emmy Nominations Special 2026 live on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel where he will chat with some of the just announced nominees as we celebrate the hard work of the men and women in front of the camera who will be going for gold.

WHEN ARE THE DAYTIME EMMYS?

This year, the 53rd annual Daytime Emmy Awards will be handed out on October 30 in ceremonies in Hollywood, California (Venue yet to be revealed). At that time, as like last year, both the major categories and creative arts will be presented. There is no word yet on a broadcast partner for the annual celebration of daytime programming, or if it will soley be streamed on NATAS’ watch.theemmys.tv and various apps and platforms.

WHO WILL BE APPEARING ON THE DAYTIME EMMY NOMINATIONS SPECIAL 2026?

Throughout Tuesday, keep an eye on Michael Fairman TV’s social media handles on X, Facebook and Instagram, for updates of who will be expected to appear on our live show.

If you have a question or comment for one of the nominees, or on the nominations, we can encourage you to join us in the live chat on Tuesday night.

So, who are you hoping lands a nomination from Beyond the Gates, General Hospital, Days of Our Lives, The Bay, The Bold and the Beautiful and The Young and the Restless? Let us know via the comment section. More Tuesday!

 

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