Days Of Our Lives
DAYS OF OUR LIVES: Abe Goes to the Light While John Faces Off with MarDevil
Monday’s highly-anticipated episode of Days of our Lives did not disappoint. In fact, we think that this episode should be a strong contender for DAYS to consider for one of their Outstanding Drama Series submissions for next year’s Daytime Emmys. Why? It has it all – emotional heart with Abe’s journey to and from the light, touching flashbacks, a great performance by James Reynolds, and some special effects and editing during the John (Drake Hogesytn) vs. MarDevil scenes, which also gave us a delicious performance by Deidre Hall.
At the start of the episode, Abe has flatlined after being shot as Kayla (Mary Beth Evans) tries to revive him, but they are losing him. As this is going on, Paulina (Jackée Harry), Julie (Susan Seaforth Hayes) and Eli (Lamon Archey) are gathered at the hospital awaiting news on Abe’s condition. Later, Eli decides to go find out what is happening with Abe, and gets the shock of his life when he walks in on Abe flatlining, while Kayla tells him that Abe is gone. Eli implores her to try to bring him back. He tells the others they are working on trying to save Abe, as Julie and Paulina bond, and later, Lani must call Theo and Brandon to let them know about Abe’s condition.
Photo: JPI
Julie reminisces about Abe, and how they have known each other for 40 years, our wink-wink that this is James Reynolds’ 40th anniversary episode. Then, we see Abe has gone to the light wearing a white sweater and who should he see but his beloved late wife, Lexie. No, it’s not Renee Jones, but an actress who delivers Lexie’s lines, since it had been previously reported that Jones was unavailable for the episode. In scenes with the replacement Lexie, Reynolds showed us why he is an MVP of DAYS. He acted up a storm and brought the emotion regardless of who was standing there.
However, longtime viewers got a wonderful surprise when flashback clips of scenes between Renee Jones and Reynolds were shown and they were some major moments in the history of Abe and Lexie’s relationship including: the moment when Abe learns Lexie’s pregnant, the moment when he is disgusted by Lexie’s betrayal when he learned of her involvement in the Zack baby switch storyline, and what she did to Bo and Hope, all because she was desperate for a child. Later, it’s the five-hankie moment of when Lexie, who was dying from a brain tumor, passes away in Abe’s arms.
After all the flashbacks, Lexie tells Abe he needs to go back and not to come with her to heaven. He has children, and people who love him and need him. Eventually, he says his goodbyes to Lexie and returns to the present, just as Kayla is about to call his time of death in the hospital room. All of a sudden, Abe’s heart begins to beat.
Photo: JPI
Kayla brings Julie, Eli, Lani, and Paulina the news that Abe will need surgery, but he will make it. Then, Paulina and Lani make their way to see him. In another emotional moment, they tell him how much they love him (Paulina looks worried about her lie being exposed that Lani is not really Abe’s bio-daughter). As the episode comes to its conclusion, we see the back of Lexie making sure Abe is safe and sound among the living, while signifying she is watching over him.
And if that was not enough, this episode also picked up where John had confronted MarDevil in the church, letting Satan knows he is on to him and that he is not going to win … he is going to get Marlena back. Satan drives home the point that Marlena belongs to him now. John is mortified as the cross on the church wall turns upside down. Later to show off his prowess and control, MarDevil turns the holy water blood red. As the scene progresses, MarDevil is jumping all over the church and showing up in different spots.
Photo: JPI
John then gets the lowdown on how Satan struck a deal with Marlena to let Doug (Bill Hayes) live if she let him in. That is followed, by some of the back-story of Marlena’s first possession over 25 years ago, and why it happened when she was alone and very distraught. MarDevil even goes on to say that he tried once before to regain control of Marlena during the Salem Serial Killer storyline, but it did not work out that time, because all the victims turned out to be alive. MarDevil brings up Stefano and how he had made Marlena believe John was dead which left her vulnerable. He goes on to relate that Doug was the gateway for Marlena’s re-possession.
Photo: JPI
MarDevil tells John what she did with Doug by committing him and how she wanted to kill Julie. John knows that Marlena can hear him and tries to bring her back, but as the devil struggles with that, ultimately, he wins and begins to show his strength to John tossing him around the church, where he is eventually is knocked unconscious and then dragged to, we don’t know where, by the MarDevil!
Throughout the scenes, Deidre Hall looked like she was having so much fun playing the devilish one in this campy storyline revisited.
So, what did you think of James Reynolds performance and his 40th anniversary episode? What was your favorite moment? Are you glad John knows for certain now that Marlena is once again possessed? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.
Days has it all! The haters will come forward but every scene is this episode has something going on. The scenes with Abe were fantastic and so great to see James Reynolds get the respect for being on for 40 years and the scenes with mar devil were great as well it gave a great balance of good vs evil in Salem Great job
And can we say how great it was to see Renee Jones as Lexie in flashbacks
I thought they did Abe’s scenes with Lexie very well, almost showing her face without doing so, since Ms. Jones wasn’t available to reprise the role. It was a nice walk down memory lane, though Abe had a lot more t o do than just the story with Lexie. Still, congratulations to Mr. Reynolds on his anniversary!
I was kind of disappointed with Abe’s Anniversary episode. I thought they would show interaction with his castmates, family and friends and not just a few conversations with his deceased wife, Lexi
this one’ going to make me cry – Mr. James Reynolds. My Abe and lexie w/Theo and lani. W/ Ms. Valerie. hollah w/Celeste !!!! 40 glorious years.. AND it’s ALL on even keel. Sir
Mr. Emmy You
as a person of color… and i will make this short.. because his person and character REEL are always on track. when a show SHOULD FEATURE color… race… variable… catch! what is this life without ? COLOR
incomparable
he needs no net… Thank the soap gods… i’m not to be so serious
light
Beyond the Gates
53rd Annual Daytime Emmy Nominations Announced: ‘The Young and the Restless’ Tops With 18, ‘Beyond the Gates’ With 16
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.
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.
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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GENERAL HOSPITAL Spoilers Promo: Jason’s Back, Drew Begins to Make His Move, Portia Goes Into a Labor
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