During last night’s 78th annual Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony, as it does every year, the television academy paid tribute to those in the industry that they’ve lost over the last year; since the previous Emmys held each year in September.

Starting with an emotional tribute to the late Catherine O’Hara by three of her co-stars, Schitt’s Creek’s Annie Murphy and Dan Levy and Home Alone’s Macaulay Culkin, the segment then dovetailed into Noah Kahan performing “Bridge over Troubled Water” as the faces and the names of those being remembered were shown on the screen.

Daytime soap alums, who either stayed in the genre for the majority of their career, or went on to primetime success as well, were honored including: Anthony Geary (Luke, GH), Hayden Panettiere (Sarah, OLTL, Lizzie, GL, Juliette, Nashville), James Van Der Beek, (Dawson, Dawson’s Creek, and Stephen, ATWT), Gil Gerard (Alan, The Doctors), June Lockhart (Mariah, GH), Patricia Crowley (Mary, Port Charles and GH), Randolph Mantooth (Clay/Alex, Loving and The City, and Richard, GH) and Jon Cypher (Alex, ATWT and Arthur, Santa Barbara).

Photo: TVAcademy

THOSE HONORED AND THOSE WHO WERE NOT

However, in a glaring omission, the producers of the In Memoriam failed to include Days of our Lives beloved star, Patrick Muldoon who played the OG Austin Reed and also Richard Hart on Melrose Place. Muldoon passed away in April of this year at 57.

After Kahan concluded his performance, a special tribute to Rob Reiner began with Jamie Lee Curtis taking to the stage to share some warm words about her late friend.

In a ironic and sad twist, Curtis shared ,“Last week, Robbie won an Emmy for guest actor in a comedy series for his beautiful work on The Bear, and he now holds the record of 48 years for the longest gap between acting Emmys, which was previously held by his father Carl Reiner, at 37 years.”

Reiner, who along with his wife, Michele Reiner were killed by their son, Nick Reiner, is currently awaiting a decision if he will stand trial. Prosecutors on Tuesday, shared they will not seek the death penalty if he is convicted at trial, but instead life in prison. Curtis said of Rob, “He was generous and kind and funny as hell, and a friend to all. We all miss Rob and Michele and all those we lost this year.” The Emmys then faded to black and went to commercial break.

So, were you happy to see those who you know from their work in soap operas included in the 2026 In Memoriam tribute at the Primetime Emmys? Share your thoughts in the comment section. But first, in case you missed it, you can watch it below.

Days of our Lives fans were introduced on the Monday, September 14 episode to Dante Vitali in the form of actor Franco LoPresti, and reintroduced to Sydney DiMera as now played by Sydney Malakeh. 

The DAYS writers connected the story by having them as major participants in a high stakes poker game in Monte Carlo where Philip (John-Paul Lavoisier) with Gabi (Cherie Jimenez) by his side, are trying to win enough money to save Titan Industries and the Kiriakis legacy.

When we first meet Sydney she is in front of a mirror putting on her lipstick as she puts the finishing touches on her look for the evening, when she receives a call from her grandmother, Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall). 

Photo: CordayProductions

POKER FACE

Later, Sydney shows up at the poker game with Dante Vitali, who introduces himself as Sami Brady’s fiancé. Philip explains that he has his own connections to Sami and would prefer his presence in the game be kept under wraps. Dante tells Philip he does not keep secrets from Sami.

Gabi asked Dante about his connection to Ava Vitali, to which Dante shared that although they shared the same last name, they were not close. Gabi says that’s good because Ava is “bonkers.” Dante did not appreciate Gabi disparaging Ava in that manner.

Philip is shocked that Sydney is such a poker player. Then we get the backstory on how she learned a lot from her grandfather, Roman Brady, and when she went to school, she played poker to beat the mean girls and realized she was quite good at it.

In the end, after throwing one guy out named “Otto”, who was “cheating” in the game, Dante offered two additional hands to Philip with a new deck. Dante asks,“Winner take all?” Philip says, “Works for me.” Eventually, Philip won the hand, but alone with Gabi told her he did not win enough to save Titan.

Courtesy/Peacock

DID MARLENA GIVE BIRTH TO STEFANO’S SON?

As all this is going down, in Salem, Marlena is wistful worried that there is something she has blocked out in her memories from her time being kidnapped by Stefano. She tells this to a concerned Julie (Susan Seaforth Hayes).

Meanwhile, Belle (Martha Madison), Chad (Conner Floyd) and EJ (Dan Feuerriegel) have all made it to Italy, and find hidden in a replicate chess set, just like Stefano willed to John and Marlena, a photo of Stefano with a young boy dated 1992 with whom they believe is “Dominic Marino.”

At the end of the episode, Dante shows up to a room with the mystery person wearing Stefano’s ring. He assures the person that no matter how many chips Philip won, he would not be able to save Titan and the Kiriakis mansion. Then, Dante utters, “Well, played, Dom.”

So, what’s going on here? Is Dante a bad guy? Is Sydney a schemer? Did Marlena have Stefano’s son, named Dominic Marino, but blocked the whole thing out for decades? And, what were your first impressions of the highly-anticipated debuts of Franco LoPresti and Sydney Malakeh? Weigh-in via the comment section. But first, in case you missed, check out this week’s promo for Days of our Lives below.

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Next week on Monday, September 14 will mark the first appearance in Salem of Franco LoPresti in his new Days of our Lives role of Dante Vitali.

Heated Rivalry fans now LoPresti very well from his part as hockey player Cliff Marleau in the series first season. (No word yet if Cliff appears in season 2).

Now in a conversation with TV Insider, DAYS fans will learn that LoPresti is on the soap for a limited run. No timetable was given.

Photo: Corday Productions, Inc

When LoPresti does burst onto the scene come Monday, Dante makes quite the impact as Franco LoPresti explains. It seems that viewers will first see him in scenes in Monte Carlo at a poker table with none other than Gabi Hernandez (Cherie Jimenez) and Philip Kiriakis (John-Paul Lavoisier).  However, Dante will come to Salem to talk to the Brady family about his supposed fiancée Sami Brady (Alison Sweeney).

Franco shared, “Dante was born and grew up in Italy and educated at this pretty top-tier English boarding school. He then went on to build his own dynasty in finance, all the while trying to distance himself from the Vitali name (as viewers know Tamara Braun played his cousin Ava Vitali).”

“But at the core of Dante, there’s definitely an old-school quality to him”, continued LoPresti. “He’s super passionate, he’s sincere and incredibly generous, but he’s also someone that you probably shouldn’t underestimate. Loyalty is something that means a lot to him. As Dante enters Salem, I think the audience will get to slowly peel back those layers and discover what’s really driving him. So, I’m excited for Days fans to go on that ride with Dante.”

Photo: Almay

As it turns out, LoPresti taped his episodes of DAYS starting back in November 2025 which happened to be weeks before Heated Rivalry became a smash hit.

Franco recalled, “It’s so funny because I thought my episodes would air in a month (on Days of our Lives). But I found out it was nine to 10 months and I was like, ‘I gotta wait that long?!’ So, I’ve been biting my nails, trying not to think about it, and I think it’s actually kind of helped because now it’s here and it’s all coming at me from all different angles. I’m nervous. I’m excited, and I just can’t wait to see it all come together. It’s one of the best jobs I’ve ever had for sure.”

In his personal life, Franco just had his first child with wife, actress Emily Alatalo, just a weeks ago on August 23rd when they welcomed their daughter, Stella into the world.

So, looking forward to seeing Franco LoPresti’s debut come Monday? What do you think about the fact that it’s being reported as a limited run? Do you think Dante and Sami have a chance on-screen or off-screen to be a happy couple? What do you really think brings Dante to Salem sans Sami? Let us know your thoughts via the comment section below.