Days Of Our Lives
DAYS Wally Kurth, Chandler Massey & Freddie Smith Deliver Gut-Wrenching ‘Power Performance of the Week”
This past week on Days of our Lives brought the tears and the drama tenfold, in one of the most riveting, don’t-miss-a-moment, weeks in recent history on any daytime drama series.
While unfortunately the show did not air on NBC during its regularly scheduled timeslots on all coasts (due to the President Donald Trump impeachment hearings) the episodes were available on NBC.com, the NBC app and on the Cozi TV network.
Photo: JPI
And this week we cannot sound-the-trumpets enough for three men; who gave us moments of heartache that will be remembered for some time to come, pulling out all the stops, and showing us why they remain three of the most popular and talented actors in our genre. So many people have been commenting on social media on the authenticity and realness of the performances (yes, it’s within soapy circumstances), but throughout made us feel their pain right along with them.
On DAYS, this was the week they went back in time to finally show the viewers how things ended up the way they currently are in the time jump that happened last November on-air. And in five “OMG” episodes, head writer Ron Carlivati and his team laid out for us how one fateful night, “Mother’s Day” changed the course of lives for so many in Salem.
Chief among them, Will (Chandler Massey) landing in prison for Adrienne’s (Judi Evans) death, when in fact, he was not the responsible party at all. But in these flashback episodes, Will’s relationship with his husband, Sonny (Freddie Smith), his father-in-law, Justin (Wally Kurth) is forever changed because he believed he was the one behind the wheel that caused the crash that ultimately took Adrienne’s life, and took Sonny’s mother from him … and Justin’s wife from him.
In the flashback to the horrible night: at the hospital, Kayla (Mary Beth Evans) has told Justin that Adrienne didn’t make it following the injury sustained to her head in the accident, and now Justin has to tell Sonny. He tearfully tells his son, “We lost her. Your mother’s dead!” As the men console each other and break down in each other’s arms, Will, who is there, and who was trying to tell Sonny his part in the accident, is horrified to learn Adrienne died. Kayla asks Justin and Sonny if they want to say goodbye to Adrienne. Sonny breaks down again at just the thought of it. And at this point, we are sure DAYS fans are reaching for the hankies.
Photo: JPI
While Will’s guilt is too much for him to bear, Justin and Sonny go say goodbye to Adrienne, It is here that it was almost too hard to watch, but we soap viewers can’t turn away. That’s because it was just an unbelievable raw performance from Freddie Smith; as a young man who has to say goodbye to the mother he loves and on Mother’s Day to boot. Then, Justin kisses Adrienne’s forehead, remembers the first time he saw her crying in a flashback, and in tears asks his beloved wife, how is he supposed to go on without her. In addition, Justin recalls proposing to Adrienne with Kayla there beside him trying to comfort him.
Courtesy.NBC
In the hospital waiting area, Will tries to talk to Sonny to tell him that he caused the accident. Will blurts out, “I killed your mother.” Sonny, who is so grief-stricken, cannot believe what Will is saying, but then Sonny learns Will was distracted when he was texting his mother Sami on Mother’s Day while in the car because he was so busy. (Yup, Will forgot to do it earlier in the day) Sonny lets Will have it with: “My mom is dead because you were texting?!” As Sonny’s grief and anger escalates, Justin walks in and learns Will caused Adrienne death and then lowers the boom on Will: “The love of my life is dead…because of you!”
Courtesy/NBC
And if all of this wasn’t enough to have you bawling your eyes out by now, it is punctuated by the ultra-sad moment where a defeated Will has to leave his husband and his father-in-law alone because they don’t want him there. Before he exits, Will turns to them and says, that he wishes it had been him who died in the crash, as tears stream down his face.
What powerful and effective performances by Wally Kurth, Chandler Massey, and Freddie Smith. And so, with all of that said, Michael Fairman TV names this trio the “Power Performance of the Week”.
What did you think of the key scenes in Adrienne’s death and the aftermath featuring Wally, Chandler and Freddie? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.
And, for more with Chandler and some behind the scenes content of the car crash, and his thoughts on the storyline, check out his new interview feature posted on the DOOL app Friday night.
While it’s true that most people can watch on the app, it’s a shame that because of the advanced shooting schedule, DAYS cannot preempt episodes. These episodes won’t count towards ratings.
Haven’t read any updates on the contract renegotiations, which are a precursor to getting shooting up and running. As they have episodes through August already shot, the hiatus may go on for a bit.
My station is now showing Days at 12:00 p.m. instead of the usual 1:00 p.m., which is nice. Also on Cozi, but when you have the DVR set up to record DOOL, it doesn’t record DOOL when another show is listed. I had to manually set. I was watching via On Demand, which was nice, except I can’t fast forward through commercials.
Old Vic ain’t going to have a single friend or relative left on your side of Earth’s crust when the truth of all this unholy mess comes out.
Sure, you could understand the instinct to protect Maggie, but at Will’s expense, which by extension means at Sonny’s expense. And Justin’s. And then on top of that, to swap Brady’s living baby for Sarah’s dead one.
If they’re planning to kill Victor off (because John Aniston ain’t up to working anymore) they certainly aren’t leaving any shortage of murder suspects.
Will leaving days
No, Will is not leaving Days.
first and foremost hats off to days love the time jump and if you don’t you aren’t a real fan!everyone was aces this week!the flashbacks with wally and judy were amazing!let’s talk about someone who takes a lot of heat from fans i have never felt anything but positive about freddie smith but know haters have had things to say his performance in these episodes was stellar! gut wrenching and raw as he said goodbye to his mother once again days keep up the momentum you are on point
Last week was descent, but what about all the other weeks Ron has been in charge as head writer? Days is down a half million fans from last season and averaging below 1.9 right now. The fans of Ron love Ciara/Ben, Marlena/John, Jen/Jack, Eric/Nicole, Justin/Kayla and ratings are still dropping. Maybe he needs to shake it up and go against the fans that rave about him and listen to his people that are leaving in droves.
All were good performances, but let’s be honest the writing/editing/production during this time jump has been awful. Justin was OTT considering he just remarried Adrienne not long ago, after being divorced for cheating..we’ve already been set up that he started a relationship with one of Adrienne’s best friends/sister in law within 3 months and at 6 they were declaring love moving into together. So, didn’t fly. All the heavy dialogue repeatedly telling us how much Adrienne and Will loved each other, etc was ridiculous..
All of the performances were wonderful last week, but I really have to give a shout out to Freddie Smith. He put it all out there, and I was a sobbing mess right along with him. Kudos, Freddie. You knocked it out of the park!
Yes he sure did
I thought the three actors were phenomenal. Real tear jerking scenes. Bravo Wally Kurtz, Freddie Smith & Chandler Massey
At the end of the day (no pun intended), NBC/Sony needs to work with Ken Corday and fix these issues with Days of our Lives. The genre, on daytime network, is approaching its expiration. Network t.v. as a whole ratings are declining with all the streaming services, etc. You will not pull in enough younger demographic to off-set the loss of your overall numbers. For me (long time fan) it’s easy to take Days off DVR because the quality just isn’t good anymore. The time jump impacted so, much to include quality production, etc. A new writer not so, much into Sci-Fi and rinse/repeat triangles for angst maybe the way to go. All this week back showed, is that they should have stayed in the present and let the stories play out.
I agree..
The time just has messed this up..I still hope some one will waken up from a bad dream and have it back to normal where no one died
I believe Days made a huge mistake in killing off Adrienne. I used to be a huge Days fan, I was even an extra in the Bo and Hope wedding. I’ve just seen too many good characters get lost in the shuffle of the soap opera so I stopped watching it. The classic characters should remain on the show that is your life blood, but Days does not recognize that apparently, which is why I no longer watch the show. I’m sure Wally Kurth, Freddie Smith and Chandler Macy gave an outstanding performance, no doubt. But I feel that you need to keep your classic characters on the show as well. I think killing off Adrian, a.k.a. Judi Evans was totally wrong.
I shed lots of tears. Bravo!!! The guys knocked it out of the ballpark.
Their performance was outstandind better than some of these high paying actors great job
Such good episodes and acting. It’s a shame they have to be interrupted. Freddie really seemed to be distraught. I can’t believe that Maggie is to blame. And then the ripple effects with Victor and Xander switching the babies–Kristen killing Haley, JJ back on drugs, Brady and Kristen breaking up, etc.
I also feel so bad for Judi that Adrienne died especially with her son dying IRL.
I also enjoyed the flashbacks.
Best performance in the death scenes was Judy Evans.
Days Of Our Lives
Sydney Malekeh Joins the Cast of ‘Days of Our Lives’ in Mystery Role: Who Do You Think She’s Playing?
There’s a new gal coming to Salem, or is she new and a recast? That’s what inquiring minds from Days of Our Lives fans have been trying to figure out since the Peacock soap opera dropped an Instagram video heralding actress‘ Sydney Malekeh’s arrival in Salem.
The soap did confirm that viewers will first see Malekeh on the September 9 episode. In the video, Malekeh is seen going set to set from her dressing room and in to the halls of Days of Our Lives studios.
What we do know id that Sydney has been acting professionally for 6 years and had appeared on Grey’s Anatomy, Apple TV’s Shrinking and the HBO Max’s The Sex Lives of College Girls.
Plenty of Malekeh’s DAYS castmates jumped into the comment thread with positive emojis symbols or written excitement including: Paul Telfer (Xander), Linsey Godfrey (Sarah), Sal Stowers (Lani), Conner Floyd (Chad), Eric Martsolf (Brady) and Christie Clark (Carrie) and more now that fans will finally see her on-air. Since Days of Our Lives tapes 10-11 months in advance, Sydney would have started taping the show sometime back in 2025.
DAYS fans think perhaps because the actress’ name is Sydney that she might be playing the grown-up daughter of Sami and EJ. That character hasn’t bee on the canvas since 2021.
So, who do you think Sydney Malekeh might be playing on Days of Our Lives? Drop your casting director thoughts via the comment section below.
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Days Of Our Lives
Peacock Hikes Subscription Rates for Fourth Time in Four Years; ‘Days of Our Lives’ Fans Sound Off
While recently the streaming service Peacock reported turning a profit for its first time since its infancy, now comes word that the company is raising their prices for all customers, and in some cases it stared today on August 18.
The news of the subscription rate increases marks the fourth time the NBCUniversal streaming platform has done so in four years. So, on August 18, Peacock is increasing the prices for new or returning subscribers and customers, while current subscribers will see the rate increase on or after September 17 depending on their billing cycle when they initially signed up.
Here is the new pricing to follow along: Peacock Premium (which includes ads) will be $12.99/month, up two dollars from $10.99; Peacock Premium Plus will be $19.99/month, up three dollars increase from $16.99; and the Peacock Select tier (which includes current and past seasons of NBC and Bravo shows but excludes movies, live sports and Peacock originals) will increase a dollar from $7.99 to $8.99/month.
Photo: JPI
SUBSCRIBERS CONTINUE TO PAY MORE ACROSS THE STREAMER LANDSCAPE
It was back in June that the streamer reported that aid subscribers were up to 48 million adding a 2 million net gain during Q2 in of 2026. The subscription price hikes are rampant now in the entertainment streaming industry where over the last two years for example, Netflix, HBO Max, Apple TV, Paramount+ have all raised their fees to consumers.
Peacock’s tier-levels feature not only Days of Our Lives, but reality hits such as The Traitors and Love Island USA, Bravo series, and a vault of Saturday Night Live, Law & Order, The Real Housewives franchise, and Below Deck episodes as well. Pecock Premium and Premium Plus subscribers have access to sports and live events, as well.
DAYS OF OUR LIVES SUBSCRIBERS HAD A FEW CHOICE WORDS FOR PEACOCK
As Days of Our Lives fans know, the soap opera moved from NBC to the streamer back in September of 2022 after 57 years on broadcast television. When the news hit X on the price increase, DAYS fans had a lot to say about it. Here are just a few of the comments below:
“I can’t believe Peacock and can’t come to a deal with Cordya to air old episodes of #Days. That alone would bring a ton of subscribers,” to If Peacock actually cared about #Days of Our Lives, gave the show the budget it needs for better sets, cameras, background actors and enough time to tell proper stories, I wouldn’t mind paying more. If the money actually showed on screen, the higher price would be worth it,” to “I will continue to pay for a Peacock subscription as long as #Days is on it, but did we know there was another price increase coming?” and more.
So, what do you think of the new price hike increase to watch Days of Our Lives and your other favorite shows and events on Peacock? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Days Of Our Lives
‘Veronica & Julian’ Feature Starring ‘Days of Our Lives’ Alums Nadia Bjorlin and Kyler Pettis Releases Key Art and More (Exclusive)
In the upcoming indie feature Veronica & Julian from director Otoja Abit, two former Days of Our Lives stars, Nadia Bjorlin (ex-Chloe Lane) and Kyler Pettis (ex-Theo Carver), headline the drama feature in this story of a May-December romance that faces challenges along the way.
Veronica & Julian centers on a confident and successful marketing executive (Bjorlin) who winds up falling for a younger aspiring architect (Pettis). From there, a journey of desire and self-discovery is set against the backdrop of present-day New York City.
The cast also includes: Blake Jenner (ex-Glee), Erin Cummings, Chrystee Pharris (ex-Simone Russell, Passions and Queens of Drama), Robert Lee Leng, Mark Famiglietti and Jennafer Newberry.
Photo:
LIVE CHAT WITH NADIA AND KYLER PLANNED
Now, Michael Fairman TV can share exclusively: the key poster art below, and that current plans that call for Veronica & Julian to be released and made available late this holiday season.
In addition, Nadia and Kyler will join us for a very special livestream conversation on the Michael Fairman Channel (Monday, Aug 24 – 3PM ET/Noon PT) to chat about their roles in the film, their time on Days of Our Lives, life post-soap opera, and much more. Fans can join the live chat and pose their questions to the actors as well.
Courtesy/Bright Leicht Content LLC
THE THEMES BEHIND VERONICA & JULIAN
Director Otoja Abit shared this statement on the feature film, “Veronica & Julian is about the right people who have a chance meeting at the wrong time. It’s a look at two people who don’t grow apart—they just grow up. This film is an authentic exploration of an imminent ending and how two people deeply in love got there. It aims to be quiet while telling a relatable story about modern-day relationships.”
Abit continued, “As a society, mainstream romantic films are often delivered through fantastical aspirations. I created this film believing that viewers who have experienced a breakup can relate to Veronica and Julian, depending on their perspective. They’re a couple navigating some of the most familiar obstacles in love: miscommunication, timing and pride.”
He concluded, “It’s a story about endings told through the small moments we often don’t recognize until they’re gone. With the support of the Panavision New Filmmaker Program, I approached the story with a deeper sense of visual control while maintaining the naturalism that defines each character.”
Photo: Bright Leicht Content LLC
NADIA AND KYLER GOT THEIR FIRST BIG BREAK IN SOAPS
As Days of Our Lives fans know, Bjorlin is best known for her long-running role as Chloe Lane. Nadia played the part from 1999-2023 with various runs in Salem. She is also known for her role as Lara in the Venice the Series since 2009. Nadia’s other TV and film credits include: A Murder Between Friends, NCIS, Two Broke Girls and more.
Pettis played Theo Carver on Days of Our Lives from 2015-2018 and earned himself a Daytime Emmy for his work in the now defunct Outstanding Younger Actor in a Daytime Drama Series back in 2019. His other TV credits include roles on: The Rookie, All American: Homecoming and Ray Donovan.
Veronica and Julian is written, produced and directed by Abit and produced through his Willful Productions alongside Kory Apton and Ian Phillips. Executive producers include: Nick Leicht, Gregory Sinche, Shelly Sinche, Torsten Sippel, Tim Freydberg, Ryan Schulke and Matthew Conlin.
So, intrigued to see Nadia and Kyler as a romantic couple in the film Veronica & Julian? Miss them on Days of Our Lives? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
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