Days Of Our Lives
EXCLUSIVE: Melissa Archer DAYS Exit Interview: How She Was Told She Was Let-Go, Serena's Story With Elephant Statues, Blood Diamonds, Eric, and Xander!

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She’s really a class act. Too bad things had to go the way they did and I wish her the best. I know people who know her personally and they say she is a great person.
What is sad is that such a remarkable actress was given a deplorable, and nonsensical role, Anacarrie. We could not expect a good outcome. The same pain is inflicted upon Michelle Stafford, Michael Easton, and Roger Howarth.
As Serena on Days, Melissa could have gone far with her talent. But, TPTB would rather keep Paige and Abby. So sick of that cry baby.
I agree. Honestly, after a month of watching; I began to lose interest; not because of her but because of the story. I liked seeing her in a different role than Natalie, who I loved. She lightens up the screen; hopefully she will find a good platform to showcase her abilities.
CeeCee you are on point! She’s a wonderful actress and her storyline didn’t sit well with me from the beginning. I hope she get’s cast in another Soap or maybe a prime time show, her talent needs to be seen. As for Michelle, Michael and Roger once again you know the truth. I hope the new writers on GH revive the characters Michelle and Roger play to something worth watching.
love Melissa on Days, but wish its was better SL
This woman continues to be so gracious, Days lost a gem. Actually two, her and Paul T were amazing together. So much chemistry between them.
I agree. Both of them had charisma and were NOT fast-forward material like some others (cough, cough Paige and JJ).
It is a shame that they could not keep these two and find a real story for them. With the loss of James Scott (EJ) it was nice to have a handsome man with an accent again.
Why don’t these writers ever know what to do with the talent they have?
Well said!!!
She shouldve been Sarah Horton…in scenes with SR(Maggie) i knew right then and there i was right…she shouldve been Maggies daughter!!! BIG mistake Days!!!
Isn’t that the truth
They could always bring her back as Sarah. After all, Paul Telfer was Damon before being Xander. Wayne Northrop was Roman before being Alex. Josh was Chris Kositchek [sp?] before being Roman.
Thats true…maybe she will be back!!!
Wonderful interview Melissa! You warmed my heart with what you said about Michael Easton. John and Natalie were and are my all time favorites. I would so welcome seeing you two together again. Amazing chemistry. Love you both..
Yeah that was nice; she said that before; around the time the OLTL reboot was launched; she said she’d work with Michael Easton any day of the week. They were very good friends; he said when he first joined GH that they still kept in touch. Not sure if they do now but she and he did have good chemistry.
she is amazing…a real class act. days did her no favors with that story line. it didn’t showcase her talent AT ALL. i agree that she should have been cast as sarah horton. she would have had more interaction with more characters. it would have been nice to see. i have and will watch anything she is in. can’t wait to hear what she is working on next.
From your mouth to the Soapgods ears Melissa. The stories for Melissa and Michael at Days and GH respectively did them no favors. Such a disappointment and underuse of fan favorites. I too hope we get to see Michael and Melissa work together again and witness their amazing chemistry.
I well always think .of her in greem bay shirt
Yes yes and again yes. Loved Melissa saying she would welcome the opportunity to work with Michael Easton again…Hope springs eternal
THEIR CHEMISTRY IS OFF-THE-CHARTS PHENOMENAL!!!!!!!!
I completely agree with Jimh. The show missed the boat by not casting her as Sarah Horton. If she had been Sarah, I think they’d definitely keep her around despite the inanity of the elephant/diamond storyline.
I enjoyed Melissa as Serena. When she first started appearing on Days, the story was promising. It went south for me when Serena and Nicole had the cat fight in Victor’s club. Maybe if the writers had done a better job with the story, the audience would have enjoyed the story more and Melissa would not have been let go. I believe the “priority storyline” was the one involving Will and Sonny. It seems that was a major priority with the powers that be at NBC. However, that story did not go over very will with the fans. So it… Read more »
These past few years, DAYS has been much more interested in winning GLAAD awards than in entertaining the audience. You noticed that too, huh?
I believe the powers that be at NBC used Days to move/support its own agenda regarding the LGBT community. I also believe that community appreciated what Days did with the storyline. I believe Days’ approach was “if we are going to do this, let’s do a good job”. That said, I never wanted or was ever in favor of a gay storyline. My feelings about that have never wavered. I was especially disappointed that the character of Will Horton was used because I was vehemently opposed to having a gay character in one of the main families. Unfortunately they hit… Read more »
I like Melissa’s idea about having Serena go all the way to the dark side. The stage has already been set for that by Eric’s rejection of her. So if Days brings Melissa back at a future time, they could do so using her as an alternative villian Eileen Davidson’s Kristen. (I don’t believe Kristen is dead.) It could work out very nicely if they alternate villian stories between Kristen to Serena. Then both actresses would be free to pursue other projects while maintaining a role on Days. That’s what I would do with those two actresses.
I wish Melissa could stay, too. I’m up for anything for Serena, EXCEPT coming between a Supercouple. That never ends well.
ITA, Gmbenet, although if you make even one PEEP against the gay storyline, you get called a homophobe, which is ridiculous, because we don’t object to gay characters on the show. What we object to is the OVERKILL. That gay wedding that took up a whole week .. with no drama, no irony .. the kind of wedding fans have been yearning for .. Sami&EJ fans would have loved one .. Eric&Nicole fans would have loved one .. they’d actually EARNED it after everything they’d been through. Wil & Sonny? Not so much. The agenda has been VERY heavy-handed, no… Read more »
I do object to having gay characters on the show…. I always did and I haven’t changed on it. As for being called a homophobe, “sticks and stones…” I couldn’t care less what they call me.
I too wish DAYS hadn’t made Will gay. Sonny, Paul and Derek, ok, but we’d seen Will with Gaby, he’d always liked girls, and making him turn gay was just out of the blue. If DAYS had any guts, they’d turn Will back. At least make him “bi”. He and Gaby could fall back in love and raise their little girl together. How awesome would that be?
Before Alison Sweeney left I wanted Sami to wake up from a dream and say she had dreamed that Will was gay! Will and Sonny (also straight) could be best friends. Not too late if the writers and producers had the guts to do it!
the problem with gay characters, is that every soap has to turn it into an “afterschool special” to “educate” the audience (brainwash is more like it!) that this is “normal” and if you don’t agree, you’re a bigot. Justin saying “it’s no different than having brown or blue eyes”. GMAB! Victor: “If you think there’s anything wrong with it, then you’re just ignorant.” Or .. maybe you have religious objections .. or you know how nature works .. lol .. also, many fans don’t want to watch the love scenes. I tape the show so I can FF, but some… Read more »
Amen to that!
The character of Serena had great potential; she came onto the show with an edge, an edge that the regime quickly dropped, and I was disappointed. Serena quickly became some kind of camp character you could not root for. Melissa truly got the short-end of the stick, as Serena was miles better in concept than Natalie. I hope she’s able to find footing in primetime.
It is unfortunate Melissa’s character was written the way she was. It did not help endear her to the Days fans. Melissa is a fiery actress and her talents were wasted on the character of Serena. The same thing happened to Michael Easton on GH as Silas. I wish Melissa success in the future but must admit I would welcome her working with Michael again. It could not happen soon enough for this fan.
I say recast them as Billy and Victoria on Y&R. Seeing how Melissa was just an employee of Sony, they are pretty loyal. I am sure she is back to Y&R or DAYS in the future.
One of my all-time favorite soap stars! What a refreshing, mature attitude. DOOL really wasted a gem on this clinker of a story. I will miss her, but I wish Melissa well and will follow her onto her next projects, as always.
Thank you for this very insightful interview.
I think she was stuck in a bad storyline. She seems very gracious and has the right attitude that it had nothing to do with her personally. It’s too bad they couldn’t figure it out. I hope she finds a new gig soon.
The only “white elephant” in the room was Serena herself. Her storyline was a dud from the start.
My thoughts are this: DAYS asked her to join the show, and then failed spectacularly to give her any remotely viable material to work with. Serena’s storlyline consisted of looking for an elephant statue for six months while the audience had no clue why the statue was important. Simultaneously, she’s hurting the most decent guy in Salem and coming between a popular pairing. On top of that, Eric’s history was rewritten. All these strikes right out of the gate and she had the lamest storyline on the show to boot. The only reason I watched it at all is because… Read more »
Sorry sorry to see Serena written out of the show. The character has so much promise. I love the idea of her being Maggie’s daughter. Perfect fit. I think this is a loss for DOOL. That is the problem I find with this show. You begin caring about the character’s and their story and poof… they are gone, leaving the fan’s empty. Melissa is such a powerful actress. There is room for Serena on the canvas. I think this is a mistake. Hopefully Melissa will move to B&B. (Since I don’t watch Y & R).
LOVE DAYS SO MUCH , I HAVE BEEN WATCHING THIS SHOW FOR YEARS, BUT I WANT ERIC TO GET WITH NICHOLE NOT SPELLED CORRECT, AND BRADY NOT WITH THAT BITCH THAT HAS THE BABY TO.HE NEED’S SOMEONE SPECIAL IN HIS LIFE, I LOVE DANIAL HE IS SO PRECIOUS,BUT I UNDERSTAND HE IS LEAVING TO,WHY ARE ALL THE HOT GUY’S GOING? LOVE THEM, AND PLEASE DO NOT GET RID OF RAFE PLEASE HE NEED’S TO BE WITH HOPE. LOVE YOU GUY’S SO MUCH. GOD BLESS YOU ALL AND GOOD LUCK TO YOUR SHOW WE ENJOY IT HERE IN PENNSYLVANIA, IS THIS… Read more »
What a classy person Melissa is. She was very kind and gracious in this interview and didn’t rip the writing apart like Tony Geary did with his GH departure. No, the situations aren’t the same, and yes, the writing for Tony’s farewell was bad, but so was the story Melissa was given on DAYS. She played it her best, and doesn’t blame the writers for her exit. She will be missed. DAYS made a huge mistake by wasting Melissa Archer on a boring story and a bad character. Had she been cast as Sarah Horton, and given a much more… Read more »
Thats what i said…Sarah Horton…and with her former OLTL star who played Rex joining Days as Philip they couldve been reunited in scenes together!!!
I honestly feel, she should have been brought over to GH…to play NINA CLAY…her and Easton…would have been great!!
I feel the same way! You know they were teasing the audience when Silas was talking about Nina, a feisty redhead, they wanted us to think of Melissa. That would have been so much fun, to see them together in totally different roles.
Yes Melissa would have made Nina interesting and not as over the top as MS. You know she and ME would have had chemistry. Even when they are angry at each other they sizzle.
Yes..It really would have been awesome! I think it would have really been the best…Can you even imagine if she was in the role now…having to be a crazy person…in Love with Franco..Roger Howarth?? LOL…funny stuff!!! Love him…
BUT SHE CAN COME OVER NOW BECAUSE MICHAEL IS BACK ON THERE NOW AS HAMILTON FINN NOT SURE WHAT TO MAKE OF HIS CHARACTER HE BETTER BE A GOOD GUY I AM SURE HE IS I JUST DO NOT LIKE SEEING MICHAEL(HIS CHARACTER THAT IS DOING THOSE RIDICULOUS INJECTIONS & THAT LIZARD JUST PLAIN STUPID! HAVING SAID THAT MELISSA NEEDS TO BE ON GH RIGHT BY HIS SIDE! I LOVE MICHAEL
TO CONTINUE: AND I LOVE MELISSA & I WILL NOT WATCH GH UNTIL SHE COMES ON BOARD AT LEAST HARDLY AT ALL EXCEPT FOR WHEN MICHAEL IS ON BUT EVEN THEN IT IS VERRRRY HARD BECAUSE MELISSA IS NOT THERE, YET? BUT SHE WILL BE VERRRRY SOOOON!
OH boy Kathryn I sure as heck hope so. I miss seeing them both sooo much.
Agree with the posters that said Melissa should have been Sarah Horton. I know she is glad for the opportunity however the role of Serena was destined for failure. Why do that to an actor? As always Melissa is a class act and I wish her success. I like many prior posters would love to see a reunion with Michael Easton. It is long overdue.
Melissa is such a class act. I loved Serena and wish they had developed her character past the Eric drama. She has so much potential. She would have been great with any of the other guys in Salem. I agree with whoever said Days should be embarrassed, any show that doesn’t know how to use Melissa Archer properly has some major problems. Will watch whatever she shows up on next. Hopefully soon.
Love Melissa Archer and Paul Telfer. Will follow them to their next shows.
Thanks for this interview Mr. Fairman. Melissa Archer gave a graceful, level headed and mature point of view about her being let go from Days. I also enjoyed her interview regarding her time on Days and experience. I watch both Days and GH (mostly Days) and wasn’t crazy about the elephant story line. I was like oh no….But I wish her lots of luck and would love to see her paired again with Michael Easton. They were a great pairing on OLTL (IMO) and would love to re-visit that again, to watch and be entertained. Front row seats for me:)… Read more »
Loved Melissa’s interview. She is always very forthcoming with her answers. I too wish both Melissa and Michael loads of success and would love to see them together again MUCH SOONER THAN LATER.
Me three. Damn I would love to see Michael and Melissa paired together again. So wrong what GH did to our OLTL characters. They had more story to come. I would welcome it online or on screen
DO NOT WORRY LIZA WE ARE GOING TO HAVE ONE ON GH OF THEM I KNOW IT, I FEEL IT,!!! AND ALSO I BELIEVE THE LONGER ME IS ON GH & I DON’T KNOW HIS CONTRACT SITUATION THE BETTER CHANCE OF MELISSA COMING ABOARD & FV KNOWS HER SOOOOO WELL & LOVVVES HER SOOOOO MUCH JUST LIK .ME (PETS)!!!! I DO NOT SEE HIM IN ANY LONG-TERM PAIRING WITH ANY ACTRESS CURRENTLY ON GH & I ALSO READ THAT THEY ARE FIXIN’ TO DO SOME MAJOR SPRING CLEANING(TIGHTENING PURSE STRINGS). HALF OF THE ACTRESSES ON GH NEED TO GO WAYYYYY… Read more »
IT US GOING TOO HAPPEN!!!!!!!#
THEY WILL BE ON GH VERRRRY SOOOON!!!!!! COUNT ON IT!
I really hope so. I was also wondering as of rgt now who they would pair him off with and can’t think of any1. That would work out anyway. I read Michael Easton’s interview and yes, I’m sure they’re giving him a great storyline, but u need serious chemistry too. So fingers crossed, somehow it’s w/MA:) Fingers crossed…
It seems like ME and Carly will be paired. Hopefully short term and then please please bring Melissa on board. I hope we get to see Michael and Melissa work their magic again. Love them so.
Very classy, very optimistic, thoughtful person! Is there please a soap or prime time that can take Michael Easton and Melissa? They have such screen chemistry. Or, GH needs a spunky female. How about Melissa as a true love rival with Nina for Francos affection? She needs to come and light up the females in Port Charles.
CLAUDETTE IS COMING SOOOON & SAID SHE IS A BEAUTIFUL RED-HAIRED ACTRESS IT COULD VERRRRY WELL BE MELISSA(ARCHER)! ALSO SAID SOMEONE NAMED MELISSA IS COMING COULD BE THE SAME PERSON ALSO SAID SHE IS FIERY& THAT IS MELISSA! WHAT DOES EVERYONE ELSE OUT THERE THINK? I REALLLLY HOPE IT IS TRUE!!!
Kathryn, I would LOVE for Melissa to join GH. We have waited over 4 years to see them together. It is time…Honestly don’t know about Claudette.
Serena is a good character and knows about blood diamonds and everything and I do want continue on days and what she will have plans next on days
Days made the right move in firing her. I am sorry she was a horrible actress. Her scenes made me fall a sleep lol. Days need to bring back Anna Dimera, Austin and Carrie.
Sorry it is no longer the 1990’s, the show can only have so many 50+ characters
McCay, not McKay
Melissa Archer continues to be such a class act. I have read other interviews with her OLTL co-stars like Bree that played Jessica and Erika that played Vicki, they both talked about how super sweet Melissa is.
Serena character was a bust from the beginning, she was dealt with a lame story and bad writing from the get go. She could always come back to Days down the road as a new character.
What a great interview. Thank you Michael for posting it.
I love Melissa from her wonderful work on OLTL. She is definitely a classy lady too. I am so sorry her talent was so poorly used by Days.
Thank you Melissa for your excellent work and best of luck in your very bright future.
Melissa is always classy, but Days really messed up big time in both her story and firing her. In the Daniel, Nicole, Eric, and Serena story, she was the only interesting part.
Wonderful actress!
She handled all this so well. She IS a class act. I can’t believe she didn’t meet the Executive Producer until her last day! I hope we see her again soon.
I just wish ABC would bring back OLTL. Don’t they realize how happy that would make so many viewers?
They do indeed realize that. That’s why they are not doing so.
I loved Melissa Archer and Michael Easton, they compliment each other, I hope Young and Restless pick them both up, both are very talented, and I will miss seeing them.
I can’t believe she did not meet the producer until her last day either.! Melissa was wasted on Days and Easton’s character of Silas was not a stand out character like McBain. It is difficult to watch two actors that have done so well together be in roles that do not do them justice. I truly hope we get to see those two work their magic together again.
DAYS has more than one executive producer.
Lovely interview with a warm and gracious young woman. Her role on DOOL was ill defined and almost thankless, but she was always present and committed. Totally professional. I would like to see where she lands in the future. If GH wasn’t so overflowing with characters, I could see her as a recast for Sarah Webber.
DEFINITELY SARAH WEBBER!!!!! I HEARD SARAH IS COMING AT SOME POINT ESPECIALLY SINCE(RH)LIZ IS STICKING AROUND(RE-SIGNED), SHE IS GONNA NEED HER SISTER & MA(SARAH)&ME (HAMILTON) THAT WOULD BE SOOOOO FANTASTIC WE ALL WOULD FINALLY HAVE OUR MA&ME RE-UNION!!!!! BUT I WILL TAKE HER ON GH AS ANYONE NEW CHARACTER OR RE-CAST ALONG WITH A GREAT STORY & RE-UNITED WITH MICHAEL AGAIN! IT SEEMS TO ME ALOT OF ACTORS/ACTRESSES ARE FIXING TO EXIT GIVEN HOW GH HAS TO TIGHTEN IT’S PURSE STRINGS THEIR CAST IS WAYYYYY TOO BIG(BLOATED). WITH THAT BEING SAID MA NEEDS TO COME ASAP BECAUSE MICHAEL IS NOT… Read more »
Melissa is a class act. She will have continued success. I hope we get to see her paired with Michael Easton again. Those two were hot onscreen!
Melissa is a class act. Cant wait to see where she goes next.
Nice, long article, but I kept waiting to hear something about Melissa being reunited with Kassie DePaiva. It would’ve also been fun to see their characters interact on Days. I love Kassie as Eve.
Am I the only one who thinks filming 6 months ahead does more harm than good? It seems like they could tweak story lines a lot easier, especially when a story is going in the wrong direction!
I hope Melissa and Michael Easton reunite soon. His talent was also wasted on GH. In a perfect world, that screen would be OLTL.
I agree with you, Bella, about the filming schedule. By the time the show learns that fans aren’t happy with a storyline, 6 months worth of shows are waiting to be shown.
If the show filmed only 3 or 4 weeks out then writers could respond more quickly to fix storyline problems.
Very well said.
I think the storyline Serena Zander & the elephant did go on long and we were not sure of the direction…..however looking back now it stands to reason the SL had to come to an end…….sorry to see both Melissa and Paul leave Days enjoyed their characters, they were an integral part of the show!
The problem is they brought her in as a new love interest for Eric. Eric already has a love interest, Nicole. Being a former priest and as religious as he is, it offended me that he could just drop his great love for Nicole and go to bed with Serena. I was excited when Melissa came on the show, but when I saw what they’d brought her on to do, I tuned out.
I agree with that. Eric and Nicole’s history is pretty set and I always thought they were endgame. When I saw that Serena was going to be pitted between the two, I feard that she would not be well received. Nicole is complicated but adored by her fans. She gets in her own way but to make Serena like the perfect girlfriend…I knew it would be a disaster. I figured that Nicole would do everything to make her look bad and everyone would be mad at Nicole only for her to be proven right later on. Too bad.
Melissa is a class act. I wish her success . I enjoyed her with Michael a Easton. They definitely worked well together. Golden pairing. Would love to see them again on our screens.
Agreed. The Easton and Archer dynamic was great. I would certainly welcome that again. Gorgeous couple!
Golden pairing is correct. It seems to me these actors were given awful storylines and not used to their full potential. It made me sad to witness this. These two are magic. Anybody awake can see this. Hook them up already.
I would like to see her come back and hook up with Eric I think they would be great together after the diamond thing got settled.
Melissa is gracious to the end!. I can’t believe Days chose to fire her and kept Paige. I get that Days needs to make room for Stephen Nichols, Peter Reckell, Thaao Penghlis etc but why did they have to fire Melissa?
I never became attached to the character Serena, but it was because of how the storyline was handled. If I had known right away that blood diamonds were involved then I think I would have been more interested. Also, the show never gave the character a very attractive hairstyle. It was always down and crabby. Her dismissal is part of a larger problem I have with Days. I’ve been a viewer for only 4 years, so the great characters and storylines from the past that are coming back either temporarily or permanently for the 50th mean NOTHING to me. But… Read more »
What a class act. I wish the actress well, she was great. However, Serena was a dud. DOOL made the same mistake with her as it did with Chrishell Stause (ex-Jordan). It assumed that it can just cast a veteran actress from another soap and that the fans will immediately follow and stay for the show, without them developing the character. Firstly, she came on as a friend of Melanie’s, but they didn’t interact nearly enough, so it made no sense. Nor did the elephant storyline make sense, as she isn’t being prosecuted for it and t has nothing to… Read more »
She was wasted in the part. She should have been Sarah Horton or one of Melissa Horton’s kids with that red hair. She would have made a great love interest for Brady. Good actress, wrong role.
Wow what a gracious and professional young woman Melissa Archer is. I liked Serena and Melissa is a gorgeous, fantastic actress but Days wasted her. First mistake pairing her with Eric. They had chemistry but he was too dull. In contrast to Serena and Xander who were explosive and hot. Very sexy pair. They should have dropped that Eric story quickIy and went with Serena and Xander full throttle. l also think Brady would have been a better fit. They sparked in their last few scenes. Days is making a huge mistake getting rid of Melissa Archer and Serena when… Read more »
I am saddened to see Melissa Archer gone from Days . I did not watch it until Kassie DePaiva and then Melissa and Greg Vaughn were on it. They are great actors and I have met and spoke with them at soap opera events..All i can say is that Days made a mistake in letting her go. I wish nothing but the best for Melissa in the future . Good Luck and God Bless.
Melissa Archer is a classy lady given a bad storyline. Michael Easton is a classy man given a bad storyline. Hmmmmm……IT IS DEFINITELY TIME FOR A REUNION…
What a great interview & an all-around class act! Best of luck, Melissa!!
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