Days Of Our Lives
Mike Manning On His DAYS Departure: “Thank You to NBC, to Everyone Involved, and Most of All to the Fans That Were Along for the Ride With This Crazy Character.”
Now it’s the end of the line for Charlie on Days of our Lives, his portrayer Mike Manning took to his Instagram for some parting words of his time in Salem playing this very bad dude.
As Days fans know, many people wanted Charlie dead, and now he is! Thus begins a good old fashioned soap murder mystery on the long-running NBC soap opera, the question now is, who ultimately did the deed?
Photo: JPI
After getting a copy of the latest Soap Opera Digest on newsstand now, which features, “Who Killed Charlie?” on the cover, Manning shared in a post on Friday: Everybody has a motive to want this guy dead.” 😂 Not exactly how I pictured my first soap magazine cover, but at least we’re having a good time with it. It’s been fun Salem. I’ll love you all forever. ✌🏼💙. Thank you to NBC, to everyone involved, and most of all to the fans that were along for the ride w/ this crazy character. You’re amazing. I’ll always be grateful for you. Excited to share what’s next as soon as I can. Arrivederci. -Charlie/Mike”
So place your bets on who will turn out to be the murderer via the comment section below and let us know what you thoughts on Mike’s run on DAYS!
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I’m sad to see Charlie go as he brought drama and I liked the actor. But, as we know, he can always come back! 🙂
Mr. Manning, thank you for your outstanding work on DOOL! I was hoping that the character of Charlie Dale — or is it “Del?” or “Dill?” I was never certain — would somehow be able to continue in the role. You are an appealing, fantastic actor with great range and presence.
If your character were on GH, the character might have had a chance, as that show has staked its franchise on the glorification of criminals: first, for decades, rapist Luke Spencer, then, for decades, murderer/abuser/mob boss Sonny. Maybe if Herb Alpert’s “Rise” had been playing during the flashback rape scenes, it would have helped.
Nonetheless, you have many fans thanks to DOOL, and we eagerly anticipate good things for you, Mr. Manning!
Well, it’s not like Days hasn’t redeemed its share of vile characters… Ben Weston’s a “reformed” serial killer, for Hell’s sake!
And then there’s Elvis “EJ” DiMera who went from Sami’s rapist to the so-called “love of her life”. Pretty much the same thing with his adopted sister, Kristen.
And even right now, ReRon is doing his damnedest to turn Ava Vitali and even Gwen (Rizchek?? Deveraux?? what are we calling her now??) into some sort of sympathetic victims we’re supposed to feel sorry for, due to the family circumstances they were raised in.
Stefan DiMera couldn’t really be redeemed, so they brought him back as a twin brother. Considering how Ava seems to have forgotten Charlie’s entire existence until just recently, how the Hell do we know she didn’t also forget he had a twin brother. So maybe (in the words of my neighbor Poppy Bush) we’ll see a “kindler, gentler” Charlie in the form of his twin brother down the road.
Sonny & Luke got new leases on life because they were too good to be thrown away after 13 weeks. Charlie as a character? No chance in Hell… but Mike Manning under a new character? Who knows.
Saying I always agree with Satan is a scary thing! But, I do. Your comments are right on the mark! Here’s a question; who the hell is his father? Dale/Del/Dill? She’s Ava Vitale, this week she said his father was a guy named Jimmy Jackamo……don’t get me started on that. Once again Ron can’t tell a straight story. And suddenly she has a picture of holding Charlie as a baby??? Oh M Gee.
Moto62
I had read somewhere that Jake might turn out to be his bio dad, since Charley, Ava, Jake and Gwen all come from Penn.but that hasn’t panned out.
Oddly enough, when Gabi mentioned “Ava Vitali, mafia princess” to Jake today, there was no reaction from him.
Not saying he was necessarily Charlie’s daddy, but given his past dealings with “the Philadelphia mob”, it seems unlikely that he would not recognize Ava’s name. Unless there’s some other Philly mob family out there (possibly another one of ReRon’s dumb inside jokes for the OLTL fans, since that show was based in PA)
Gwen & Jake – by all rights – should already know Ava, and probably Charlie too. But they seem to be forgetting where these two allegedly came from, since they moved into the DiMera mansion.
Yes, everything you say makes sense but why did they stress from the beginning that Jake came from Philly, bringing Gwen along with him. We know they don’t say things that don’t mean anything, or will in the future. Also, sending Steve and John to Philly to talk/threaten Ava’s cousin and later on Victor himself to settle the wimpy Philip’s problems with the “family” has got to tie in to Jake. I can’t believe it’s just coincidence that he was from there and had been tied in with the mob. Also, what about that book, remember the one he had that he said belonged to the big boss?
I know there are more than one mob in a city, especially one as notorious as Philly but with their tentacles reading out to Salem via Ava,Charley,and possibly Jake is very interesting to say the least.
Unlike what happened with the rapist Luke Spencer on GH, the writers on DOOL understand that there is no justifiable redemption for rapist Charlie or any other.
Huh? Current DAYS head writer, Ron Carlivati, wrote years of storylines for Todd Manning (OLTL) and started the “redemption path” for Franco when he reintroduced the character to GH.
Well, the writer on DOOL gave serial killer Ben Weston a free pass, didn’t he? Similar what he did on GH… except Frodd isn’t really so much the serial killer Franco, but more like the serial rapist Todd, pretending to be the serial killer Franco (hence the name “Frodd”)
What Luke did way back in the disco era doesn’t really bear any resemblance to Charlie, Ben, or Frodd. And while the GH writers did a retcon of Luke’s backstory to explain some of his other actions later in life (and botched it badly) they never tried to negate Luke’s rape with “magic DVDs”, a brain tumor, or some sad story about how “mommy never loved me”.
I know DOOL isn’t taping eight months in advance anymore, so why did the writers not change the direction of this storyline? Were they not aware of the fans not liking Charlie? The show needed a character that wasn’t a Horton, Brady or DiMera, I am hoping Mike will be back on the show as a “third” son to Ava. If not, maybe a recast for Dillion Quartermaine on GH?????
He might work as a Morgan Corinthos recast on GH (assuming Bryan Craig doesn’t come back). He’s slightly old for the part (same age as Chad Duel who plays Michael) but in the soap world it’s not that uncommon to play a few years younger than you actually are. Especially when characters who really should still be in grade school have been SORASed to adulthood and nobody really remembers how old they are supposed to be now.
But I could definitely see him as a Corinthos. And given his portrayal of Charlie’s mental issues, he could probably pull off a Morgan bi-polar meltdown, if necessary.
In sorry to see Charlie go. Mike Manning is a fabulous actor and is one to watch.
Are we to think it’s only the people on the cover because I like the idea of it being Belle too. She told him she’d kill him. I’d even like it to be Claire. Isn’t Drake being written off? John killing Charlie intrigues me.
Sami is being charged and that’s too obvious. Ava doing it? I don’t think she would since they are making her a redemption character which, yuck.
I don’t think it’s Allie.
Honestly, I thought Ron would write Gwen into the mystery and she would kill him for her former friendship with Claire. What was the point of those scenes where Gwen & Charlie were talking anyway?
All that being said, I hope it’s Lucas. I love Lucas and Bryan Datillo. Lucas FTW!
Sami is obviously not the killer, but she’s covering for somebody. Allie would be the obvious choice there. Not to say Allie is the killer either, but Sami may THINK she is, which led her to attempt to tamper with the crime scene, which she was doing when Rafe showed up.
John is a viable suspect because he blacked out during the time of the shooting. He was near the crime scene by his own admission (to Marlena) but has no memory of actually going into Charlie’s apartment. But the last thing we saw from him on Friday was flashing back on the sound of a gun shot.
Would Sami also cover up for John? Yeah, because she still feels guilty over causing his aneurysm, and Hell knows he hasn’t been the same since that happened. That said, I doubt John did it either. But he probably saw the killer enter or leave the apartment, heard the gun shot and then blacked out from the residual effects of the aneurysm in his head.
Lucas will obviously be considered a suspect at some point, because he was dumb enough to threaten to kill Charlie right in the middle of Horton Square with several witnesses present. And Lucas would give a false confession to protect Allie, if he thought she did it. We know this, because he already did that for Will, when he was a teenager & shot EJ in the ass.
Gwen would be an interesting suspect, but she’s already apparently going to get away with killing Laura. No way they pin this one on her too. But the real question I have, is…. shouldn’t Gwen & Charlie already have known each other before they came to Salem? You may recall the back story of Gwen & Jake is that they were hiding from the “Philly mob”. And the Philly mob is the Vitali crime family. Oddly enough, I don’t think Jake & Charlie ever had scenes together, nor has Jake been in the same room with Ava that I can remember. But if they were all part of the Vitali circle, it’s not much of a stretch that they would know each other. At one point, I actually thought they were going to make Jake into Charlie’s father (though he doesn’t look old enough for a son that age) because Ava had never mentioned the father’s name until just this week. “Jimmy Jackamo” or something ridiculous like that??
Love him or hate him ( the character), Manning put out an outstanding performance from the onset. He is so versatile, so believable, he should get an award for his short stint.——Awesome!!
Cherlie’s fate was sealed from the onset, nonetheless, many a baddie received his/her redemption –given time. Look at Jack. He raped Kayla….among other “things”. It’s normal fodder for soaps.
I guess TPTB needed him to redeem Ava?—to “unite” Tripp and Allie?
Perhaps, Manning will pop ip elsewhere.
Aside—is Marcie enceinte?
Sorry but I for one did not care for his character.He is a good actor.Good luck in whatever you do.
Friends and Fans,. HELP me remember another soap years ago when a woman character so glad someone died, went up and shot the corpse at a funeral service. This thing with Sammy shooting Charlie for the second time brought back memories, but not enough details.
Shooting a corpse in Salem might not be such a bad idea. If for no other reason than to make sure they’re dead, and less likely to become a Rolf zombie and return a few months later.
Thanks, was hoping Michael F. or maybe some other old timer like me would have some memories of this incident in soap history.
Oddly enough, I do seem to remember some sort of funeral shooting like the one you describe. But I’ll be eternally damned if I can remember what show it was, who the corpse was, or who did the shooting.
Days & GH are the only two soaps that have aired continuously down here in Hell, so if I saw it, it would most likely be on one of those two.
Unless it was on a prime time show. Wouldn’t be surprised if somebody didn’t try to write that scenario more than once.
Satan
Thanks for trying. I think I have watched so many over the years I get them all mixed up in my head.
I really believe John shot Charlie and telling his wife that he heard the load noise, before he blacked out. If this turns out to be true, he will hopefully not be convicted because of his medical condition, whereas one of the other suspects will be facing prison. When are they ever going to find out that Charlie was shot twice, and get a credible ballistic report?
Bring Mike over to Y&R; we need some talented eye candy.
Days Of Our Lives
‘Brilliant Minds’ Officially Canceled After 2 Seasons at NBC; DAYS Alum Al Calderon, OLTL Alum Teddy Sears and Zachary Quinto Among the Cast
After languishing on the bubble for months, on Friday, NBC handed down the decision and canceled the medical drama Brilliant Minds after two seasons.
Brilliant Minds stars Zachary Quinto as neurology physician Oliver Wolf, who’s character and the series is inspired by the life and books of neurologist. Oliver Sacks. The series focuses on the medical mysteries of the mind, as Wolf a larger-than-life neurologist and his team of interns explore the last great frontier, the human mind, while grappling with their own relationships and mental health.
The final six episodes of what will now be the end of its second and final season were already set to air beginning on May 27, after being pulled off the network schedule in February as viewership saw a steep decline. Brilliant Minds second season became the lowest-rated drama on linear TV viewing, which didn’t bode well fo a network renewal, although it had its hard core fan base.
Photo: NBC
There are some exceptional notables in the cast along with the talented Quinto that includes Days of Our Lives alum, Al Calderon (ex-Javi Hernandez) who joined the series in its second season as Nurse Nico Silva, and One Life to Live alum, Teddy Sears (ex-Chad Bennett) who plays Wolf’s love interest and fellow physician, Dr. Josh Nichols.
The rest of the talented cast includes: Tamberla Perry, Ashleigh LaThrop, Alex MacNicoll, Aury Krebs, Spence Moore II, Donna Murphy, John Clarence Stewart, and Brian Altemus.
In an ironic twist of fate on Thursday, April 30, Days of Our Lives finally revealed the actor who was Al Calderon’s successor in the role of Javi, when they announced that actor Jacob Martinez had now stepped into the role. Since DAYS tapes ten months ahead of streaming new episode, Calderon left in the spring of 2025, but will be seen in the part for the final part this month, and then on June 20, Martinez debuts as Salem’s new Javi.
Taking to his Instagram with a sorrowful and heartfelt post on the Brilliant Minds cancellation was Teddy Sears who wrote, “Thank you, Brilliant Minds. I got the call today and I didn’t want to hear, but I knew that it would come, You have to be a particular vintage to quote Don Henley from memory, but that’s the line that came to mind earlier today after I got off the phone with our inimitable showrunner Michael Grassi who delivered the news that NBC has cancelled the series”.
Photo: NBC
Sears continued, “To say that I feel sad to be moving on from these stories, this character, and this cast and crew just doesn’t paint the entire picture. I’m sad, sure. But I’m also deeply grateful that I got hired to play this part, so proud of the stories we told, and the other actors I got to play alongside. I’m excited to see what comes next, what adventures await, and terrified to be without a professional home. A quick and heartfelt thank you to everyone, all over the globe, who found us and found themselves in us, in our characters and in our stories. We wouldn’t have been able to tell them without you. And we still have 6 fresh episodes yet to air, and I do hope you tune in enjoy the remainder of the series. They’re the best we’ve done.”
As he wrapped up his sentiments, Sears signed off with, “The more I know, the less I understand. All the things I figured out I have to learn again. I’ve been trying to get down to the heart of the matter. But everything changes…Thank you, Brilliant Minds.”
The medical drama was created and executive produced by Michael Grassi alongside Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, Leigh London Redman, Lee Toland Krieger, DeMane Davis, Jasmine Russ, Henrik Bastin, Jonathan Cavendish, Andy Serkis and Shefali Malhoutra.
So, what do you think of NBC’s decision to cancel Brilliant Minds after two seasons? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Days Of Our Lives
DAYS OF OUR LIVES: Sophia Seemingly Plans to End Her Life, But Not Before Setting Fire to Johnny’s Apartment With Him Trapped Inside
The final few moments of the Thursday, April 30 episode of Days of our Lives, will pave the way, to what just may be the end of Sophia Choi’s (Rachel Boyd) life, but not as you may think!
After an unhinged Sophia paid a visit to Johnny DiMera (Carson Boatman), maced him in the eyes, knocked him out and then tied up to a chair, now conscious, she lets him know that she holds him responsible for all the trouble and trauma she has gone through from adopting her child, and her being sent to a mental institution.
So instead of the unregistered gun Kristen (Stacy Haiduk) gave her to finish off Johnny, Sophia sets up a plan to light candle, use nail polish remover and turn on the gas on the stove to ultimately create a mass explosion, which although Johnny pleaded to her not to that to all the innocent people inside his apartment building, she doesn’t seem to care.
Photo: JPI
FIERY FACE OFF
The plan was supposed to be, after she takes care of Johnny she will toss the gun in the Salem River, then focus on payback to Holly Jonas before leaving town to start a new life.
Now, Sophia makes her exit, leaving Johnny to be a few moments away from an explosion or gas inhalation, when Chanel (Raven Bowens) comes home after awaiting the results of her mammogram. She sees Johnny tied up, as he panics and tells her to put out the flame on the candle, things go awry, and a fire has begun and everything may go up in flames with Johnny and Chanel inside.
Photo: JPI
A BROKEN SOPHIA
Back in her room, Sophia breaks down after reading the social media comments about her, she planted, and then starts writing a suicide or farewell note which says. “I’m tired of begging for forgiveness for my mistakes. All I wanted was to move forward, to be loved and understood. But it’s clear that I was never going to get that. Holly Jonas said that I was dead to her. So, as her former BFF, I’m going to make her dream a reality.”
Photo: JPI
A DEADLY TRAP
Now, the fate of Johnny, Chanel and Sophia will be revealed on tomorrow’s May 1st cliffhanger, which may be the end of Sophia when she crosses paths with Kirsten at the bridge near the river. We do know Rachel Boyd is no longer appearing in the show credits section and is now off contract with the soap.
So, what did you think of the climatic final moments of DAYS? What did you think of the performance of Rachel Boyd as Sophia Choi? Let us know via the comment section.
Breaking News
Jacob Martinez is ‘Days of Our Lives’ New Javi Hernandez Replacing Al Calderon in the Role
Finally! The casting has been revealed as to just who would be Al Calderon’s successor in the role of Days of our Lives, Javi Hernandez. On Friday, April 30, the long-running soap opera revealed Jacob Martinez is taking on the part and he will first be seen this coming June 30th and then on all-new episodes streaming on Peacock.
As previously reported, the popular Calderon exited the soap opera last year to join the cast of the NBC primetime medical drama, Brilliant Minds as nurse Nico Silva, who in May will air the remainder of their second season. The series has been on the bubble for renewal by the network. His last episodes as Javi will also air this May on DAYS.
Since DAYS tapes ten months ahead of streaming, Martinez has been secretly ensconced in all the drama in Salem for quite some time. When viewers see the new Javi in story, we should learn what will happen in Javi’s relationship with Leo Stark played by Emmy winner, Greg Rikaart, plus his continued relationship with his relatives in the Hernandez clan. Currently, when Javi returned to Salem after taking care of his ailing father, and after the bust-up of his marriage to Leo thanks to Dimitri (Peter Porte), he claimed he had moved on with someone else while he was away from Salem.
Photo: JPI
Like Calderon before him, Martinez is a multi-talented actor and singer. Jacob’s resume is impressive having appeared in the musical In Pieces: The Musical at Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater and he was hand-picked by Joey Contreras to play the role of Grey. Other credits include: the short film, Memory Swim and the play Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage.
Martinez hails from Norfolk, Nebraska and appeared when he was very young at the Johnny Carson Theatre, and as DAYS fans know, Jacob is now working at the Days of our Lives studios, right where the “Tonight Show” is filled. In addition, Jacob Martinez is a graduate of The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA).
Taking to his Instagram on Thursday, April 30 once the news of his casting was revealed, Martinez, expressed, “Way too many people to thank in one post, so I’ll just say THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART to each and every person who continues to pour into me and encourage me to chase my dreams. I cannot even begin to express how grateful I am. I already feel beyond blessed, supported, and loved. See you all in Salem ⏳”
Jacob Martinez appeared on Friday on the Days of our Lives Instagram account announcing his casting. You can check it out below. Deadline was the first to report the casting switch.
So, excited to learn who is the new Javi Hernandez? Please welcome Jacob Martinez to the role and be on the lookout for his debut on June 30. Comment below.
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‘Brilliant Minds’ Officially Canceled After 2 Seasons at NBC; DAYS Alum Al Calderon, OLTL Alum Teddy Sears and Zachary Quinto Among the Cast
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