Days Of Our Lives
Raven Bowens is the New Chanel on DAYS
There has been a casting switcheroo at Days of our Lives. Precious Way is out in the role of Chanel Dupree and the part had been recast.
Way debuted on-screen back in March of 2021, but now comes word, first via Jason 47’s Facebook page, that Chanel will be played by actress Raven Bowens.
According to Soap Opera Digest, look for Bowens to first air on-screen on the July 6th episode. Apparently, she has been taping at the DAYS set since April.
Raven has previously appeared on All Rise, Insecure, The New Edition Story and Future Man.
You can follow her on Instagram here.
So, what do you think of the Chantal switch? Comment below.
Welcome Raven! I hope you can dig deep and delve into the core of who Chanel is now, and who she wants to become. I will say this again… I am still not feeling the character of Aunt Paulina played by Jackee Harry (why does she have to chuckle/laugh like after every line? It’s very irritating…) and the character of Chanel (currently played by Precious Way)… and her recent discovery of wanting to build a bakery business… has been somewhat interesting for the character. Though, Precious has good chemistry with the young woman who plays Allie Horton. Allie lights up more around Chanel it seems, and gets that “party girl” to come out and Allie smiles more in her presence. Anyways, the way the DAYS writers work, they do so much damage to old and new characters (Example: Zander remains in great pain thinking that Sarah (Linsey Godfrey), left town with Rex… TO Zander working a deal with Chanel in some scam short-lived marriage with Chanel for $10 million from Momma Paulina. And, then Chanel has eyes for Allie and then has eyes on her brother-in-law, towel-dropping Eli in the kitchen (twice) and makes immature and inappropriate remarks to Lani about how hot and fine her man is. The point that I am trying to make is that since March of this year, Chanel has been darn trouble – all the way… now we are to believe – after a few months in Salem, Chanel really wants to open this bakery with Allie? This new character changed that much??? And so quickly? The development of Chanel is just a fail on the part of the writers and I don’t know why a Recast was in order, nor do I want to speculate to that, but I hope Raven can FIND Chanel, right now… she’s lost, and Momma/Auntie Paulina is a dismal failure. I wish DAYS just kept Jackee on-board as reoccurring, though it seems that recently, that Jackee is now full-time. (Again, why does she have to do that chuckle/laugh like after each line and rolling her eyes all over the place? I’ll never understand why DAYS bumped her to full-time. I’d rather us see more of Valerie who is an established character… return to Salem by the lovely actress, Vanessa Williams (I). I liked the Valerie pairing with Abe so much more… and Eli’s relationship with his Mother was a very special one, too. Why is Valerie not around (except for “visits”)? Anyways, wishing Raven the best. Perhaps, one day, I’ll grow to care about Chanel.
Jeremy, that’s the way Jackee always performs. I mean, she’s not a great actress, more of a one trick pony.
Not upset by this switch; look, Precious Way, for me, was just not someone I enjoyed seeing in the role of Chanel. I am hoping Raven Bowens does well in the role!
Agreed, Scott—-so tired of unnerving Chanel. That constant Cheshire cat smile is so irritating.
I, too, hope the recast has a more grounded outlook on life, in general—-and not such a sardonic, almost contemptuos approach towards everythin and most people with whom she enteracts.
This, out-of-the-blue, irrational brainstorm of opening a bakery is so lame. Is it to con Allie somehow?
She comes off as pushy and as a bully, albeit I think it’s a front to conceal her own insecurities. Perhaps, that should be explored as a storyline. Allow the real Chanel to emerge.
The way she is behaving now tells me something’s afoot—and, it “ain’t ” good news.
Oh, yuk, I have to change channels every time her mouth starts. Her acting is so fake
I hear you, Carol. Chanel leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Her words are too honeyed and her expressions too sweet.
Gee, I was just getting used to this Chanel.
Apparently the current Chanel got a new job. Good luck. She was okay, but I hope the recast is a better actress.
Precious Way had the job prior to Days of Our Lives, however, due to COVID, production on the job was delayed and she was able to take the role of Chanel.
I am curious to know why this switch was made? At first I wasn’t happy with Precious Way in the role but she has won me over recently, her performances definitely improved. Perhaps there were behind the scenes reasons for the casting change? Here’s hoping Raven Bowens is great in the role going forward!
Richard, I share your sentiments. Precious Way won me over pretty quickly. And I am curious about the reason for the casting change. Mr. Fairman doesn’t always volunteer such information (e.g., Lindsey Godfrey’s departure as Sarah Horton). Surely, he is well connected enough to know.
I will say this: although I was unhappy upon learning years ago that a new actor would be playing the role of Chad DiMera, Billy Flynn has been exceptional and won me over almost instantly.
Precious Way booked a job prior to Days of Our Lives and chose that job, however, due to COVID, production on the job was delayed and she was able to take the role of Chanel.
She landed another role in a TV sitcom. Good luck in your new role.
Who knows? She looks a little old for the role compared to Allie. But, I’m being more patient with Days these days.
Funny you should bring up age. Moto—-at least Precious is in that range of age group.
Look at Kate!! What are these writers thinking? It’s one thing for a virile younger man getting involved with an older woman ( in this case much, much older), but there is a young, sexy, vibrant female in the mix.
It boggles the mind for TPTB to assume the viewer accepts the fact that Kate has a chance with Jake. Not this viewer!! It’s not for money; he’s no gigolo—-furthermore, this pity party thing going on is so off key!! Feeling sorry be damned—not realistic. Even for a soap.
On one hand there’s a 70-year old woman ( no disrespect—my grandmother is as spirited and sprite as can be, but, she is not delusional), and on the other hand there’s Gabi. In plain English ( LOL), Jake is a wuss and a loser.
Now, Kate is making so many blunders —-she must have such a keen sense of smell—Grrrr—everyone serms to accept that excuse. She can smell not only flowers but also people, it seems.
I have a feeling Kate is not pulling the wool over Anna’s eyes!!
And, Chad? Who died and made him the model of honesty and righteousness?
The same can be applied to Tara Locke on Y&R ( albeit she’s not decades older than Kyle), where Nikki referred to her as a girl. A girl? The woman looks in her forties—could pass as Kyle’s mother.
Pardon my rant. LOL
I’m thinking that maybe Brandon Barash asked for the Kate & Jake pairing. If you saw him when he was on GH, most of his pairings were with women old enough to be his mother. So either he has a “type”… or ReRon (who also wrote most of those pairings on GH) just thinks he does!
Really? Never crossed my mind—I guess, I didn’t realize that actors were able to make such requests. Lauren is just not an older woman, she’s an oooolder woman. She’s like 70. That’s not old by today’s standard—-so, I will grant you that there may be men who go for ultra-experienced/much older women……must have a lot of energy to keep up with a muuuch younger man.
I always thought that Nancy Grahn (GH) was too old for William deVry—-but Lauren and Brandon surpass even them!!
Oh Celia, THANKS for mentioning the exquisite
Mr. DeVry. How I miss Julian, before they made him lower than low. He’s too young for me, too, but one can certainly imagine. And I do imagine. By the way, I never cared for the Kate and Jake pairing. Just seems seedy.
PS—–Kate can’t feel any peace in her future—just think, Satan—she will worry about every young woman who happens to cross Jake’s path. Oy vey and mamma mia!!
Celia, my Friend, please allow me to politely challenge you on these points. I totally understand what you’re saying here, but it could be construed as ageist — and I highly doubt that is your intent. Perhaps you simply don’t like the character of Kate and see these storylines as ludicrous. Frankly, a man of Jake’s age dating a woman of Kate’s age is unusual in real life, no doubt. But what is the expression? Love is love? Or is it, Lust is lust?
The writers are quite cognizant of Kate’s age relative to Jake’s and are giving the character plenty of angst, insecurity, and self-doubt over that age difference. What gets me is that Kate is supposed to be the mother of Billie Reed, though she is about 10 years older in real life.
I am a big fan of Kate’s. She’s one of my favorite characters. A case can be made that Kate is less devious and destructive than Gabi and, thus, preferable. Both women are attractive. I think it’s no accident the way younger woman Gabi dresses in these tight-fitting, revealing outfits. And I admittedly have found Gabi to be increasingly amusing.
Anyway, thanks for letting me go on about this. Take care, Celia!
LOL, James,
Here I am —-no more replying between classes—-School’s OUT!! Yeay!!
Go ahead, my friend—throw the gauntlet, LOL—I will always accept your comments, whether we agree or not. You are the best—-and a gentleman.
I don’t think I’m ageist—-I can’t see how such relationships could work. —for me, ageism is a senseless concept because aging is part of life—-it is avprocess—it touches each and every one of us, if we are so lucky to live so long. No escaping it.
I, too, love Kate—-always have—love her mode of dress, her sassiness and eccentricity—her persona, in general.
It’s puzzling —-she has been so good lately, staying out of trouble, when suddenly she’s fallen back into her old ( pardon the pun, LOL) devious machinations.
I was really targeting the writers more than the character. She plays a part—-
She’s almost thirty years older than her counterpart—-it strikes a discordant note with me.
Perhaps I am trapped under the influence of my in-you-face grandmother. She’s a character, let me tell you!! She’s very similar to Kate—-in her way of dress etc.—- she’s a 60’s babe—-still married to my grandfather.
We occasionally watch our soaps together—-when I’m with her, I can’t help but laugh so hard with tears streaming down my face, as she throws outrageous words around in her Highlander Scottish brogue. She doesn’t even try to be funny. She just is.
Just yesterday, as we were watching, she was loudly scolding Kate’s panting after a “boy” -“Thu bawface. Ach, yer off yer heid””—and so much more, James—–I cannot repeat it in public.
Friendly and polite debates are good for the soul, my friend. Truly liberating!!
Celia, thanks for your kind reply! Fun reading! Nice to see that you enjoy Kate, too. What hampers me with DOOL is that I am not a long-time viewer (maybe 8 or 9 years), so I don’t know all the history. Funny, how I can give Kate a pass over all her misdeeds but won’t even consider it for GH’s Sonny — I know, don’t get me started on that one… Maybe even I am mesmerized by Kate’s beauty… (Insert joke here.)
It’s also nice to hear about your grandmother. She sounds a lot like my grandmother, who always acted younger than her age and had a mischievous sense of humor.
Great chatting with you, Friend!
Take 2! If you don’t like what you see onscreen, change the Chanel!
Good one, James!
4ever DAYS, I just saw this. Thank you, Friend!
that’s to bad,what is wrong with the one we have now?
I like the old Chanel but welcome the new one and hopefully she will stir things up because this show is becoming so boring and nambly pambly and everyone whining about their feelings and how politcally correct they need to be. Where is the action and adventure and romance? This is so boring I am ready to watch General Hospital instead.
Mark C.
Don’t watch G.H instead, just watch it, it’s the best and most exciting of the four.
Replacements are sometimes good, sometimes bad, especially the anticipation. I remember when they replaced Ciara, we were so lucky to be rid of “stick girl”. Hopefully, this time will be good too.
Poor girl’s head is out of proportion: huge forehead, all features squashed together at the bottom of her face above her tiny chin. Hope I can get used to her. I will miss Precious!
I agree. Days could have done better.
Days Of Our Lives
‘Heated Rivalry’ Star Franco LoPresti Opens Up About ‘Days of our Lives’ Debut as Dante Vitali
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.
In a metaphor for the start of the school year and their upcoming anniversary in November, Days of our Lives revealed its “Class of Season 62,” with a very clever yearbook montage on their social media handles, welcoming new cast members, while paying respect to the veterans and “class”-iying the other characters in Salem.
The official Days of our Lives Instagram account shared on the posting, “The Class of Salem Season 62 has arrived. Familiar faces, new names and plenty of personality. Flip through our yearbook for a peek at this year’s class.”
Let’s take a look at how they broke it all down: The Salem Yearbook starts with saying “another unforgettable season,” with some group pics, and then we dovetail into Salem’s new class which features: Sydney Malakeh (Sydney DiMera), Brandon Butler (Mason Whitfield), Angelica Nero (Victoria Kiriakis), Cole Gersmeyer (Thomas DiMera) and Lorelei Olivia Mote (Rachel Black).
Photo: Days of our Lives
Next up, are the likes of: Cherie Jimenez (Gabi Hernandez), John-Paul Lavoisier (Philip Kiriakis), Tyler Joseph Andrews (Theo Carver) and LeeAnn Hopkins (Joy Wesley). Then, in the “Drama Club” section are: Dan Feuerriegel (EJ DiMera) and AnnaLynne Cipriani (Cat Greene).
Following the ‘Recess” section with some group snaps, comes “Homeroom Highlights” with: Abigail Klein (Stephanie Johnson), Eric Martsolf (Brady Black), Rob Scott Wilson (Alex Kiriakis), Lamon Archey (Eli Grant) and Sal Stowers (Lani Price Grant).
The “Salem Spectator” section features: Conner Floyd (Chad DiMera), Greg Rikaart (Leo Stark), Stowers again, and Ashely Puzemis (Holly Jonas). In the “Afternoon Sweets” section look for: Paul Telfer (Xander Kiriakis) and Linsey Godfey (Sarah Horton), Emily O’ Brien (Gwen Rizchech), Stacy Haiduk (Kristen DiMera/Susan Banks), Brandon Beemer (Shawn Brady), plus Jackée Harry (Paulina Price).
Towards the end of the yearbook, veteran performers such as: Mary Beth Evans (Kayla Johnson), Stephen Nichols (Steve Johnson), Lauren Koslow (Kate Roberts) and Josh Taylor (Roman Brady) are featured, plus Deidre Hall (Marlena Evans), James Reynolds (Abe Carver) and Matthew Ashford (Jack Deveraux), Susan Seaforth Hayes (Julie Williams) and Suzanne Rogers (Maggie Kiraikis) with her on-screen daughter, Linsey Godfrey.
The Salem Yearbook comes to a conclusion noting “Big things happening in Salem” and to tune-in on Peacock, where we also find Jacob Martinez (Javi Hernandez), Maggie Carney (Rita Lesley), and a host of other favorites previewing what’s to come this fall.
So, what do you think of the Days of our Lives Class of Season 62? Looking forward to seeing what happens in Salem? Did you like the yearbook concept for promotional tune-in? Let us know via the comment section below.
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Days Of Our Lives
‘Days of our Lives’ Head Writers Give Fall 2026 Preview: Marlena and Stefano’s Chess Mystery, The Arrivals of Dante and Sydney, Romance Drama for Sarah and Others
As summer comes to a close with Labor Day weekend, the former Days of our Lives co-head writing duo of Paula Cwikly and Jeanne Marie Ford have given their annual fall season preview in episodes taped some 10-11 months ago.
As previously reported this past July, Ryan Quan returned to Days of our Lives and is now co-head writing the show with Ford, while Cwikly is now a consultant. The new co-head writing teams stories will not be seen till late spring/early summer 2027.
So for now, the stories pick up from where we left off with Cwikly and Ford promising via TV Insider, “Fall in Salem is full of twists and turns and secrets and surprises. Dots connect in unexpected ways as seemingly unrelated threads converge.”
Photo: JPI
CHECKMATE?
In one of the top mystery’s, Marlena is still having troubling memories and she will have another one on the Monday, September 7 episode. Meanwhile, her daughter Belle (Martha Madison) has gotten very close to Chad DiMera (Conner Floyd) and as pictured here, the two smooch while in Italy searching for answers to the chess set that Stefano DiMera gifted th the late John Black and Marlena (Deidre Hall) that has some significance.
The head scribes share, “The (chess board) mystery and its fallout are central to the fall stories. Chad and Belle follow the clues to a discovery that changes both of their families, and Salem, forever. Marlena worries that their investigation/the chess set may be a Pandora’s box that has been opened. And she is right…”
Newcomers are also the order of the day for Cwikly and Ford, this fall. We have already seen the debut as Brandon Butler as Mason Whitfield, and next week you can add as previously reported Sydney Malakeh on the Thursday September 1o episode as Sydney DiMera, followed by the the Monday, September 14 arrival of Franco LoPresti as Dante Vitali.
Photo: Corday Productions
Paula and Jeanne Marie expressed on the incoming Dante, “The arrival of a stranger who will set the whole town on its ear. The character has several strong ties to the current canvas and impacts many storylines.” What will Dante be up to? We know Sami Brady (Alison Sweeney) had mentioned in 2025 she got engaged to the man, but that was off-screen.
LOVE THE ONE YOU’RE WITH OR THE ONE YOU WANT?
In the romance department, the triangle between Brady/Sarah/Xander heats up with a very conflicted Sarah (Linsey Godfrey). The head writers reveal, “When Sarah faces attacks personally and professionally, Xander (Paul Telfer) and Brady (Eric Martsolf) work together to help and protect her. Sarah’s new love for Brady is challenged by her lingering love for Xander. Xander risks everything for Sarah.”
In addition look for, “Gabi (Cherie Jimenez) and Philip (John-Paul Lavoiser) to draw closer as he tries to save the family company and home.”
Kristen (Stacy Haiduk) will also be returning at some point this fall and she won’t be alone. Who might she bring with her? And from the looks of the Peacock promo for next week’s DAYS, someone is wearing Stefano’s ring around their finger, but who … and how does it all tie in this fall?
So, what do you think about some of the highlights coming up this fall on Days of our Lives per the series head writers? Does anything float your boat or pique your interest? If so, what? Let us know via the comment section. But first, check out the action next week on DAYS in the promo entitled “Bag of Tricks” below.
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