Days of Our Lives cast released from their contracts amid renewal talks with NBC

TVLine

Producers of the 54-year-old daytime soap opera have released the entire cast from their contracts and is set are put the show on hiatus at the end of the month, according to TVLine. "While the NBC sudser has not been cancelled, the unprecedented — and decidedly ominous — move comes at a precarious time for ratings-challenged Days and the vanishing soap genre as a whole," says TVLine's Michael Ausiello. "It also comes as Sony Pictures Television and NBC are in negotiations to renew series." A Sony source tells him the studio isn't involved in the cast contract negotiations and that the deals are done through Corday Productions, which declined to comment. "An insider cautions that because Days shoots eight months in advance, the show will have enough episodes in the can when it stops production at the end of November to last through Summer 2020," says Ausiello. "If NBC does renew Days, production is expected to resume in March. But by releasing the contracted cast members from from their commitment to the show, producers have no guarantee who — if anyone — will return." As one source put it, the cast could return at a much lower salary if there is a renewal.