His character's possible son, Casey Deidrick, who joined the show last year, shed a little light on what's to come for his character Chad. "The only thing I can say is Chad [will be] dealing with being a DiMera and him finding out about that and if he is a DiMera. We don't know yet. We haven't had the blood test done or anything. We still don’t know and that's pretty much all I can say."
Would his becoming a DiMera change Chad? Casey relayed, "I think right now Chad's at a point where he doesn't have any love in his life and I think once he's brought into a family where there is an upbringing and love for the family, I think maybe it would change the way he looks at things."
When Crystal Chappell (Carly) stopped by, she expressed her delight at Days of our Lives celebrating its 45th Anniversary. "It's been so interesting to be back and I'm really proud of the show. I'm so happy its celebrating its 45th…Having been on a show that's been canceled (as Olivia on Guiding Light), it's so nice to see a show celebrate its 45th and see it healthy and see all the good energy around it."
Concerning her character, Crystal teased, "Everything that happens, the secret she's been keeping with Chloe, all of that comes out with Melanie. So that kind of rips that relationship apart for the time being. She's also going to be helping Bo help Hope." But don't expect the latter issue to affect her relationship with Bo, as Crystal mused, "I think that Carly and Bo are the best of friends. I think they are really grown up, mature, best of friends, I've-got-your-back people. I think there's a love there that's so honest and so pure that they can both handle whatever happens."
As for her other series Venice, Chappell teased what's to come in season two: "We pick up where we left off. There's something that happens to the Colonel that causes his relationship with Gina to change. Jamie gets involved in a not so great way. Guya gets a new love interest. Lara and Ani's relationship is romantic and beautiful and lovely. The episodes are much longer. The premiere episode is 16 ½ minutes and they run about 20 minutes so people are going to get a lot more story."
Newly returning Melissa Reeves told me she was thrilled to be back as Jennifer, but couldn’t give anything away about her character's storyline. However she did shed light on what Jennifer's other half Jack is up to. "Well, they're saying right now Jack is on a walkabout and needs a little time alone so he can find himself, which is so typical for Jack and Jennifer. It makes perfect sense, and we never know what's around the corner."
When asked what she remembers about her early days playing Jennifer in the 1980s, she marveled, "I remember that I was my daughter's age, which is really hard to believe. I look at her and I think, 'Wow, that's how old I was when I started Days.' So, I just see that so much now. I was so young and I didn’t know anything. I just think, I can't even believe I held on to a job for that long at that young of an age. I didn't really appreciate it as much as I should have, because you know, when you're young you don't think. You don’t think about anything."
Aside from getting some of the actors' perspective, I had the chance to talk to the head honcho, Executive Producer Ken Corday, who didn’t give me any scoop, but did share his thoughts on what has helped Days of our Lives endure over the years. "You talk to the veteran cast members and they'll tell you the same thing: Don't reinvent the wheel. Don't change the formula. You can take it out of the box, you can put it inside the box, but it's about family, romance, and the redemptive power of love between couples, family, whatever. Don't stray from that. Don't become reality. Don't become the news. Entertain people. So, we've been blessed, pure and simple, blessed."
When asked if he thought there was a future for Daytime on TV, he was quick to respond, "I do. I really do. Funny you should ask, the current president, and will be president of NBC until January, Jeff Zucker, called two hours ago and he said, 'Ken, I believe in 50 [years] for this show.' My breath was taken away. I said, 'Could you write the contract now?' I see great things in the future. I'm a real glass is half full, overflowing kind of guy."
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- Lori Wilson