Days of Our LivesComings & Goings

Back in July, Kyle Lowder posted an Instagram post with the simple caption, “Back to work.” Speculation, of course, ran rampant about the actor returning to Days of Our Lives as Rex, but Lowder kept mum ever since. But now, his return has finally been confirmed, thanks to that jam-packed winter preview.

In it, Rex runs into Xander and Gwen in the Square where Xander asks where Sarah is. Confused, Rex responds, “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

This prompts an even more confused Xander to yell out, “Where the hell is she,” as Gwen stands by horrified.

If you’ll recall, the last time Rex was in Salem, Kristen disguised herself as Sarah, broke Xander’s heart, “reunited” with Rex, and then promptly dumped the latter, as well. As for Sarah, Kristen shipped Xander’s love off to a deserted island, and she hasn’t been seen since.

Kristen recently revealed she’s been sending texts to Maggie as Sarah to cover for her disappearance, and finagled a remote job for Doctor Rex to jet off to, where there is little cell service. Still, you’d think he’d find some way to update his parents, the newly reunited Kate and Roman, on what’s going on in his life. Regardless, Kristen finally clued someone else in on Sarah’s whereabouts last week, when she blackmailed Gwen into helping her escape prison, in exchange for keeping quiet about Xander’s ex-fiancée being held on an island.

Based on Xander’s reaction in the promo, he still seems very much emotionally attached to Sarah, despite telling Maggie he had moved on. And, based on Gwen’s look of horror at Xander’s desperation, well, that can’t be good.

But does it mean Sarah’s coming back? It’s the logical assumption, based on the way she exited and all the mentions of her lately, including Rex finally revealing he and Sarah aren’t together.

Days of Our Lives loves a good return and bringing characters back for short stints. Just like Rex, and Sami, and perhaps the biggest shock in the winter promo… Eric, But with Days of Our Lives, you just never know.

While we wait to find out what Rex’s return brings, and when exactly he’ll be back, relive Xander and Sarah’s romance in our photo gallery.

We’re not gonna lie: Greg Vaughan’s last visit to Days of Our Lives left us both shook and disappointed. Shook because his alter ego, Eric, found out about wife Nicole’s affair (with Xander, of all people) at what was supposed to be a party celebrating their anniversary. Disappointed because once the dust settled from this shock, Eric and his handsome portrayer once again left the canvas.

We suspected that we hadn’t seen the last of Eric, and hoped the same was true of Vaughan. What we didn’t predict — but could kick ourselves for not guessing — was that Marlena’s latest bout with the devil would be what brought her and Roman’s son home.

But at the end of the soap’s newly-released winter preview video — which is so filled with spoilerific twists that you really need to check it out — in walks a Bible-carrying, collar wearing Eric, prompting MarDevil, her eyes aglow, to utter “Woah.”

Above: Guests at Brady and Kristen’s wedding were “treated” to a show they definitely didn’t expect!

More: Days has a special holiday treat for fans

The kicker, however, is the final moment, in which a negligee-clad Kristen (as played by Eileen Davidson) reminds Eric of their sinful past by quipping, “What do you say father… you wanna make a sequel?” She’s referring, of course, to the time she drugged the priest in order to make a sex tape with him… which wound up being shown during her wedding to Brady, which Eric happened to be officiating!

No word yet on exactly when we can expect to see Vaughan on screen or how long he’ll be sticking around this time. But the promo did reveal that his wasn’t the only return coming down the pike. There’s a quick glimpse of Melissa Reeves’ Jennifer entering the Horton home with gifts, and we see Eric’s twin sister, Sami (as played by fan fave Alison Sweeney), making her way back to town just in time to get a shock. There are even hints dropped that maybe, just maybe, Sarah could soon be reunited with true love Xander.

Are you stoked to see Vaughan and Eric return? Do you think there’s a chance he could reunite with Nicole, or have her recent dalliances with both Rafe and EJ convinced you that the Ericole ship has not only sailed, but been hit by a torpedo and sunk to the bottom of the ocean? While you’re here, why not check out this gorgeous gallery in which your Days of Our Lives favorites are all dressed up and lookin’ fine!

At the end of the Friday, November 12, episode of Days of Our Lives, viewers got a huge surprise with the return of Eileen Davidson. However, she was not exactly playing Kristen.

Recently, Stacy Haiduk returned to the NBC soap opera not just as Kristen DiMera, but also her doppelganger Susan Banks. Susan caught onto the fact that Marlena was once again possessed by the devil, so MarDevil transformed her into a black cat. She then took Susan to where she’s been holding John hostage, thinking he could use a friend. John was stunned when MarDevil transformed the cat into Susan.

More: Did Days accidentally reveal two big returns?

As the episode unfolded, Haiduk played double duty as Kristen, who blackmailed Gwen into helping her escape the Salem PD. Meanwhile, John begged Marlena to fight the devil and to rely on their love and the fact that it was their anniversary. The devil then jumped into Susan, releasing Marlena. SuDevil then tried to force John to betray his love for Marlena and attempted to seduce him. When John refused, she transformed into his ex, Kristen. However, it was Eileen Davidson in the role!

Davidson most recently resumed the role of Kristen in the spin-off series Beyond Salem and continues to play Ashley Abbott on CBS’ The Young and the Restless.

While we wait to see how this plays out, why not browse our gallery of the most recast soap characters.

— Dustin Cushman

Sami hasn’t been seen since August, when a black-gloved hand snatched her from outside the Hernandez home. But that’s all about to change as Alison Sweeney’s popular vixen returns to the canvas on Friday, November 19, according to Soap Opera Digest.

Since her disappearance, the only one who has heard from Sami is Johnny. After their brief call got cut off, he received a cryptic text back saying she was too busy to talk to him and he shouldn’t try to reach her again. We can only assume her captor wrote that message, but that’s the closest thing to communication anyone has had with the missing blonde in months. 

But that’s all about to change as Sami makes a desperate attempt to reach a loved one. What happens next is anyone’s guess, but if you’ll recall, just before she was abducted, EJ discovered her affair with Lucas. As expected, he didn’t react well. He’s now trying to romance Nicole, who just slept with Sami’s other ex, Rafe. As for Lucas, he professed his love to Sami just before she disappeared, but she was focused on trying to hold on to her marriage to EJ.

More: Did Days accidentally reveal two big returns?

Not only will Sami have a lot of romantic drama to return to, but her mother is possessed by the devil — again — and her son is making a movie about his grandma’s first run-in with Satan.

Sami will have a lot to deal with when she returns, and we haven’t even mentioned her captor, yet. Because on soaps, there’s a world of difference between reaching out to loved ones and actually managing to escape your kidnapper. And who might the person responsible for this Saminapping be?

As for Sweeney, she’s starring in one of Hallmark’s newest Christmas movies, Open by Christmas, and recently returned for the latest Murder, She Baked movie with General Hospital’s Cameron Mathison (Drew).

While we wait for answers on Sami’s kidnapping, look through our photo gallery of the volatile Brady’s life, loves, and antics over the years.

It seems like in Salem, at least, you can’t keep a bad guy down. On Tuesday, November 9, Days of Our Lives tweeted out a cast photo for their 56th anniversary in which, sharp-eyed fans may have noticed, are a couple of unexpected familiar faces. Tucked away in the back row is Greg Rikaart in one of Leo’s eye-grabbingly flashy suits and James Read (Clyde), standing next to his Salem son, Robert Scott Wilson (Ben).

Here’s a little something to brighten your #DAYS! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/JIlH3iBe4O

— Days of our Lives (@nbcdays) November 9, 2021

The show isn’t commenting on their possible returns, but Rikaart and Read’s presence at the anniversary celebration certainly makes them seem very likely.

Leo was least seen on the Days of Our Lives spinoff Beyond Salem, where he *checks notes* saved the world? Yup. In between making Chad uncomfortable and claiming he wanted to spice up Will and Sonny’s relationship, Leo switched out the satellite-controlling Peacock emerald with a fake, thereby unintentionally thwarting Drew Donovan’s plot to take the world hostage. Don’t ask.

Though Rikaart is still appearing over on The Young and the Restless as Kevin, the two Sony shows have a history of sharing actors, so there’s no reason to think he couldn’t start popping in to Salem again. But just because Leo saved the world, don’t expect many Salemites to welcome the selfish slimeball back with open arms should that visit happen.

James Reads’ Clyde, on the other hand, was last seen in prison — where he’s been for quite a few years now. Technically, though, we saw him in the photo Ben and Ciara had on Tuesday’s episode while the two discussed whether or not he was the “evil” presence Susan detected threatening their baby. (Spoilers: He wasn’t.)

With Clyde being on his family’s minds again, it looks like Days of Our Lives might be right on the verge of his return. But how? Whenever Ben’s dastardly dad does pop up, it tends to be during jail stays. So the big question is: Will Clyde be returning to Salem, or will someone from Salem be sent to prison?

As we ponder what these two possible returns could mean for our favorite Salemites, why not revisit a bit of Clyde’s twisted history with a gallery of his (numerous) misdeeds?

After teasing his return to Days of Our Lives on Twitter earlier this week, Mike Manning’s Charlie Dale returned to Salem —  in a most unexpected way. Sure, soaps are famous for “bringing characters back from the dead”, but those characters aren’t usually dead, dead. Charlie certainly is though, but that didn’t stop MarDevil from literally resurrecting him from his grave in Friday’s episode. Well, his hand at least.

Oh, hey Salem. 👋🏼🤓

— Mike Manning (@mike_manning_) October 27, 2021

As she stood in front of his grave, MarDevil urged the deceased villain to, “Rise up, Charlie Dale.” Cue his hand popping up from the ground.

We’ll have to wait to see what happens Monday, but it seems MarDevil isn’t stopping with just Charlie, as other dead villains will soon be roaming Salem. Yep, Halloween will extend into next week’s episodes to wreak more havoc on all the good, and bad, Salemites. Just the way MarDevil likes it.

Mike Manning was last seen in Salem in May when Jan recounted Charlie’s murder to Claire. You know, the murder that Jan committed when she shot him dead and set up Belle to take the fall.

Even though Manning is not currently a permanent fixture in Salem these days, he does still make time for his daytime fans. He even participated in a Magic Mike-like performance with a few of his Days co-stars at a Samantha’s Friends event back in May.

Aside from his current Days of Our Lives return, Manning is also attached to the upcoming TV series Hidden Springs and the movie The Way Out. Additionally, the actor won a Daytime Emmy earlier this year for his role as Caleb McKinnon on the streaming series The Bay, and is working on a multifaceted comic book project.

And, according to his Instagram feed, when he’s not in front of the camera, the actor is in the gym working out. By the looks of it in his photo below, he’s there a lot.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mike Manning (@mike_manning_)

As we wait to see what fresh hell Manning’s Charlie brings to Salem, look through our photo gallery of soaps’ all-time best villains.

When it comes to Halloween, Days of Our Lives and headwriter Ron Carlivati love nothing more than taking advantage of the spooktacular holiday, usually in some outrageous fashion. This year, the show will amp things up to the max with a little help from Marlena’s temporary bodyguest, the devil.

While kids will come around begging for candy on Sunday, October 31, Carlivati and company won’t begin dishing out their Halloween tricks and treats until the episode airing on Monday, November 1. But what they have in store is as delicious as any full-sized candy bar… and will last twice as long. Because MarDevil is about to turn Days of Our Lives into The Walking Dead by using her powers to resurrect a few familiar faces. And as you might expect, she’s not really looking to bring back the town’s kinder, gentler souls. (Sorry, Alice and Tom Horton!)

More: Beloved Days vet shares harrowing ordeal

Sure, it’s not really unusual for soap characters to come back from the dead (especially in Salem, where Marlena once “killed” practically all of her friends and neighbors only to find out it was… well, we never really did understand that whole Melaswen plot). But what’s different this time is that the returnees weren’t mistakenly declared deceased. Instead, as the Munchkinland coroner would say, they were — and still are — “really, most sincerely dead.”

While we’re not sure of all the invitees who’ll be attending MarDevil’s “Back to Life” party, hints have definitely been dropped on social media. For example, Mike Manning — aka Ava’s son Charlie, who went from adorkable office boy to rapid rapist — this week excited Twitter followers with three little words: “Oh, hey Salem!”

Oh, hey Salem. 👋🏼🤓

— Mike Manning (@mike_manning_) October 27, 2021

Viewers will recall that eventually, Charlie ditched his nice-guy glasses, went full-blown psycho and wound up being killed by equally unbalanced Jan. Something tells us that Charlie might have a few scores to settle if given the opportunity. And given that newly-released spoilers tip off that Ava, Tripp and Allie are all about to have terrifying experiences, we have a pretty good idea whom Charlie will be visiting!

Above: Is it wrong we’re still holding out hope that somewhere out there, Charlie has an equally-cute, far less psychotic twin brother?

More: You won’t believe who almost played EJ

Meanwhile over on Facebook, another Salem baddie’s portrayer posted an equally simple — and thrilling — message. “Heeeere’s Deimos!” shared Vincent Irizarry, followed by (appropriately enough) a devil emoji.  And remember those teasers we mentioned (and linked above)? Well, they say that Nicole’s past comes back to haunt her… which leads us to believe they mean that quite literally!

Above: How it started… how it ended.

Why would Deimos haunt Nicole? Well, given how confusing the story surrounding his demise was, you’re forgiven if you forget the details. But in a nutshell, after hosting a party at which he slipped all of his enemies mickies, Deimos wound up being murdered. It was eventually discovered that he’d been stabbed to death by a drugged-out Nicole, who’d then left him to die on the living room floor.

Meanwhile, look for at least one other troublemaker to become zombified. Let’s do this one as a blind item, shall we? Here we go: “Soaps hears that one of MarDevil’s resurrectees has done the whole back-from-the-dead thing before, and that he could pay a visit to a local lass who stole his heart and then put a bullet in it!”

Ready to play our little guessing game? Hit the comments with who you think will join Deimos and Charlie, as well as who you think should. Then check out this gallery of characters from all four soaps we really want back — dead or alive — and see if your faves made our list.

When Days of Our Lives pays tribute to James Reynolds in the Monday, October 25, episode celebrating his 40th anniversary as Abe, the NBC soap will also celebrate the character’s tragic love story with late wife Lexie. But before you pop the bubbly and cheer the idea of Renée Jones reprising the role that she played from 1993-2012, we’d better break it to you that… um, she won’t be playing Stefano DiMera’s daughter this time around.

The actress, who was Salem PD secretary Nikki Wade on Days of Our Lives a decade before being cast as Lexie, wasn’t available to “resurrect” Abe’s ill-fated missus for the visions that, per Soap Opera Digest, he will have after being shot. However, Reynolds tells the magazine that the sudser found a great replacement for Jones. “The young actress they brought in to be part of this was just wonderful,” he says, “in giving the essence of [Abe and Lexie’s] relationship and communicated beautifully, just beautifully, in her face and her eyes, as Renee did quite so often.

“I was kind of transported, actually,” he adds.

In fact, if it was up to Reynolds, Lexie would appear to Abe more frequently in the future. “She was such a special character,” he says, “and like Stefano, she continues to have a presence on the show. I would like to see it become more multidimensional as Abe explores his relationship with Paulina and his growing family.”

While you absorb the fact that Lexie is returning, but Jones isn’t, check out our photo gallery of all of Days of Our Lives’ most recent — and imminent — comebacks. 

After escaping prison and going on the lam, yet again, it looks like Days of Our Lives’ Kristen is headed back to Salem. Her return was teased this week when Victor told Steve that he wanted to hire Black Patch to find the woman who once stabbed him. It was all part of his deal with Trask for Justin and Xander’s freedom, but whether Steve follows through remains to be seen. What we do know, per the spoilers, is that next week, Kristen pays her brother EJ a visit.

While Stacy Haiduk has been playing the Brady-obsessed vixen since 2018, Eileen Davidson, who originated the role in 1993, briefly returned as Kristen in the spin-off series Beyond Salem. However, Haiduk will be back to wreak more havoc when Kristen returns on October 26. Davidson even previously indicated she was only back for the limited run.

“It kind of made sense,” she said to Soap Opera Digest, “the fact that Stacy is playing Kristen [on Days of Our Lives] and I would be doing this Peacock version of it.”

More: Relive Sami’s shenanigans in photos before she returns

Before dressing up as Sister Mary Moira and stealing jewels on Beyond Salem, Kristen was arrested in May after abducting Chloe and Kate. While fleeing with both women, she got into a head-on car collision with Brady, which landed him in a coma. Kate was also sent to the hospital, where she faked blindness to get back at Jake for reuniting with Gabi. And poor Chloe was left tied up in the trunk of a car. It’s OK, though. She was eventually rescued.

Kristen evaded prison once again by swapping places with a nonconsenting Susan. And, oh yeah, Ava helped her do it by turning a blind eye.

While on the run, Kristen sent EJ a letter detailing Sami’s affair with Lucas. Though it was initially intercepted by Sami, it ended up in EJ’s hands. As to be expected, he didn’t exactly take the revelation in stride, and, well, now Sami’s been kidnapped.

Could Kristen have taken her brother’s unfaithful wife? She did ship Sarah off to a deserted island, after all, so anything’s possible.

Just what will Kristen have in store for Salem this time around? Will she reveal Sarah’s whereabouts? Will she become a pawn in the devil’s plan? Will Victor succeed in turning her in to Trask?

While you stay tuned for the answers, look through our photo gallery of daytime’s hottest villains.

Vanessa Estelle Williams has been added to the cast of the Fox hit 9-1-1… but does the news signify an emergency, so to speak, for Days of Our Lives fans?

Our sister site Deadline reports that the actress will be “heavily recurring” as 9-1-1 Call Center vet Claudette Collins, who shows the newer recruits how it’s done (and made her first appearance in the October 11 episode). But heavily recurring or not, she’s still just recurring, as she is as Eli’s mom Valerie on Days of Our Lives. So Williams should be available to reprise her soap role when Valerie’s son and daughter-in-law need her support — as in, when the fit hits the shan over the fact that Lani grew up believing that Tamara was her mother when, in fact, Paulina is.

The grandbabies are gonna need family trees sketched out for them!

In fact, the twist of plot could send Abe, once he’s newly disillusioned by his fiancée, running right back into the arms of his ex, Valerie. Anything could happen!

Williams has been crazy busy of late. Not only has the former Melrose Place star been recurring on Showtime’s L Word spinoff Generation Q, she has no fewer than eight movies in the pipeline and reprised her role from 1992’s Candyman in its recent sequel.

Before you bop along to read another article — and you know you wanna — catch up on all of the latest Days of Our Lives exits with our photo gallery that lines ’em up and runs ’em down.