Days of Our Lives’ Robert Scott Wilson Shares His Feelings About the Move From NBC to Peacock
Will the change be as smooth as the actor’s transition from Ben to Alex?
Believe it or not, it’s only been a couple weeks since we learned that Days of Our Lives would be leaving NBC, its home since it debuted almost 58 years ago, and exclusively streaming on Peacock. The news shook fans quite a bit, but ever since the announcement, NBC, Peacock and Days of Our Lives have all been dishearteningly mum on what’s to come.
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That’s, unfortunately, gotten a lot of fans speculating on the show’s eventual future, and even balking at the thought of moving online with it. Fortunately, Robert Scott Wilson, has a few thoughts on the move that he was more than happy to share with worried viewers.
Wilson first started in daytime as All My Children‘s Petey Cortland when the show briefly reincarnated as an online-only soap. But his experience in the streaming world didn’t end there, as he said farewell to Ben on Beyond Salem, which was already a Peacock exclusive. And both of those things, he told Soap Opera Digest on their podcast, were critical preludes to Days of Our Lives‘ move.
“It’s time to set sail. Next stop: The future!”
Credit: Jill Johnson/JPI
First off, while All My Children didn’t make it online, the world of 2013 was a very different place from today. As Wilson explained, “We were the first ones through the wall, and we got pretty bloody doing it, but we were able to do it.”
There wasn’t the infrastructure to support streaming shows on your television, rather than your computer. Nearly a full decade on, “almost every TV is easier to get to Peacock and most people are just streaming content.”
The change, in fact, has been so great, that for Wilson, the move is “just a no-brainier.” The two chapters of Beyond Salem (plus the holiday movie) were great ways for Days of Our Lives to test out the streaming waters and embrace them. It paid off, he noted, adding that “clearly we did something right because they believe in us” enough to position the NBC soap in a way that will plunge it headfirst into the future.
Soaps, after all, have made the jump before and thrived for it. Before they were on television, a number of them started as radio shows — perhaps the most famous being Guiding Light. While the CBS classic is, sadly, not around anymore, it was not the move from radio to television that ended it. In fact, after nearly 20 years on the radio, it went on for another stunning 57 years on television! And when it made that jump into the future, not everyone had televisions to go with it.
It’s not too different from Days of Our Lives today.
“All the big players, every big show is streaming now,” Wilson explained on Digest’s podcast. “It’s just the name of the game. So we get to play in that genre now and be a part of the new wave. Take the history of Days and move to the new generation, which is streaming.”
“I’ll give you two reasons to sign up for Peacock. And one of them is apparently allergic to shirts.”
Credit: Jill Johnson/JPI
Plus, with streaming comes a greater catalog for fans to dive into. As he noted, it’s not just current episodes that will be on Peacock, but old ones as well. That’s a boon to any new viewer who wants to try the show out and get a feel for its history, rather than feeling overwhelmed and lost.
Ultimately, he feels, “It’s such a blessing for the show. It gives it that longevity. We just have to make sure everybody knows where to find us. Nothing else changes.”
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Fortunately, we’re here to help with that last part! Beginning September 12, Days of Our Lives will be airing exclusively on Peacock. To make sure you never miss an episode, click here. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.
As we adjust to Robert Scott Wilson going from Ben to Alex, take a look at our photo gallery of other soap stars who’ve played multiple roles on the same show.
