Salem is about to get a lot less funny. That great fan favorite, and farceur extraordinaire, Louise Sorel has been pink-slipped from Days of Our Lives and will end her run as badass Vivian Alamain in the coming months. After several years away from Days, Sorel returned to the soap in 2009 with much fanfare and has continued to be one of its most acclaimed players. So what went haywire? TV Guide Magazine spoke with the star about her surprising exit.
TV Guide Magazine: What's the reason for not picking up your contract? Money? The recent change in head writers?
Sorel: My guess is that there's upheaval. The only thing I know for sure is that I'm...read more
It's been a year since Ed Scott took over as show-runner of Days of Our Lives, and the NBC serial is far better looking, much better acted and infinitely more involving than when he arrived. In fact, the last few weeks have been killer. So why is he out on his ass? Scott, who helmed the top-rated soap The Young and the Restless before coming to Days, was fired on Aug. 15 and replaced by former One Life to Live exec producer Gary Tomlin. Days owner/executive producer Ken Corday tells TV Guide he axed Scott because he clashed with head writer Dena Higley. "For me to deny there was friction between Dena and Ed would be a lie," Corday says. "There was friction and that's not a good thing for a network to perceive. It's not a good thing for the cast and crew, and it's not a good thing for the owner of the show to see." He adds that Scott's ouster "was important to the pick-up of the show." NBC has yet to renew Days after months of budget and licensing talks, but Corday says he now expect...read more
Imagine that you awaken one morning and go about your usual routine, put the coffee on, get the paper, prepare things you will need for the day's work. You get in the car and on the way to work you listen to the news from around the world, realizing once again what a blessing it is to live in this country, where bombs are not exploding around you and where you have a job to show up for at all. You arrive. As you enter the building, you amble down past the huge stage doors and say hello to the ever-friendly Stephanie at the security desk and continue on down the hall. Moving down the hallway, passing the costume department, stage manager's desk, and makeup departments, waving and exchanging hellos, you notice something feels different. The place has a different energy. The place is buzzing.A feeling of anticipation permeates the studio and no matter where you go in the building, this energy is there along with a feeling that everyone present has a renewed interest in his or her parti...read more