'Days of Our Lives' Cancellation Rumors: Megyn Kelly's Move to NBC Could Boot Out Soap Opera
Reports are rife that the imminent network transfer of reporter Megyn Kelly might cause the cancellation of one of the longest-running soap operas in U.S. TV "Days of Our Lives."
Kelly is one of the biggest names today in the field of TV reporting and hosting.
She recently announced her exit from Fox News and the obvious reason is her transfer to another network, NBC. Kelly struck a pretty good deal as reports say she is offered at least three gigs in the network - one of them being a possible daytime talk show.
Unfortunately, that daytime talk show might have to take up the airing schedule of "Days of Our Lives." According to PEOPLE, they have a source close to the production of the renowned soap opera who shared that cast members have been told that "Days of Our Lives" is most likely going to be canceled this year.
Since November 1965, "Days of Our Lives" aired on NBC for almost all weekdays in all those years. The same source told PEOPLE said that the show is traditionally renewed every year. However, to date, the show has been ordered by the network only until 2017 and plans beyond that seemed to not be in the radar.
PEOPLE quoted their source as saying, "Basically, we've heard that there won't be a ["Days of Our Lives"] in 2018." The report also noted that the "Days of Our Lives'" airtime of 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. EST is one of the primetime schedules for a daytime show and would fit perfectly with one of the gigs offered to Kelly.
There have also been some previous cases where big TV networks gave up long-time running soap operas to make way for new daytime talk shows. For example, in 2011, ABC canceled "All My Children" and "One Life to Live" to launch two new talk shows "The Chew" and "The Revolution."
On a brighter side, Blasting News noted that there is also a possibility that "Days of Our Lives" would not have to be canceled at all. The report pointed out that should fans rally for the soap opera to stay, NBC may choose another option which involves just moving the series' time slot to 12 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. noon. This timeslot, according to the report, is usually occupied by infomercials.