'Days of Our Lives' Moving to Peacock in Shocking Move From NBC

Days of Our Lives is on the move. NBC's last remaining soap opera will be exclusive to the NBCUniversal streaming platform Peacock starting in September. It comes after NBC tested interest in the soap opera with Peacock subscribers by airing an exclusive spinoff series featuring Days characters.

"This programming shift benefits both Peacock and NBC and is reflective of our broader strategy to utilize our portfolio to maximize reach and strengthen engagement with viewers," Mark Lazarus, chairman, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, said in a statement to Vulture Wednesday. "With a large percentage of the Days of Our Lives audience already watching digitally, this move enables us to build the show's loyal fanbase on streaming while simultaneously bolstering the network daytime offering with an urgent, live programming opportunity for partners and consumers."

Days has been on the precipice of being canceled for over a decade, as talks between producers Corday Productions and Sony Pictures Television and NBC often go right down to the wire whenever it is time to renew the show. It is the least-watched of the four remaining daytime soaps, so NBC and Sony always have to reach a deal that makes financial sense to both parties. Although Days' audience is small, the fanbase is loyal and NBC and Peacock are hoping they will be enough to give the struggling streamer a boost.

NBC has already used Days to woo new subscribers to Peacock. The streamer is home to Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem, a spinoff series featuring fan-favorite characters on adventures outside the series' fictional city of Salem, Illinois. The two five-episode seasons aired over a week, with the first debuting in September 2021 and the second in July. Days of Our Lives: A Very Salem Christmas also debuted on Peacock in December. Peacock never released audience numbers for the spin-offs.

Days of Our Lives debuted in November 1965, and over 14,000 episodes have been produced. The show was only renewed through September 2023, so Peacock has one year to see how Days does before committing to more seasons.

NBC's decision to drop its final soap opera brings the once-dominant TV genre closer to its death. The only remaining soaps are ABC's General Hospital and CBS' The Young and The Restless and The Brave and the Bold. In place of Days, NBC plans to air a one-hour NBC News program featuring journalists Kate Snow, Aaron Gilchrist, Vicky Nguyen, and Morgan Radford.