Sands to Keep Falling Through Hourglass of Longtime Soap

In the most Stefano DiMera move ever, Days of Our Lives is back from the dead. It apparently was never officially dead to begin with, despite reports last week that the NBC soap opera would go on hiatus at the end of November and the entire cast would be released from their contracts. Sources now tell Entertainment Weekly, the Hollywood Reporter, and Deadline that a Corday Productions executive told the show's actors on Thursday that the finishing touches are being put on a deal to bring the network's longest-running entertainment program back for a 56th season.

The cast will simply take a year-end vacation, which they apparently do every year, and start shooting new episodes in January. Original reports had mentioned that if the show was renewed, all of the actors would have to renegotiate their contracts with Corday; it's not clear from new reports if that's the case. There's been no comment yet from NBC, Corday, or Sony Pictures, which distributes the soap opera. (More Days of Our Lives stories.)