"Days" at a Glance: Days of Our Lives takes place in the fictional midwestern town of Salem and revolves primarily around the core Horton and Brady families.
Premiered: November 8, 1965.
Airs: Weekdays on NBC. Check your local listings for times. It also airs same-day episodes on Soapnet Monday through Friday at 11pm EST and previous days' episodes weekdays Tuesday through Friday at 4 a.m. and 10 a.m. ET. Additionally, Friday's episode airs Saturday at 4 a.m. and again Monday at 10 a.m.
Cast List:
- Kristian Alfonso as Hope Brady
- John Aniston as Victor Kiriakis
- Blake Berris as Nick Fallon
- Nadia Bjorlin as Chloe Lane Black
- Lauren Boles as Ciara Brady
- Darin Brooks as Max Brady
- Molly Burnett as Melanie Layton
- Shawn Christian as Dr. Daniel Jonas
- Bryan Dattilo as Lucas Horton, formerly Roberts
- Kevin Dobson as Mickey Horton
- Mary Beth Evans as Dr. Kayla Brady Johnson
- Galen Gering as Rafael "Rafe" Hernandez
- Deidre Hall as Dr. Marlena Evans Black
- Bill Hayes as Doug Williams
- Susan Seaforth Hayes as Julie Williams
- Shelley Hennig as Stephanie Johnson
- Drake Hogestyn as John Black
- Leann Hunley as Anna DiMera
- Jay Kenneth Johnson as Philip Kiriakis
- Renee Jones as Dr. Alexandra "Lexie" Carver
- Lauren Koslow as Kate Roberts
- Eric Martsolf as Brady Black
- Joseph Mascolo as Stefano DiMera
- Peggy McCay as Caroline Brady
- Rachel Melvin as Chelsea Brady
- Stephen Nichols as Steve "Patch" Johnson
- Thaao Penghlis as Anthony "Tony" DiMera
- Terrell Ransom Jr. as Theodore "Theo" Carver
- Peter Reckell as Beauregard "Bo" Brady
- Frances Reid as Alice Horton
- James Reynolds as Abe Carver
- Suzanne Rogers as Maggie Horton
- James Scott as Elvis Junior "EJ" DiMera
- Alison Sweeney as Samanatha "Sami" Brady DiMera
- Josh Taylor as Roman Brady
- William Utay as Dr. Wilhelm Rolf
- Arianne Zucker as Nicole Walker
Trivia
- MacDonald Carey's voice has been heard at the opening sequence of the show for the past 41 years, speaking these famous words: "Like sands through the hourglass, so are the Days of Our Lives."
- Days of Our Lives celebrated its 40th anniversary on November 8, 2005.
- Days of Our Lives expanded to a one-hour show in 1975.
Synopsis:
Days of Our Lives centers on the trials and tribulations of the Brady and Horton families, with secondary families such as the Kiriakis, Roberts, Black, Carver, Johnson, and the evil DiMera clans. Days has harvested a multitude of radical storylines throughout the years, which include serial killings, baby swappings, demonic possessions, "Who's the Daddy?" storylines, and amnesia. The show is notably famous for its brainwashing tactics as well, courtesy of the DiMera family. Characters commonly come back from the dead on this show repeatedly, such as Roman Brady, Dr. Marlena Evans Black, Hope Brady Williams, Steve Johnson, Jack Devereaux, and Stefano DiMera.Horton Family
Alice Horton is the beloved matriarch of the Horton family. Her husband, Dr. Tom Horton, was portrayed by MacDonald Carey until his passing in 1994. They had five children together: Bill, Mickey, Tommy, Addie, and Marie. Maggie, Hope, Shawn-Douglas, Lucas, and Nick, and Jeremy remain on the show today as the remaining Horton family members. It is noteworthy to mention that although Lucas shares the same last name with his mother, Kate Roberts, his biological father is Bill Horton, as the result of an affair between Bill and Kate. Additionally, Addie was Julie Williams, as well as Hope's mother, and was killed by an oncoming truck when Hope was just an infant. Thus, Julie Williams is not only Hope's stepmother, but also her half-sister as well.
Brady Family
Shawn and Caroline Brady are the respectable patriarch and matriarch of the Brady family. They have six children together: Roman, Kimberly, Kayla, Bo, Frankie, and Max. Although Bo is the biological son of Victor Kiriakis, as the result of an affair with Caroline, he still considers Shawn his real "Pop." Shawn and Caroline later adopted orphans Frankie and Max. The Bradys have been pitted in a lifelong feud against the DiMeras, in a long withstanding battle of good versus evil. Shawn tragically passed away in February 2008 on John Black's private jet en route from Ireland shortly after reuniting with his sister, Colleen Brady.
Incidentally, Drake Hogestyn was brought on the show in 1986 to play Roman Brady. The show explained that Roman had plastic surgery along with amnesia thanks to Stefano DiMera's machinations and brainwashing tactics. Wayne Northrup, the original Roman, was brought back in 1991, but the show wanted to find a way to keep the immensely popular Drake on board. Thus, Drake's character went back to being John Black, even though he later discovered that he was born as Forrest Alamain, and he and Deidre Hall's character of Marlena have remained one of Days' all-time popular supercouples.
Bo and Hope Brady
Bo and Hope Brady have remained one of the most popular supercouples in soap opera history since 1983. Peter Reckell and Kristian Alfonso played the most emotional and gut-wrenching storyline ever when their characters, Bo and Hope Brady, lost their son Zack in a hit and run car accident. Ironically, Chelsea, Bo's daughter with Billie Reed, was the one who accidentally ran Zack down on New Year's Eve in 2005. Hope gave birth to an infant daughter, Ciara, nearly a year later. Bo and Hope also have a grown son, Shawn-Douglas, who has a daughter, Claire, with Belle Black Kiriakis. Notably, Peter Reckell and Kristian Alfonso won a "Special Fan Award" in 2002 for America's Favorite Couple.
