However, these storylines did have the desired effect, making Days of Our Lives the most-watched daytime soap among young and middle-aged women, also becoming one of NBC's five most profitable shows in any time slot.

[27][28] In 2006, when asked about his character, Jack Deveraux, "coming back from the dead"—for the third time—actor Matthew Ashford responded, "It is hard to play that because at a certain point it becomes too unreal...actors look at that and think, 'What is this — the Cartoon Network'?"

[37] In 2009, Darin Brooks (Max Brady) took home the Emmy for Best Younger Actor",[38] and Tamara Braun (Ava Vitali) won for Best Supporting Actress,[39] the show's first acting victories in over 21 and 23 years, respectively[40] As with all other network programming, Days of Our Lives' ratings have declined somewhat since the 1990s.

[47] The show was officially "rebooted" on September 26, 2011, to gain back its lapsed audience, appeal to long-term loyal fans, begin new stories, and boost ratings.

In a statement, NBC Entertainment said: "With writing that manages to weave together Salem's iconic characters with current realities, Ken Corday and his team have ushered the show's legacy into a new era that resonates with both longtime and new viewers.

"[59] On February 11, 2019, one month after NBC announced its renewal of Days for a 55th season, Corday Productions filed a breach of contract and fraud lawsuit against Sony Pictures Television (which has co-produced and handled international distribution of the series since original production backer Screen Gems was folded into the former Columbia Pictures Television in 1974) in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleging that Sony placed the soap at a competitive disadvantage favoring its higher-rated CBS rival, The Young and the Restless.

The suit – which seeks restitution payments of more than $20 million – alleges that Sony Pictures had forced Corday (which maintains a revenue-sharing arrangement to split any profits and production costs above the budget, the latter of which is financed by NBC) to absorb budgetary production deficits, had provided them with inaccurate accounting, had failed to offer the show for distribution in certain foreign markets (including the United Kingdom and France) and had failed to pay profits within the eight-figure range as well as to negotiate a license fee with NBC that incurs a "reasonable profit" for Corday, while negotiating a more favorable license fee from CBS for its carriage of The Young and The Restless (even as Corday's share of distribution revenues decreased by over 50% in recent years).

In addition to Alarr's alleged misconduct, the article cited a "significant number of women who have left the show over the past couple of years including actresses who played major characters", while male actors were "bullied" on the set.

[85] She additionally claimed Ken provided a "take it or leave it" deal in October 2023, following her meetings in March and June of the same year with Sony and Human Resources.

[86] On August 8, 2024, a Los Angeles County judge ruled in Zucker's favor, allowing her to "move ahead with the disputed portion of her complaint that's seeking a formal order" which would bar Alarr "from harassing behavior in any future workplace.

The secret, involving the true parentage of Michael Horton (a product of the rape) and Mickey's subsequent health issues as a result of the revelation, spanned episodes from 1968 to 1975.

This plot line was made even more complex with the presence of Linda Patterson (originally Margaret Mason for many years, later Elaine Princi) who claimed that her daughter Melissa had been fathered by Mickey.

Around the same time, with the help of head writers Sheri Anderson, Thom Racina, and Leah Laiman, action/adventure story lines and supercouples such as Bo and Hope, Shane and Kimberly, and Patch and Kayla reinvigorated the show, previously focused primarily on the domestic troubles of the Hortons.

Since the 1990s, with the introduction of writer James E. Reilly, Days of Our Lives has moved from traditional plots to some supernatural and science-fiction-themed stories, in conjunction with the rivalry of good vs. evil, in a Hatfield/McCoy feud style the Bradys versus the DiMeras.

[91] In addition to the love triangles of Bill/Laura/Mickey and Addie/Doug/Julie, other memorable storylines include the 1968 story of amnesiac Tom Horton Jr., who returns from Korea believing he is someone else and then proceeds to romance his younger sister Marie;[89] the 20-year tragic love triangle when John Black has an affair with Marlena Brady, who is married to Roman;[89] the 1982 "Salem Strangler" (Jake Kositchek, who was nicknamed "Jake the Ripper") who stalks and murders women;[89] the 1984 Gone with the Wind story line in which Hope Williams Brady and Bo Brady hide out on a Southern plantation and dress up as Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler (devised to keep viewers tuned in while rival network ABC's soaps were preempted due to the 1984 Summer Olympics);[89][92] and "The Cruise of Deception" in 1990, when madman Ernesto Toscano invites all his enemies aboard a ship, the S.S. Loretta, and holds them captive.

On January 26, 2012, episode 11765 was a tribute to soldiers who have served in Afghanistan and previous wars with a PTSD therapy group for Jack Deveraux to talk over his time held captive there.

Original cast member Frances Reid, who played Alice Horton, remained on contract with Days of Our Lives until her death on February 3, 2010, though she made her last appearance on the show in December 2007.

Bell, started writing for Days of Our Lives in 1966 and continued with the show until 1975, two years after he had created his own successful soap, The Young and the Restless, for rival network CBS.

Later head writers, such as Sheri Anderson, Thom Racina, and Leah Laiman, built on that stability and crafted storylines of their own, temporarily helping to bringing up the program's ratings.

His tenure, which lasted for four-and-a-half years and featured several supernatural-themed plotlines (which would later become the centerpiece of fellow NBC soap Passions, when the Reilly-created series debuted in July 1999), was credited with bringing ratings up to the second place spot in the Nielsens.

[83] On July 19, 2024, it was announced Carlivati had departed the soap as head writer, with Paula Cwikly and Jeanne Marie Ford named as his successors "effective immediately".

Much of this dropoff was associated with ABC's expansion of its increasingly popular soap All My Children to a full hour, the last half of which overlapped with the first half-hour of Days of Our Lives and CBS' As The World Turns, which had also aired at 1:30 p.m. since it premiered in April 1956.

Days of Our Lives was the only daytime drama series to increase in viewers between 2008 and 2010 and had reduced its operating budget, making it a profitable asset to NBC's broadcast lineup.

[138] One NBC station, KSNV-DT in Las Vegas, stopped carrying the show on August 19, 2013, due to a long-term move to an all-news schedule outside of network news and primetime programming; the program moved to the market's CW affiliate KVCW, where it aired at its traditional 1:00 p.m. time slot until an ownership change saw the show return to KSNV in late December 2014 as part of a change in the all-news plans.

Salt Lake City's KSL-TV moved the show to late nights at 1:05 a.m. on September 9, 2013, for unknown reasons, though it was rumored to be due to a romantic plot between gay characters Will Horton and Sonny Kiriakis; the station is owned by Bonneville International, a commercial broadcasting arm of the LDS Church.

[142][143][144] End of season number of metered viewers (listed as a Nielsen share in millions) and ranking (against other soap operas) from the first broadcast to the reporting week of August 24 to 28, 2015.

To bring TV viewers up to date, Arena screened ten catch up episodes, each presented by Days of Our Lives cast members, from April 1 to 14, 2014, featuring key story lines missed during the 11-month Australian television hiatus.

From the show's debut in 1965 until March 1966, announcer Ed Prentiss spoke the aforementioned opening phrase, following it with the notation "Days of Our Lives, a new dramatic serial starring Macdonald Carey.

[169] In November 2021, Corday Productions announced a spin-off holiday film titled Days of Our Lives: A Very Salem Christmas with Chandler Massey and Davidson starring.

(Coincidentally, at the time of the episode, "Lockhart" had been used as the surnames of actual Days characters, Bonnie and Mimi, then played by Judi Evans and Farah Fath respectively.