‘Days Of Our Lives’ Renewed Through 2016, Even Without Alison Sweeney

Days Of Our Lives will be renewed through 2016 by NBC. Wednesday morning, the network announced its plan to bring back the popular day time soap opera beyond the show’s 50th anniversary. Days Of Our Lives being renewed comes just days after Alison Sweeney announced she would not be returning to the show.

Sweeney had been a star on Days Of Our Lives since she was 16, and says that she never had a vacation longer than two weeks in all those years. The Inquisitrreported earlier today on how much Alison Sweeney was adored by fans for her 21-year career.

Jennifer Salke, president of NBC Entertainment, made the announcement about the renewal to the media. “Days has shown year-to-year increases in key female demographics and remains both relevant and fresh creatively due to the hard work of the producers, writers, cast and crew who have worked tirelessly to make Days the ratings success it is today.”

Days Of Our Lives has always been a formidable opponent at the Daytime Emmys. In their almost 50 year history, they have garnered an amazing 232 nominations and 36 wins. Last year, in what many thought was a surprise, they pulled down the Emmy for Outstanding Daytime Drama.

In spite of the long history of Days Of Our Lives, the show continues to track well with a younger female audience. Last year, the NBC daytime drama had its best season with women between the ages of 18-49 in over three years. They also saw a spike in total viewership for the first time in four years.

Executive producer Ken Corday shared his excitement about being able to continue his show.

“We are thrilled to continue being a part of the NBC family and to have the support of our incredible network and studio executives who work tirelessly to allow us to continue telling our stories and share the ‘Days’ legacy with our devoted family of fans.”

Days Of Our Lives is set up to last longer than 50 years. What is your favorite long running daytime drama?