Days of Our Lives‘ Annual Purge Has Commenced — Who’s Getting Axed?

It seems like every year Days of Our Lives does their annual spring purge. This year is no different as the new regime with head writer Ron Carlivati begins to take shape.

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Last year around this time, DOOL let four cast members go — Martha Madison, Brandon Beemer, Marie Wilson and Sal Stowers. Beemer returned a few months later after a mistake was made with his contract. Madison was brought back into the fold for some 2017 episodes.

This time around, fans are saying goodbye to Vincent Irizarry and Vivian Jovanni. Irizarry’s character, Deimos, was left with little storyline, so the writers most likely gave up on trying to save his character. Jovanni told Serial Scoop that the exit was a mutually agreed upon decision.

“At this point in my career I wanted to pursue other interests,” Jovanni said. “Yet, I am eternally grateful for the opportunity.”

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With longtime DOOL favorite Arianne Zucker announcing her exit recently, it is already a big enough change for viewers to deal with. However, the Jason47 DAYS Facebook page is promising that more departures are about to be announced.

Fans weighed in on who they think the next departure is and the consensus is that it is John Aniston, who plays Victor Kiriakis. Will this be the year he retires?

With Aniston’s first Daytime Emmy nomination ever, he may want to go out on a high note, especially if he wins. Either way, DOOL needs a jolt of energy and ratings after lagging behind the three other soaps.

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The series was reportedly on the chopping block as NBC News figured out how to fit Megyn Kelly’s new show into the scheduling grid. Fortunately, the soap avoided disaster and it was renewed for its 52nd season. It was a close call that still has the cast and fans on notice.

With Carlivati’s storylines just about to come into play, viewers will see a shift in the plots and hopefully an upward trend in the ratings.

Before you go, check out our slideshow below.