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The exodus at Days of Our Lives continues with the departures of Nadia Bjorlin, Tamara Braun and Bren Foster.
Three More To Leave Salem
The exodus at Days of Our Lives continues with the announcement of three more departures. Just days after it was reported that DAYS would not renew the contracts of Crystal Chappell (Carly) and Louise Sorel (Vivian), Soap Opera Digest reports that Tamara Braun (Taylor) and newcomer Bren Foster (Quinn) have been let go. Though TVLine.com reports that Nadia Bjorlin (Chloe) is also expected to leave when her contract expires this summer, the actress has confirmed she was indeed fired.
“It’s a bittersweet moment for me, but fortunately I have been at these crossroads before, and I’ve always rose to the challenge in everything I pursued,” Bjorlin said to Matt Mitovich of TVLine.com. “I will miss the cast and crew dearly, and they — including [executive producer] Ken Corday — will always be considered family to me. At the same time, I am excited for where this next chapter in my life takes me.”
Bjorlin’s been a fixture at DAYS off and on for almost 10 years, participating in numerous popular pairings on the show, most recently with Bryan Dattilo (ex-Lucas), Jay Kenneth Johnson (ex-Philip) and Shawn Christian (Daniel). Bjorlin’s latest storyline has her falling for the mysterious Quinn, played by Aussie hunk Bren Foster. Foster’s Quinn was recently revealed to be the long-lost son Salem psycho Vivian Alamain.
Tamara Braun’s exit also comes as a surprise, considering the recent high-profile recasting of the character, which was re-introduced earlier this year with Emmy winner Natalia Livingston (ex-Emily/Rebecca, GH). In February, just three weeks after Livingston’s on-air debut, DAYS announced Braun would assume the role in April. The Emmy winner was facing an uphill battle, portraying a character that, based on our viewer feedback; fans just wasn’t warming up to. In fact, many of our visitors told us they would have preferred if Braun returned her previous character Ava instead.
These exits are just one part of the plans executive producer Ken Corday has in store to overhaul the series leading into the fall. Just last month, Corday fired head writer Dena Higley, replacing her with former Passions scribes Marlene McPherson and Darrell Ray Thomas.
In the June 14th issue of Digest (on sale now), Corday declared the show would be “reset,” resulting in changes to Salem’s landscape. “You will see, in the course of a month, in the neighborhood of six characters leave Salem and five or six characters return or come to Salem, leading up to a huge September.”
Corday also sought to ease concerns surrounding the hiring of McPherson and Thomas. When asked if fans should be worried that DAYS will become more like Passions, Corday assured fans they have nothing to worry about. “They were writing Jim’s [the late James E. Reilly] show, they weren’t writing their show.” He also said the series is going back to the “golden days” but will be “very forward-moving and very fast moving.”
While summarizing the exits of some as “characters who haven’t panned out,” Corday did promise that fans “would see the return of very popular characters from the past.” Two of those names have been revealed. Though DAYS hasn’t officially confirmed it, the exiting Sorel let it slip during an interview with TVGuide’s Michael Logan that Hogestyn and Hall would be returning as John and Marlena this fall.
Editor’s POV: If these exits are giving you a major case of déjà vu, it should. In late 2008, a shakeup behind the scenes resulted in the departures of Roscoe Born (Trent), Kristen Renton (Morgan) and Linden Ashby (Paul). After being rocked with major budget cuts in the fall of 2008, DAYS would go on a veteran firing spree from November 2008 – March 2009, writing off vets Deidre Hall & Drake Hogestyn, Stephen Nichols & Mary Beth Evans, and Thaoo Penglis and Leann Hunley.
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