Is Days of Our Lives ending? Explained

The long-running NBC daily soap, Days of Our Lives, is currently presenting multiple edge-of-seat story arcs. On one hand, Arnold Feniger is back in Salem and going about town pretending to be Rafe, while EJ is holding the real Rafe Hernandez hostage. On the other hand, Ava is held captive by the presumed-dead Rachel Blake at the behest of her namesake granddaughter, little Rachel Black.

These storylines ran parallel to a series of poisoning cases, as the affected cast and crew of the soap Body & Soul were saved by an antidote. Following this, Body & Soul decided to move from Salem to LA, ending the soap-within-the-soap story arc in Days of Our Lives.

This left fans worrying about the soap coming to an end, as Body & Soul was a central part of the show's plot. Regardless, allaying such fears, Days of Our Lives is not going anywhere, as the soap has been renewed for its 61st season, which will run through 2026.

Meanwhile, the soap, which has been presenting the relationship dynamics between various resident families of the fictional Salem city since November 1965, will continue to showcase dramatic situations in its plot. DOOL currently airs on the streaming channel Peacock.

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Days of Our Lives: What happened with Body & Soul?

As mentioned before, Body & Soul made up a vital part of the soap's storyline since many of the DOOL characters were employed in the soap-within-the-soap. However, almost the entire staff connected to the show recently got poisoned through their scripts.

When the crime was investigated, nurse Whitley King, played by Kim Coles, was found to be the real culprit. Whitley emphasized that, as a fan of the show, she was disappointed with the current storyline and wanted to punish everyone involved. While she was exposed and everyone affected was saved, Abe Carver realized the danger of not being able to protect his staff.

Whitley caused poisonings of the Body & Soul cast members (Images via YouTube/Days of our Lives, Instagram/@dayspeacock)

As such, after years of being part of Salem, Body & Soul was sold out to the network after Abe Carver convinced Kate Roberts to close shop. As Abe informed all the staff, the network claimed the show was a very successful one. They decided to produce it themselves and declared they would be open to accepting any cast and crew from Salem ready to relocate to California.

With Body & Soul closing down its production in Salem, most of the Days of Our Lives characters are expected to be out of a job for some time if they plan to stay back, till the soap comes up with a new plot to employ them.

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Days of Our Lives: Why were there speculations about the soap ending?

Another soap besides DOOL, ABC's One Life to Live, had a similar plot content with a soap-within-the-soap, titled Fraternity Row. After the storyline announced the closure of Fraternity Row, ABC canceled One Life to Live soon after. Drawing a parallel with this may have caused fans to wonder whether DOOL will meet the same fate.

Moreover, the episode that aired on Tuesday, February 11, 2025, also suggested trouble with the Salem University Hospital. As fans would agree, the said medical facility has been an important part of the soap - from chip-removal surgeries to antidotes for poisons. If the hospital declares bankruptcy and closes down, another longtime association with DOOL would be gone.

However, as Seth Burns pointed out to Bonnie and Johnny, Salem housed the highest per capita "psychos" in the nation. Whether this was a hint at a future story arc is unclear as of yet.

Since Days of Our Lives ranks high on its streaming medium, Peacock, and it has been renewed till 2026, there is no fear of the soap ending anytime soon. Stay tuned to Peacock every weekday to catch the latest drama, as Salem residents uncover secrets and look for another employment.

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