We were appalled at the blatant disregard NBC had for fans of "Days of Our Lives" by posting a future episode, thereby revealing secrets which viewers had been debating online. Access Hollywood reported on April 20 that Dick Van Dyke was going to debut on the soap in the fall, and spoilers for the week revealed he was set to first appear on September 1, so fans were surprised to see him so soon. One savvy viewer posted a screenshot from the episode on Twitter that depicts Julie Williams (Susan Seaforth Hayes) talking to Van Dyke's as-yet-unknown character, and responses flowed in from angry and confused followers.
Soaps get the fans engaged in dialogue on social media by keeping the comings and goings of actors as well as storylines under wraps. While the casual viewer most likely isn't going to read the end credits, the fact that one spotted Rachel Melvin's name was enough to catch fire online, ruining her surprise return even for the occasional watcher. While we love to debate about characters and stories, we don't want spoilers, NBC!
Sadly, soap operas are a dying breed. If another sudser doesn't post to its sister streaming service properly, we always have DVR as a backup. But we can't do that with "Days," which makes it frustrating and gaffs like this are an indication that the networks just don't care about soaps or its fans anymore. If Peacock continues to have glitches like this, "Days" could lose even more viewers.
