Shakeup in Salem: Was DAYS' Boss Fired to Save Show?

It's been a year since Ed Scott took over as show-runner of DAYS OF OUR LIVES, and the NBC serial is far better looking, much better acted and infinitely more involving than when he arrived. In fact, the last few weeks have been killer. So why is he out on his ass? Scott, who helmed the top-rated soap THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS before coming to DAYS, was fired on Aug. 15 and replaced by former ONE LIFE TO LIVE exec producer Gary Tomlin. DAYS owner/executive producer Ken Corday tells TV Guide he axed Scott because he clashed with head writer Dena Higley. "For me to deny there was friction between Dena and Ed would be a lie," Corday says. "There was friction and that's not a good thing for a network to perceive. It's not a good thing for the cast and crew, and it's not a good thing for the owner of the show to see." He adds that Scott's ouster "was important to the pick-up of the show." NBC has yet to renew Days after months of budget and licensing talks, but Corday says he now expects a new deal to be announced right after Labor Day. In an interview with TV Guide's Michael Logan, Scott speaks out on the claim he was rewriting Dena Higley scripts: "That is nonsense, a bunch of blown-up nothing. I gave notes on Dena's outlines. That's it. Take 'em or don't take 'em. That's what producer-writer meetings are about. You haggle about things, you suggest stuff, but always in the end, you let the writer do what the writer wants to do. There were never any screaming matches. Daytime drama is all about passion and purpose — there will always be disagreements. I love Days and all the people there. It was a wonderful place to work and a wonderful company — there's nobody there who doesn't want that show to succeed. The cast is always ready to work. There is no one big star, no divas." Read the entire interview here. Also, is Christopher Whitesell joining the DAYS writing team?