Days of Our Lives is officially marking 60 years on screen, a milestone that places the long-running daytime drama in a very small group of scripted series to reach six decades. First premiering on November 8, 1965, the show began as a family-driven serial centered on Dr. Tom Horton, his wife Alice and their children, framed by the hospital and community life in the fictional town of Salem. Sixty years later, that original focus on family ties and personal stakes still drives the stories that play out each weekday.
Over the decades, Days of Our Lives has grown from an NBC daytime mainstay into a global brand. The show made headlines in recent years when it left its longtime broadcast home and moved full-time to Peacock in September 2022, becoming one of the streamer’s signature daily originals. The transition has helped bring the series to new audiences while keeping it accessible to longtime viewers who now watch on demand. Along the way, Days has already crossed the 15,000-episode mark, cementing its place among the longest-running scripted programs in television history.
That 15,000th episode, which aired late last year, doubled as an emotional tribute to the late Bill Hayes and his beloved character Doug Williams. The episode brought back familiar faces and gave the cast a chance to honor Hayes on screen, acknowledging both his legacy in Salem and his real-life partnership with Susan Seaforth Hayes, who continues to appear as Julie. It was a reminder that for many fans, Days is as much about generational connections off screen as it is about the characters on screen.
The 60th anniversary arrives at a moment when the future of Days of Our Lives is also secure. Peacock recently renewed the series for two additional seasons, carrying it through its 62nd and 63rd seasons. That pickup reflects how strongly the show has performed in streaming, where it has regularly ranked among Peacock’s most watched entertainment titles. For a drama that has already survived changing daytime schedules, shifting viewer habits and the wider transition to streaming, the renewal underscores that Salem is not going anywhere.
To mark the anniversary, Peacock hosted a red carpet celebration in Los Angeles, bringing together cast members from across different eras of the show. The event, held on the same date the series first premiered in 1965, featured veterans and newer additions walking the carpet alongside executive producer Ken Corday, who continues the work started by his parents, creators Ted and Betty Corday. Fans were invited into the celebration through a companion virtual experience and red carpet coverage, extending the party beyond the room and onto social platforms where the show’s audience now gathers between episodes.
The anniversary is also being reflected on screen. A special arc built around the opening of the Dr. Tom Horton Free Clinic gives the show a way to honor its original patriarch within the fictional world of Salem. The gala tied to the clinic brings back familiar characters for a week of episodes that mix nostalgia with current storylines, as returning favorites cross paths with the newer generation. By rooting the celebration in the memory of Tom Horton, the series is acknowledging where it started while emphasizing how that legacy continues to shape present-day Salem.
Beyond the episodes themselves, the 60th anniversary has even reached into wider pop culture. Earlier this week, Jeopardy! featured a “Historic Days of Our Lives” category, with cast members introducing clues tied to key moments from the soap’s history and notable events in the real world. It was a small but striking reminder that the show has been on the air long enough to sit alongside major cultural touchstones, and that its history is rich enough to fill an entire quiz board.
Editorial coverage around the anniversary has highlighted what has helped Days endure: a focus on multi-generational families, a willingness to fold in social and cultural changes and a balance between grounded storytelling and the kind of heightened drama daytime viewers expect. The Horton, Brady, DiMera, Kiriakis and Hernandez families have each had their turns at the center of Salem, and the show has consistently used their stories to explore questions of loyalty, forgiveness, identity and second chances.
At the same time, this milestone is very much about the future. As the show leans into its streaming era, there is a clear emphasis on younger characters who can carry Salem forward for a new audience. One of the most notable examples in recent months has been Rachel Black, now played by Alice Halsey. She stepped into the role this spring, taking over from Finley Rose Slater, and has quickly become a key part of the canvas as the daughter of Brady Black and Kristen DiMera. Her scenes often sit at the crossroads of some of the most high-stakes family conflict in town.
Soap coverage has already taken notice of Halsey’s work on Days, with critics pointing to the way she plays Rachel’s sharp understanding of the adults around her. Stories involving Rachel have placed her in the middle of tense confrontations and more subtle moments with other children in Salem, underlining how much the younger generation absorbs from the choices their parents make. That focus on children dealing with complicated family histories is something Days has returned to again and again over six decades, and Halsey’s performance fits neatly into that tradition.
For readers here, Alice Halsey is also important beyond Salem. She is set to take on the iconic role of Laura Ingalls in Netflix’s upcoming Little House on the Prairie reboot, which is being described as a blend of family drama, survival story and origin tale of the American West. In this new version, Laura is presented as observant, honest and unafraid to question the world around her, which should give Halsey room to explore another layered character in a project with its own deep roots in television history.
That connection makes her presence on Days of Our Lives especially notable during the 60th anniversary. On one side, she is part of a landmark season of a daytime institution, playing a child who is caught between legacy families and difficult adult decisions. On the other, she is about to anchor a high-profile reimagining of a classic series that many viewers grew up with. Introducing her to soap audiences through Rachel Black while she prepares to bring Laura Ingalls to a new generation creates an interesting bridge between two very different but equally enduring pieces of television.
As Days of Our Lives celebrates 60 years, the anniversary looks both backward and forward. The tributes to its history, the gala for the Dr. Tom Horton Free Clinic and special appearances from longtime favorites all honor the show’s deep roots. At the same time, performers like Alice Halsey represent where Salem is headed next. For viewers who care about the legacy of daytime drama and the future of classic stories like Little House on the Prairie, this moment feels less like a final chapter and more like the start of a new one.