Days of our Lives kicked off the final arc involving John Black as the Peacock soap prepares to say goodbye to Drake Hogestyn.
Last fall, Drake passed away from pancreatic cancer just one day before his 71st birthday.
Since then, Days fans knew the time would come when the show would have John die too.
As Monsters and Critics reported, Days of our Lives executive producer Ken Corday revealed Drake approved the John storyline before his death.
This week, John Black’s end begins, with John suddenly missing and Marlena (Deidre Hall) vowing to find him.
Deidre Hall recently opened up about what it was like to film the story while Drake was still fighting cancer.
Days of our Lives star Deidre Hall calls filming John’s final arc ‘tough’
Speaking with Soap Opera Digest, Deidre spoke about the final goodbye to John. No, she didn’t give away any spoilers, but we know it will be a classic soap story filled with nostalgia.
Deidre was asked about filming the scenes while Drake was still alive.
It was clear to the cast that the story began to explain John’s absence and that Ken kept the door open for John to return if Drake got better.
“Ken had said, ‘The minute you’re ready to come back, you’re back.’ I think all of us that loved him so much were just braced for whichever [outcome it might be]. ‘Please come back. We would love to have you be able to come back.’ Drake loved working. He loved being there. He loved everyone from the night crew to [the people who worked in] the commissary. He was close to everybody,” Deidre shared.
The soap vet admitted the cast and crew were hoping Drake would return to the show.
“Our greatest wish was that he would rally enough to come back. I’m sure that you could tell when he was still on air that he was getting thinner. The wardrobe department was doing a lot to try to ameliorate that. It was a tough one. But we wanted him there so much, and he wanted to be there so much, so we were all pulling in the same direction to hopefully make that happen,” she expressed to SOD.
There’s no question the entire cast has struggled since losing Drake, and playing out John’s final arc couldn’t have been easy.
Deidre and Alison Sweeney (Samil) broke down at the Days of our Lives 60th-anniversary photoshoot as they remembered Drake and opened up about the hole he left on the show.
What can Days fans expect from the missing John story?
The episodes were filmed last summer, with John’s death filmed after Drake’s passing. The story will heat up over the next few weeks as Marlena turns to Steve (Stephen Nichols) for help finding John.
We can expect plenty of flashbacks, like today’s, when John (then Roman) learns Marlena is alive, and they reunite on the docks.
May sweeps will be when the climax of John’s story plays out. An official date for the tribute episodes to Drake and John’s funeral has not been released.
However, word on the street is that those episodes will happen in June.
In the meantime, buckle up Days fans because we are for one emotional roller coaster ride.
Days of our Lives airs weekdays on Peacock.