A spokeswoman for Days of Our Lives has confirmed that Dena Higley has vacated her post as head writer for the NBC sudser and will be replaced by Marlene McPherson and Darrell Ray Thomas. The news was first reported by Soap Opera Network.

Ken Corday, executive producer of Days of our Lives, announced that Marlene McPherson and Darrell Ray Thomas have been named the head writing team on NBC’s longest running scripted program, effective immediately. “McPherson and Thomas will bring Days of our Lives back to its core values by telling exciting stories with a fresh and contemporary approach including beloved characters,” said Corday.

Higley first joined Days in 1985 and served in various roles before leaving in 2004 to become the head writer for One Life to Live, Soap Opera Network says. After the writer’s strike, Higley returned to Days in April 2008.

Is something in the air? Just yesterday, ABC announced that it brought on a new head writer for General Hospital.

Image Credit: Patrick Wymore/ABC

ABC announced today that Garin Wolf was named the head writer of General Hospital, effective immediately. “Garin is a talented writer and storyteller who has been a part of the General Hospital family for nearly 15 years,” said Brian Frons, ABC’s daytime president. “His in-depth knowledge and adoration for the show’s legacy will help make a smooth transition and an immediate impact on story. I’m sure he will succeed in taking General Hospital to new heights as he develops characters and storylines that will engage and thrill our viewers.”

Wolf replaces Robert Guza, Jr., who had been with the ABC soap on and off since the ’80s. Wolf has been on GH since 1997.

GH is currently up for 21 Daytime Emmys — the most of any sudser this year.

Not a fan of a shirtless Victor Newman. @EWLynette

Image Credit: Louie Psihoyos/ABC

Agnes Nixon released the following statement about the cancellation of All My Children and One Life to Live, the two soaps she created for ABC more than 40 years ago. “ABC’s decision to cancel All My Children and One Life to Live saddens me greatly,” the 83-year-old queen of daytime soaps said. “I treasure the decades that the worlds of Pine Valley and Llanview were brought to life by our talented casts and crews. I appreciate that the network allowed our teams to break new dramatic ground and always supported our commitment to the honest portrayal of social issues. We hope we have entertained our viewers and perhaps even educated them along the way.

“My deep gratitude goes to all the talented people who have contributed to All My Children and One Life To Live over these many years; we were always family, made up of writers, producers, directors, actors, crews. Equally important in that family are our loyal fans who shared this journey with us. Although ABC has concluded there is no longer a place for our shows on their network, I will do everything possible to keep them alive. God bless you all.”

Will a cable net rescue the canceled soaps? (Sound: crickets)
ABC daytime chief: `I never thought I’d be the guy to take two of the shows off’
Do canceled soap stars have another life to live?

Image Credit: Rick Rowell/ABC/Getty Images

There’s nothing more satisfying than when another network comes to the rescue of a show that gets the ax (Southland fans can never thank you enough, TNT. Same to you, BET, for giving the love to The Game). So it’s no wonder that heartsick fans of All My Children and One Life to Life are holding out hope that some network — any network — will give their beloved soaps a second lease on life now that ABC has dropped them.

Sadly, the economics are far different for the daytime sudsers. Though an insider acknowledged that ABC-Disney would certainly field offers for the 41-year-old AMC and/or the 43-year-old One Life to Live, it’s unlikely that any cable network would have the cash to make it work. The Oprah Winfrey Network is out (no matter how much it could use a headline-grabbing stunt like this to boost its ratings). And its doubtful any other female-friendly web could pony up the cash to keep Susan Lucci on the payroll. After all, Guiding Light and As the World Turns weren’t able to find new homes despite the fervent hopes of Telenext, which produced both soaps. Perhaps fans should redirect their efforts to finding a new destination for Erica Kane. (Are you reading this, 30 Rock?)

Ironically, AMC and OLTL creator Agnes Nixon thought the CBS shows could have been saved when she was out in Los Angeles last year to promote the 40th anniversary of her ABC sudser in 2010. “I just thought it wasn’t necessary,.” she told EW at the time. “If someone had a little more intelligence or understanding of the craft and the medium, it could have been saved.” When asked if she thought AMC and OLTL would stay off the chopping block, Nixon was predictably upbeat. “It’s a great vote of confidence that the network moved All My Children out here. They’ve moved One Life into a studio [in NY] and that’s much bigger for them than the one they had. They are really some great people there. …As long as people work hard and don’t take it for granted… If they keep telling a good story, I think they’ll be alright.”

That said, Nixon also predicted that there will be fewer soaps within a year — not realizing that two of the soon-to-be-cancelled shows would be her own.

ABC daytime chief: `I never thought I’d be the guy to take two of the shows off’
Do canceled soap stars have another life to live?
Susan Lucci reacts to ‘All My Children’ cancellation