Soap Opera
Why John Oliver’s ‘Days of our Lives’ Appearance Was Trickier Than You’d Think
John Oliver guest stars on ‘Days of Our Lives’ as Salem water inspector Devlin St. John in the ongoing arsenic mystery plot, fulfilling his dream of appearing on a soap opera.
Late-night talk show host John Oliver made his first of three appearances on Days of our Lives on August 11 as Salem water inspector Devlin St. John, a city official tasked with investigating how arsenic got into the water supply on Smith Island. The arsenic plot is one of the hottest currently on the soap, but working Oliver into the story took some maneuvering for a very good reason.
John Oliver Drops Into DAYS
The first sighting of Oliver came in the opening scene of the August 11th episode when Oliver popped in to see Mayor Paulina Price (Jackee Harry) and let her know his task at hand. As mayor, Paulina is concerned about the water supply, but the entire arsenic-laced Coriseal arc was taped a year ago, and the actors and production team have moved on to other stories. So, how did Oliver land in this one if his plea to be on a soap didn’t come until March of this year?
When Oliver told his audience that his fondest desire was to appear on a soap opera, both General Hospital and DAYS rushed to make it happen. GH was able to work Oliver into an already-in-progress story by casting him as Z, the WSB director who arrived by helicopter to assess the damage after a shootout on Spoon Island. The culmination of that plot had not yet been filmed, so it was easy to work Oliver in.
For DAYS, which tapes nearly a year in advance, it was much trickier.
“We didn’t want until next year for these shows to air, so we lifted [already produced] shows and put him in,” Executive Producer Ken Corday told Vulture in an interview. “We basically had to shoehorn him into our schedule because we were so far ahead. It was basically ‘We have to do this; let’s get it done.’ And we did. He was too good to pass up.”
Oliver, who brought his own wig to the set for his DAYS stint, had said that he hoped to get slapped during his soap opera appearances. Daniel Feuerriegel, the actor who plays the mastermind behind the arsenic cover-up plot was happy to make that all happen.
“He wanted the whole thing. From my recollection, he wanted a wig. He wanted a ridiculous name, and he wanted to slap or be slapped. We did all the things,” he said in an interview with SheKnowsSoaps. “Everything you would think cliché in a soap, we did. I got slapped. I slapped.”
It all sounds like a dream-come-true for Oliver and for soap fans who got a few Salem laughs inserted into a high-stakes plot.
