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Days of Our Lives superstar Alison Sweeney is headed back to Salem as Sami Brady and will first air in 2025. TV Insider was the first to report the news.
In her exclusive interview with TV Insider , Sweeney exulted, "I was thrilled to be invited to return. I love playing Sami and I am always happy for the chance to come back. We always have to figure out scheduling and such, but if at all possible, I’m so glad to make it happen.”
As for what brings Sami back into the DAYS mix, the actress teased that it "was definitely an unexpected storyline they pitched me" and that "all the ideas, I was pretty shocked.”
The actress assumed the role of Marlena (Deidre Hall) and Roman’s (Josh Taylor) daughter back in 1993 and remained with the show until 2014 . Over the course of that 21-year run, Sweeney became one of DAYS’s most popular players, anchoring memorable storylines and romantic pairings and earning multiple Soap Opera Digest Awards (Best Young Actress in 1994 and 1997, Outstanding Villainess in 1996, 1998 and 1999).
In 2022, Digest readers voted Sweeney’s Sami as the best soap opera bad girl of all time. Among the character’s most pot-stirring actions, she kidnapped her baby half-sister, Belle, and doctored the tot’s paternity test; she drugged Austin and had sex with him, then lied about Will’s paternity; she faked amnesia to hold on to Austin; she sold drugs to John while posing as “Stan”; she conspired with Kate and Gabi to cover up Nick’s murder; and she partnered with Kate to take over DiMera as revenge against EJ. But the character also had a softer side, which was on display in her couplings with Lucas, Rafe and EJ, and in her mama-bear protectiveness of her kids, Will, Allie, Johnny and Sydney.
When Sweeney ended her original run, she told Digest that she had been pondering the decision for some time, both in light of her desire to spend more time with her family (husband Dave Sanov, son Ben and daughter Megan) and her increasing involvement with outside projects. “It’s definitely been something that I have thought about seriously for a long time, in terms of figuring out how to manage my time the best that I possibly can,” she explained. “My passion for working at DAYS has kept me there, obviously, for 21 years. I love Sami and I love Salem and I love the people I work with, so it was a really, really hard decision to walk away.”
Whenever possible, the show has welcomed her home for visits, and Sweeney reprised Sami in 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020-21 and 2022.
When she wrapped her 2021 stint, Sweeney told Digest that she was open to further appearances. “Of course,” she said. “There’s always a chance. In fact, I would love to do more… I would always want to come home to Salem.”
She was true to her word, as she came back the next year. Upon that exit, Sweeney reiterated her hope for more Sami returns, telling Digest , “I’m always open to it. [Never] say never about what could happen next. I always love visiting Salem.”
Outside of the DAYS universe, Sweeney has become a fixture in the Hallmark universe, not only as an actress but as a writer and producer. Her most recent project for the network, One Bad Apple: A Hannah Swensen Mystery , was released this past April.
Are you excited about what Sami has in store for Salem? Sound off in the comments below!
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