As Days of our Lives finalizes its plans to resume production later this summer, some shocking news from the world of Salem has everyone doing a double take: Greg Meng has reportedly been fired by Corday Productions, bringing his long-running role as the soap opera's co-executive producer to an end.
Several behind-the-scenes sources have confirmed Meng's departure. If true, his exit is surprising for many reasons -- one being that he's been with the company for over 30 years, another being that daytime dramas are currently scrambling to figure out ways to safely move production forward during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meng, who shared EP duties with Albert Alarr and Ken Corday (the son of the show's creators Ted and Betty Corday), just recently spoke with TV Insider about DAYS' future production plans. Due to the soap's advanced shooting schedule, it is still airing new episodes and has enough in the can to last until September. Therefore, said Meng, it doesn't make sense for DAYS to rush back to work like The Bold and the Beautiful, which resumed production in mid-June.
"The worst thing that could happen is jumping in and then having to shut down again for medical reasons," Meng stated, adding that he was already rethinking some stories and scrutinizing existing scripts for problems. "Common sense tells us we're not going to be able to plan large scenes."
Meng graduated from Oklahoma City University with a Bachelors of Music Degree, Piano Performance. He later enrolled in classes at UCLA's School of Film & Television extension program, where he discovered his passion for television, entertainment, and production. Soon thereafter, he was accepted into the highly sought-after NBC Page Program, which eventually led to him becoming Manager, Business Affairs Administration for the network, where he was responsible for tracking daytime programs' talent and production staff. This served as his introduction to Days of our Lives and the Corday Productions team that he joined in 1989.
Considered a trailblazer and visionary by many, Meng has served as DAYS' co-executive producer since 2011 and has been Executive in Charge of Production at the show for over 17 years. He was also Sr. Vice President of Corday Productions, Inc.
In addition to his production work, Meng authored the bestselling tie-in books Days of our Lives Better Living, Days of our Lives 45 Years: A Celebration in Photos, and Days of our Lives: 50 Years. He also had a big hand in launching the soap's companion web series and the DOOL App.
Soap Central has reached out to DAYS' publicity for a comment about Meng's status. Keep checking back for updates as this story develops.
Daytime Confidential was the first to report the news of Meng's rumored exit.
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