‘Days of Our Lives’ EP on Bringing John Oliver’s Dream Soap Opera Role to Life: ‘He Wanted to Be Slapped’

By Tanya Fedak

Tanya Fedak

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Ken Corday, the executive producer of “Days of Our Lives,” knew John Oliver needed to make an appearance on his series.

The host of the Emmy-winning HBO series “Last Week Tonight” publicly declared his desire to star in a soap opera during a March episode of his talk show, and Corday immediately got to work. Creatives came together the next morning and drafted a storyline, ensuring the material was both strong for Oliver and propelled the story forward. “This is not a one-off,” Corday tells Variety.

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