Ryan Quan Returns to Days of Our Lives as Co-Head Writer
- Je-Ree
- 14 hours ago
- 3 min read
Like sands through the hourglass Ryan Quan is returning to ‘Days of Our Lives’ as the daytime drama's new co-head writer.
The news hit the soap opera circuit like the a Marlena possession storyline. Multiple industry sources confirm that Quan is packing up his laptop and heading back to his old stomping grounds. He will be stepping into the co-head writer shoes left vacant by Paula Cwikly, who has reportedly decided to opt for a less dramatic real-life retirement.
Quan will be sharing the steering wheel with current co-head writer Jeanne Marie Ford. Days has been a bit all of the place lately, not saying General Hospital has been any better, but maybe when this duo combines their daytime power, we are bound to get something good.
To make this homecoming happen, Quan had to pull off a little network hopping. He is officially walking away from ABC’s General Hospital, where he has been serving as a breakdown writer since 2025. His stint in Port Charles was relatively short, making his quick U-turn back to the Days writing room look like a classic case of a writer realizing the grass isn't always greener, even if it is watered by a different network's budget.
For General Hospital fans, losing a writer is just another Tuesday. But for the Salem faithful, Quan’s swift retreat from ABC is a massive win. Soap fans are notoriously protective of their show’s history and Quan happens to hold the keys to the kingdom.
When a soap opera has been on the air for over half a century, keeping track of who slept with whose secret twin in 1994 becomes a Herculean task. That is exactly why the phrase "Ryan Quan is returning to ‘Days of Our Lives’" should comfort long-time fans.
Quan is widely regarded as a certified Salem historian. He isn’t some Hollywood mercenary hired to inject modern primetime flash into a daytime staple. The man knows the canvas. He spent nearly twenty years working his way up the Days of Our Lives ladder before his brief defection to ABC.
His resume on the show speaks for itself:
2007: Started from the bottom as a writer's assistant.
The Ascent: Moved up to dialogue writer, breakdown writer, and story consultant.
2016–2017: Had a previous, successful run as the show’s co-head writer.
The Hardware: Picked up three Daytime Emmy Awards and four Writers Guild Awards for his trouble.
Having someone with that kind of institutional knowledge at the helm is crucial. It means we might actually get storylines that respect twenty years of character development, rather than sudden, unexplainable personality shifts that leave fans yelling at their television screens.
What do you think of the news? Drop a comment.
Before you fire up Peacock expecting to see a sudden shift in the dialogue tomorrow morning, remember how the daytime sausage gets made. Days of Our Lives famously shoots its material roughly ten months in advance. The scripts are written even further ahead of that.
This means Paula Cwikly’s parting gifts will still be playing out on your screens through the end of the year and into early next year. We won't see the actual fruits of the Quan and Ford partnership until deep into the future.
However, knowing that an actual fan and historian is drafting the blueprints for next season gives us a glimmer of hope.
Maybe we will finally get fewer repetitive hostage plots and more of the deep, character-driven family drama that made Salem famous in the first place.
What do you think about this backstage shakeup? Are you excited to see a veteran writer take back the reins, or are you worried about too many cooks in the kitchen? Leave a comment below and let us know your predictions for Salem's next chapter!