Days of Our Lives Comings and Goings: Conner Floyd’s Chad Debut Date Revealed, More Recasts Coming
The new year is poised to bring several new faces to Salem as Days of Our Lives welcomes a trio of recasts to the fold. Among them is the high-profile debut of Young and Restless alum Conner Floyd (ex-Chance), who will take over the role of Chad DiMera from Billy Flynn (now Cane on Y&R).
Welcome Aboard
It was announced all the way back in June 2025 that DAYS had tapped Floyd to replace Flynn as Chad in light of the longtime star’s decision to move over to Y&R. Flynn was gracious in passing the baton to his successor in an Instagram story, writing, “Chad is in great hands. You’re gonna crush it, man.” Flynn made his Y&R debut on June 19, 2025, but has continued to air as Chad due to DAYS’s unique production calendar — unlike the other soaps in the daytime lineup, the show tapes many months in advance. Floyd wrapped up his own Genoa City duties on July 28, 2025, when Chance was killed off, but fans familiar with the long gap between taping and airing knew that he wouldn’t be seen on screen for the better part of a year. In a new interview with TV Insider, the show’s head writers, Paula Cwikly and Jeanne Marie Ford, now report that fans can expect the Chad switcheroo to take place in the month of April.
Meanwhile, DAYS is saying also good-bye to Alice Halsey, the talented young actress who has played the troubled daughter of Brady Black (Eric Martsolf) and Kristen DiMera (Stacy Haiduk), Rachel Black, since April 2025. As her career continues to blossom, Halsey is exiting the show to take on her biggest role yet: the lead character, Laura Ingalls, in Netflix’s upcoming reboot of Little House on the Prairie. While the show has yet to announce the name of the actress taking over as Rachel, Cwikly and Ford revealed that the new face will debut in March.
In April, the same month that Floyd will first be seen as Chad, another role will undergo a transformation: Marissa Reyes, who assumed the role of Arianna Horton on May 20, 2025, will wrap her run. “There is also a new actress taking over the role of Ari,” Cwikly and Ford shared. Ari, the daughter of Gabi Hernandez (Cherie Jimenez) and Will Horton (Chandler Massey), was born on screen in 2013, with Reyes the first to play her as a young adult.
DAYS has yet to reveal the fate of Javi Hernandez, played by Al Calderon since October 2024. In August 2025, Calderon confirmed his departure from the show after landing the series regular role of Nico Silva on NBC’s Dangerous Minds. “My time on Days of Our Lives has been truly life-changing,” he stated in his Instagram Stories. “I’m endlessly grateful to the cast, crew, and creatives who made me feel seen, valued, and part of a legacy of family. I’ll carry the love, lessons, and memories with me on every journey I go on.” The actor is still airing as Javi, however, and the show isn’t saying whether the newlywed character will be recast or written off the Peacock sudser.
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