It’s Official: Days of Our Lives Names New Co-Head Writer
Days of Our Lives is undergoing a big change behind the scenes: Paula Cwikly is stepping down as co-head writer and Ryan Quan will be taking over the position next month, penning the continuing drama in Salem alongside Jeanne Marie Ford, who also served as co-head writer with Cwikly.
The Write Stuff
Daytime Confidential first reported back in May (as a rumor) that Cwikly had chosen to leave her current position at DAYS, where she has and Ford had been serving as co-head writers since July 2024, when they were hired to replace outgoing chief scribe Ron Carlivati. Now, TV Insider confirms Quan’s appointment as co-head writer, while Cwikly will remain with the show as a consultant. Executive Producer Ken Corday praised Quan’s “deep knowledge and understanding of our show’s history” and declared the show lucky to have him back in the Salem mix.
Before her most recent stint as co-head writer, Cwikly had worked as an associate head writer and co-head writer on DAYS from 2000-03. Her other daytime credits include Sunset Beach, As the World Turns, and Young and Restless. Over the course of her soap writing career, Cwikly received multiple Daytime Emmy Award nominations and won the writing awards in 2005 for ATWT and 2011 for Y&R.
Quan is also a writer with decades of daytime experience. After winning Procter & Gamble’s writing contest for college students, Quan kicked off his career in daytime by working as a writers’ assistant on Passions from 1999-2005. He then joined the staff at DAYS in 2007 as a writers’ assistant, later also tackling the duties of breakdown writer and dialogue writer. In 2016, he was promoted to co-head writer to replace the departing Josh Griffith (currently the head writer of Y&R) and work alongside Dena Higley.
Quan became the show’s creative consultant in 2017, a position he held until he left DAYS in 2025 to join the writing team of ABC sudser General Hospital. During his previous tenure at DAYS, Quan received seven Daytime Emmy Award nominations as part of the writing team, taking home the trophy in 2012 and 1018.
DAYS tapes approximately a year in advance, so Quan’s material as co-head writer won’t actually be seen on screen until the spring of 2027.
Conversation
All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. Soap Opera Digest does not endorse the opinions and views shared by our readers in our comment sections. Our comments section is a place where readers can engage in healthy, productive, lively, and respectful discussions. Offensive language, hate speech, personal attacks, and/or defamatory statements are not permitted. Advertising or spam is also prohibited.