Casting news has been coming fast and furious for Days of Our Lives lately as the show builds up to its 15,000th episode and a tribute to the late Bill Hayes and Doug. But this time around, the show isn’t sharing the returns of familiar faces, but introducing us to entirely new ones!
The show took to its official Instagram account to introduce us to Cherie Jimenez and Al Calderon, two brand new faces to Salem… and daytime! The Instagram caption didn’t offer any other information besides asking, “Hmmmm, who could they be?!” But you can bet fans were ready with their guesses, ranging from a recast Ciara and Ben to SORASing (Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome) little Ari and bringing her back to Salem.
But if we were betting folks, judging by the fact that the two actors are standing in Rafe’s kitchen, we’d guess that they’re the missing Hernandez siblings, Gabi and Dario!
Gabi’s been stuck in prison ever since Camila Banus exited the role, locked up for a crime we’re all sure she didn’t commit — killing Li. We’ve been waiting ages to find out what actually happened and see Gabi set free and reunited with Stefan (provided he doesn’t head to prison next!). And if we’re right, the time may almost be here! We think. Thanks to Days of Our Lives shooting schedule being so far ahead, it isn’t clear when the photo was taken or when we’ll be seeing Jimenez and Calderon.
As for Dario, we haven’t seen him since his own run-in with the law when he was stealing money from various businesses around Salem, including DiMera Enterprises! Last played by Jordi Vilasuso in 2017, Dario ran off to evade arrest and grant Abigail a divorce from afar after their marriage.
The Hernandez family once had a much larger presence in Salem.
Credit: Howard Wise/JPI
While Jimenez has done a handful of television shows dating back to Pretty Little Liars, The Newsroom and NCIS, more recently, she’s appeared in films like Maya and Breaking Tradition. Fans of the Walking Dead franchise may recognize Calderon from The Walking Dead: World Beyond, but this isn’t the first time he’s cut his teeth on soapy fare, having appeared in a few episodes of The Haves and the Have Nots.
The returns of Gabi and Dario would seriously revitalize the Hernandez family which went from four siblings, their dad Eduardo, and mom Adriana at one point, down to just Rafe! Then again, nothing’s guaranteed and until Days of Our Lives confirms who they’re playing, we’ll just have to wait and see!
