Alison Sweeney’s Sentimental Return to ‘Days of Our Lives’

Several legacy characters returned to “Days of Our Lives” in June 2025, to celebrate John Black’s memorial, but Sami Brady was not among them. Alison Sweeney, who plays the character, was unable to make those scenes, which were filmed in the fall of 2024, work with her schedule.

Days fans will be thrilled to learn that Sweeney is returning to the soap for a visit on Monday, Aug. 4, 2025. She recently shared the news with TV Insider.

Sami Needs to Grieve With Marlena

Getty

The actress is happy to be able to bring Sami back to Salem so that she can properly grieve John’s loss with her mother, Marlena.

“I was so devastated that my schedule didn’t allow me to film the funeral scenes for John Black with the rest of the cast. But I had a great talk with [then-Co-Executive Producer] Janet Spellman-Drucker, and she said she and the writers would figure something out for me to return as soon as I was able, which meant so much to me. I really wanted Sami to be a part of the story of saying goodbye to John, as well as being there to mourn with Marlena. As difficult as the subject matter was, I’m really glad they were able to make this happen.”

Sami Brady and John Black spent decades clashing, and she will never be able to resolve things with him, which makes the loss even more difficult.

“Especially after the last time Sami was in town and had that talk with [her son] Johnny, she mentioned that she was going to therapy and that kind of self-reflection would really make her aware of how poisonous she was to John,” Sweeney said, reflecting on her character’s mindset.

“Even though the writers reminded me that there had been this mea culpa moment where Sami apologized, I still think Sami wouldn’t forgive herself that easily, now that he’s gone and they don’t have years to unwind all that bad blood.”

Alison Sweeney Loved Working With Drake Hogestyn

While Sami and John had a difficult time navigating their relationship, it was the polar opposite for Alison and Drake Hogestyn, who played John Black, until his death in the fall of 2024.

“I absolutely loved working with Drake. Every time I got to have a scene with him, even when Sami was terrible to him, I was thrilled to get to see Drake, share the stage with him, joke with him, hear his stories, and laugh with him. He really was like a dad to me, and I admired him so much. He was such a great role model on set, always a positive attitude, a professional work ethic, and he never missed a chance to be kind and caring to everyone he worked with.”

Sami’s time in Salem will be brief this week, but fans will be thrilled to know that she already is scheduled to return. November 2025 will mark the 60th anniversary of the debut of “Days of Our Lives,” and Alison Sweeney is one of the many stars that is scheduled to appear.