My MIL was a giant Days fan. I would watch with her from time to time. I once went a year without seeing it. I was shocked how little changed in that year.
Before 9/11 I took my visiting cousin from Israel on a Days tour, they had those back then, where you can go on the NBC lot and see the set, etc..met a few of the Days stars, the nicest one was Joseph Mascolo(Stefano) he was a very sweet man, the rest of them, eh, jerks, met Hope, full of herself, assume she is the same today. All My Children now that was a soap opera, watched it everyday with my Mom wish they would bring it back
You ought to try soap opera comic strips like Judge Parker. If two characters are having a conversation in a diner and you duck out for a year, when you come back, they’ll be asking the waitress for their check.
Basically, each year of the series only moves it forward 4-6 months in show time.