On the October 21 episode of Days of our Lives, Theo began his tenure as the new CEO of DiMera Enterprises, even as Abe raged at Paulina for encouraging his son to join the evil empire. So far, Theo has thrown a tantrum every time anyone dared suggest he might not be qualified for the position.

What prejudice will he accuse Abe (James Reynolds) of? In Theo’s (Tyler Joseph Andrews) defense, he’s not the only CEO on daytime who is completely out of his depth. Every single soap has at least one. And, we’ll be honest, we are rooting for every single one of them to fail. If only to wipe those smug smirks off their collective faces.

Key Takeaways

• Theo stepped in as the new CEO of DiMera Enterprises, despite Abe’s outrage and serious doubts about his readiness.
• His defensive attitude mirrors a trend across soaps where unqualified heirs rise to power.
• Y&R’s Kyle, GH’s Drew and Michael, and B&B’s Hope and Thomas all prove nepotism thrives in daytime boardrooms.
• Theo’s confidence—and Paulina’s blind faith—set the stage for chaos at DiMera Enterprises.

Similar Situation on Y&R

Kyle (Michael Mealor) is the worst offender. He was absolutely furious that his father, Jack (Peter Bergman), would give the CEO position to his mother, Diane (Susan Walters), over him. On the one hand, we don’t blame him. After all, Jack did buy a whole company so Kyle’s wife, Summer (Allison Lanier), would have something to play with. Why wouldn’t he do the same for his own son? Kyle is totes qualified.

After all, Kyle worked his way up from… um… that other company that Dad gave him to run. And he totally didn’t collude with Victor (Eric Braeden) against his own family. Why in the world would Jack think Diane was a more reliable choice? Kyle is at least as qualified as Billy (Jason Thompson). Who is equally as furious at Jack for not continuing to throw good money after bad into his inevitably failed projects.

Similar Situation on GH

When Drew (Cameron Mathison) and Michael (Rory Gibson) were battling over control of ELQ, we didn’t know whom to root for. Was there a scenario where both of them failed? Neither one had any experience. Neither one of them had even grown up a Quartermaine.

The only thing they had going for them was bloodlines. And an on-and-off again hatred of the Quartermaine family. Did either go to college? Had they run anything except their mouths? The arrogance and entitlement were truly staggering.

Similar Situation on B&B

Hope’s (Annika Noelle) major qualification to run the Hope for the Future line was being a virgin (which is odd, to say the least), and that she was a Logan. At least her mom, Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang), was a chemist who developed a wrinkle-free formula when she made her bid for power.

But Hope is Brooke’s daughter, so here’s a line to be in charge of. Thomas (Matthew Atkinson) got everything handed to him on a silver platter. Steffy (Jaqueline McInnes Woods), too. Major corporations for everyone!

Theo seemed smugly certain he could run DiMera Enterprises, and anyone who disagreed was racist and ableist and a hater and just a big, old meanie pants. Why wouldn’t a kid barely out of college be prepared to take over a company his uncles, Tony (Thaao Penghlis) and EJ, and his aunt Kristen (Stacy Haiduk) have struggled to run, especially when it came to appeasing activist board members like Mr. Chin (Clyde Kusatsu). They struggled with office politics after years of working there, but Theo will excel at it because, well, he believes in himself.

Oh, and Paulina (Jackée Harry) believes in him, too. So how can he lose? And if he makes mistakes that cost thousands of people their jobs and livelihoods, then those people should know that Theo did it with a pure heart, so they won’t blame him at all while standing in the unemployment line!