I'd like to chime in on the original intent of this thread, but first comment on the "Hanscomb the Butler" myth (as it would most likely seem to be).
It was never established that there really was a butler named Hanscomb, and in fact it's unlikely there was not. When Victoria discovered an old payroll ledger in the East Wing with the name "B. Hanscomb" entered into it, she took it to Elizabeth's lawyer, Richard Garner, to see if perhaps "B. Hanscomb" was the same Betty Hanscomb who appeared in Sam's portrait. Richard told her that the Collins family once had a butler named Hanscomb, but after Vicki left Richard quickly placed a call to Elizabeth to warn her that Vicki had been snooping around, but not to worry because "He took care of it."
Now, if there was really a butler named Hanscomb then Richard simply told Vicki the truth and took care of nothing. Therefore he must have made up the story as a cover. Elizabeth, thus tipped off, warned Roger to back up her story if Vicki mentioned Betty Hanscomb. Roger did not remember there ever being a butler named Hanscomb, nor did Sam Evans.
Anyway, in regards to this topic thread and could DS have continued to today, I'd have to say that in order for it to have done so it probably would have needed to be less of a success than it was. The show crossed over from soap to fad and that spelled its death. Fads burn out quickly. They would have needed to keep the show more traditional, even with supernatural elements, and figure out a way for it to work no matter who left the show since Jonathan Frid/Barnabas was the main draw and would no doubt have left at some time. In hindsight they might have been better off if Barnabas had been killed off after his initial 13 weeks as originally planned instead of installing him as the permanent superhero, thus relying solely on his presence for continued success and survival. DS might not have become the fad it did, but could have continued to build on its early success and prove itself with reliable, continued quality of writing and acting.