By 
Best Show
Hands down, the best show of 2008 is CBS’ The Young and the Restless.
Y&R surpassed their competition by sticking true to the formula that its peers can’t seem to understand. Shows that tell compelling and interesting stories that focus on family, love and friendships, and crank up emotional drama with character driven storylines and respecting the rich history of the show and its audience are the ones that stay on top. For over 20 years The Young and the Restless has been number one with no signs of slowing down.
2008 saw Y&R’s return to the character driven storylines that had been missing under former head writer Lynn Marie Latham. It wasn’t perfect by any means. While the show slowed down its storylines and put its focus back on the characters the audience loves, they were still missing the over the big climatic reveals and soapy goodness that has been a Y&R staple for decades. What does a show do when they want to amp the level? You bring on a writer who’s capable of doing that, while also reigning said writer in from going too far. Enter multi-time Emmy winner Hogan Sheffer. The pairing of Hogan & Maria has proved very successful for Y&R. In a time when some shows would rather wallow in mediocrity and endorse the failing regimes of their current writers, Y&R bucks that trend by improving what they have by their own choice…not because ratings or fan outcry forces them to.
The show has strengthened its writing team with skilled writers who understand the genre and industry. They have a veteran executive producer at the helm who’s working with Bell to put on top quality television.
During 2008, the show brought the boardroom back into the forefront, with Newman Enterprises, Jabot Cosmetics and Chancellor Industries’ drama being the catalyst for many storylines on the show. The show brought two rivals with rich history, face to face amidst corporate drama and angst. The supposed death of a high profile CEO pit brother against brother (and sister) for the power and prestige of running a fortune 500 company while dealing with the aftershocks of the ‘death’ their father Victor Newman.
Y&R also exploited love, romance, and angst among a quad that has grown amazingly popular with Y&R viewers — a quad that have a long standing history with one another. Marriage, cheating, romance, and good angst filled drama for Nick, Phyllis, Sharon and Jack during 2008, all the while dealing with the death of Victor Newman, and launching their very own magazine, Restless Style.The build up to payoff viewers have been waiting years for (Gloria behind the tainted face cream incident), the development of interesting new characters (Chloe and Adam), returning fan favorites (Ashley), and re-establishing the younger set with unique relationships and complex storylines all paved way to a great 2008.
When other soaps are killing off long time veterans, Y&R is creating well written storylines for their veterans such as Jeanne Cooper, Eric Braeden, and Peter Bergman. These three actors have been given the most drama filled stories this past year and have Emmy worthy performances to prove it. Y&R tackles stories that most won’t and surpass all expectations of their viewers, newcomers and long time fans. The year 2009 can only bring more and more drama, romance, angst, and exciting stories from this #1 CBS daytime drama. Nobody does it better…and nobody probably ever will.
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