By 
A guest commentary on the state of CBS’ The Young and the Restless from a 40-year veteran viewer of daytime’s number one drama. Months after the changing of the guard that brought about positive results, the Y&R of today remains one daytime best dramas, though one that engenders the least amount of enthusiasm among its fans and a clear disconnect with many viewers.
[notice]Editor’s note: We asked Mark Harding to contribute this commentary last week. He makes some specific recommendations about the need for more melodrama on The Young and The Restless. After this report was filed, major new developments in the story suggest that the Y&R “got the memo” before we even posted this opinion. We’re looking forward to a more exciting May in Genoa City.[/notice]
As a 40-year veteran viewer of The Young and the Restless, I have seen my show through a wide variety of ups and downs during these past decades. Like many viewers, I welcomed “regime change” last summer, and I have been pleased with many of the changes introduced by executive producer Jill Farren Phelps and head writer Josh Griffith.
When I think of all the positive changes since last summer, it really is quite incredible. A partial list:
- Moribund, visibly aged sets have been replaced by beautiful new feasts for the eyes (Newman penthouse, On the Boulevard); some existing sets were re-imagined (Victoria & Billy’s house, Katherine’s living room got a new angle)
- In general aspects of production showed renewed energy and attention to detail. We saw new angles in sets as varied as Adam/Genevieve’s mansion, Nick’s Tack house, Victoria and Billy’s Father Knows Best house. Though not uncontroversial, General Hospital’s R. C. Cates arrived to provide a completely new soundscape for the show musically.
- Terrific transplanted actors from other shows, whose characters didn’t work, were released – often to return to their places of glory (Debbie Morgan, Darnell Williams, Genie Francis). We also lost some terrific folks (Jen Landon, Emme Rylan). These moves brought great hope of a leaner, more focused Y&R, centered around core families and characters.
- The worst excesses of lazy plotting (Victor’s umpteenth death; Cricket rehashing a hit-and-run from decades ago – one Bill Bell wanted to never revisit) and off the wall characterization (Victor as the epitome of unsympathetic evil; Adam’s “huh” insta-romance with Chelsea; Phyllis’ out-of-the-blue affair with Ronan) gradually made way for characters whose motivations again were clear and made sense.
- Early signs of character repair included Sharon’s return from “bipolar” campiness to a wiser, quieter “recovering” persona, Michael Baldwin questioning (months before he quit his DA job) why he was constantly prosecuting friends and family; Jack abandoning his fruitless Bugs-Bunny-Road-Runner feud to focus on his family and romance.
- The new regime also took decisive steps to combat both the lack of diversity, and the lack of young and restless romance. New hires plus heightened emphasis on under-used characters brought us Tyler, Leslie, Avery, Dylan, Carmine, Kyle, Summer, Alex, Noah, and others. Since many of these represented next-generation members of core family members, it brought hope that – finally – a viable next generation of Y&R might come to the fore.
These Y&R based changes were complimented by major new initiative by CBS to increase daypart synergy and promotional attention. CBS and Y&R publicity began regularly issuing teasers, backstage extras, and social media interaction. Indeed, Sony and CBS decided to work together in promoting the show on the web. Suddenly, the rest of the CBS daypart (Price is Right, Let’s Make a Deal, The Talk) became regular homes for Y&R cross-promotion. It was clear to see that CBS was interested in sustaining and growing Genoa City. By promoting, in particular, the many gorgeous new men in Genoa City, it was also clear that the goal was to attract more young women and gay men; these are necessary steps to sustain the show for future generations.
Despite Y&R taking many positive steps, the Y&R of today is curiously the best written/acted/produced/directed/promoted daytime show that engenders the least amount of enthusiasm amongst its fans. There is a clear disconnect with many viewers.
I think the recent re-launch of All My Children and One Life to Live by Prospect Park serves as teachable examples of what may have gone wrong. Driven by cost cutting and the inability to restore their canvases to where they were at cancellation, the Prospect Park soaps have built (a) relatively small casts; (b) a near perfectly balanced mix of “veterans”, “next-generation” recasts, and entirely new characters; (c) narrowed focus on a small number of main plots; (d) heavy intergenerational mixing; (e) many characters seen all/most days of the week (so there is a feeling of momentum). It is also the case that All My Children, in particular, has reverted back to a clear sense of its identity, with tales of high school lovers and gothic forbidden romances that harken back to Phil and Tara, Jenny and Greg, Nina and Cliff.
Where Y&R remains stuck, I think, is that it has avoided almost all of the positive attributes just mentioned for the Prospect Park soaps. It is fair to say that the cast has been over-stuffed for at least half a decade, and there is simply not time to service many characters. After a successful housecleaning in 2012, Y&R in 2013 added in many new actors, and recent casting notices suggest that the influx has not begun to slow.
Perhaps the most vexing element of the current Y&R can be seen in looking at the front-burner stories. Jessica Collins‘ Avery and Steve Burton‘s Dylan (two characters/actors I genuinely enjoy) led the cast in April appearances. The widely liked Leslie/Tyler Michaelson spent months driving story about a “mysterious past” that relatively few audience members cared about. Nikki was given Multiple Sclerosis and a wedding, and then promptly disappeared. Fan favorites Victoria and Billy were seldom seen, and they were immediately sunk into another “baby for Victoria” plot – a direction many fans thought was rehash rather than moving forward. The critical next generation (Summer, Noah, Kyle, Abby) consisted of recasts who had far too few scenes with their “elders”. Moreover, rather than being plunged into front burner tales (as on the Prospect Park soaps), so the audience could get to know them, they played relatively few days, taking a sideline to the Michaelsons and the Avery/Dylans.
There is one tale on Y&R that almost everyone seems to love, and it is a perfect reflection of the best formula: The destruction of Lauren and Michael. We saw, on screen, week by week how they fractured apart. We were introduced to a thoroughly engaging next generation member (Max Ehrich‘s Fen); the actor has fearlessly chosen to play damaged and creepy and labile – shades of both his mother and father’s histories in decades past. A “newbie”, Marco Dapper‘s Carmine was perfectly positioned as Lauren’s new lover. Not only can most audience members clearly see how mouth-watering Carmine would incite Lauren’s lust, but Carmine’s backstory as an obsessive and slightly dangerous jilted lover (in the Angelina story/Chloe kidnapping) promised to take this tale in dark directions. The tale is a classic potboiler melodrama (think Fatal Attraction), with the delicious spin of a gender reversal (the lady cheated), and rooted in decades of history. The story is also getting relative heavy front burner play, so it has momentum and causes “tune in tomorrow”. Every beat is played (guilt, near misses, recrimination and lust). The tale draws in many supporting players (Paul, Kevin). This is absolutely the best story on Y&R right now and, if properly stewarded, could drive years of plotting. (Does Fen secretly lust after Carmine? Will Michael go dark and build a dungeon for his wife’s lover? Can Lauren and Michael ever find their ways back to one another?). The tale is a beautiful follow-up to the Fenmore bullying storyline, in which Fen (true to his mother’s high school roots) nearly drove the sweet, guileless Jamie to suicide. That bullying story was also widely praised – until it was disappointingly aborted when Daniel Polo‘s Jamie suddenly left town. Hopefully, Jamie will return – possibly tied to Doug Davidson‘s Paul, with whom he shared amazing “familial” chemistry.
If only Y&R could tell more of these melodramatic tales centered on characters and families the audience loves. (Ed. Note: But watch what happens in May 2013!) After aiding her recovery, why is Adam suddenly using Sharon as a sex toy? After putting Victor and Nikki together, why aren’t we seeing their romantic exploits as a lovely counterpoint to darkness? Why isn’t Avery’s “good girl” complex being explored in a supporting capacity with Phyllis, rather than the other way around? Why aren’t the Newmans being forced to grudgingly work together for a common purpose, rather than warring with one another all the time? Why isn’t Tyler being positioned as Noah’s “bro” and friend (think Jeffrey and Matthew on OLTL), rather than as the distasteful interloper who has no regard for marital vows? Why isn’t Leslie’s story about helping Neil to get past Dru, rather than about a family mystery involving strangers that few fans care about?
Imagine if Noah, Summer, Kyle and Abby each fronted “A” tales that played 4 days a week. Imagine if the elder Newmans and Abbotts were seen heavily involved in those tales most of those days. Y&R has had success in the past with that kind of focus on a next generation (think Glow By Jabot or JT and Colleen).
The biggest problem with Y&R continues to be the over-stuffed cast. As welcome as many of the new players are, until other players are dropped, cohesive and focused storytelling can’t happen. I recently suggested, only partially in jest, that the writers should have a meteor or earthquake or even the Rapture randomly remove 15 contract players from the canvas. I am sincere about “random”, in the sense that the removals need to include a mix of veterans, next-generation characters, and new outsiders. There is no “right” character to drop, since every character has fans. But there must be a sincere housecleaning, along with commitment to drive limited stories most days of the week with a narrower cast. Y&R needs to re-embrace itself as a melodrama, with soaring music and daily “oh my goodness” moments. Secrets, lies, forbidden affairs, parents separated from children, feuds rooted in love gone sour … these are the ingredients that Y&R had for most of its 40 years; why are they no longer there? All My Children demonstrates that a show can return to its core themes, while being contemporary and using new young players. The devastating loss of Jeanne Cooper demands that she be honored with a major storyline – nothing less than the war for the future of Chancellor Industries (most viewers want to see a fierce Jill pulverize unworthy upstart sheep herder/bartender/con man/Mafioso Cane into dust). That is the melodrama viewers want to watch. Larry Hagman’s recent passing on Dallas provides the template for how to script a death that is honored, rather than trivialized.
I will also note that there are a few characters that are engendering pretty wide pushback from fans right now. Avery earns wide rebuke because she is “too perfect”, even as she commits the ultimate sins of the romantic heroine (betraying her sister and waffling about her feelings for two men). Chelsea was introduced as a rapist and con artist, and she continues to lie and deceive. Worse than being unrepentant, she takes no delight in her villainy – nor does she signal deep damage like Michelle Stafford’s Phyllis – so she’s not even much fun to watch. Kevin, a character/actor I personally love but whom many feel is fully played out, further lost goodwill by stealing – even from his beloved Mrs. Chancellor. Y&R should carefully and objectively consider audience feedback about some of these folks, because my sense is they are generating an animus that is actively dissuading some viewers from watching.
Y&R is a show with an embarrassment of riches. Truly every element of the show – from cast to crew – is top notch. A refocusing of storytelling on heightened melodrama, using a trimmed cast of beloved longer-term cast members and their offspring, seems essential to solidify their many accomplishments during this past year.
[textblock style=”9″]Mark Harding is a behavioral scientist and statistician with a particular interest in aging and gerontology. His soap viewing days began in the late 1960s with his grandmother (General Hospital, All My Children) and continued in the 1970s and 1980s, encompassing the entire ABC lineup, The Young and the Restless and later, The Bold and The Beautiful.[/textblock]
[…] If you would like to read more about the current state of #YR, here are other blog posts on the state of #YR via @Daytime_tv on twitter Guest Commentary: An improved ‘Y&R’ still has work to do @TVSource Magazine http://tvsourcemagazine.com/2013/05/guest-commentary-an-improved-young-and-the-restless-still-has-wo… […]
Chelsea and Adam are the future of Y&R. Together with their little boy, they are going to run the town. With Adam at the helm of Newman and Chelsea as the lead designer for Jabot’s fashion division, they are going to be a power couple at its finest. Adam has already kicked his Sharon addiction, now Chelsea needs to stop playing house with that giant scoop of vanilla, Dylan and let the drama begin.
It doesn’t matter if Chelsea SAYS she raped him. What matters is what it would mean in reality. If a guy drugs a girl and has sex with her, THAT IS RAPE. If a girl drugs a guy and has sex with him, THAT IS RAPE. PERIOD.
MCE is a good actress but the Chelsea character is a stinking bore who when paired with Adam made him boring. Chadam was a joke of a couple because Adam settled for Chelsea when Sharon, the love of his life, broke his heart. This is why he picked helping Sharon over being there for the clinging vine Chelsea when she lost his kid. Shadam love story is what Soap supercouple are made off; Luke and Laura should not have happened but they did because of chemistry and compelling story telling; that is what Shadam has. Chelsea and Adam is just another boring attempt at a fairy tale which did not work for many because Chelsea sure as HELL is no Cinderella. The woman had innocent men locked up in prison for cash. All the noise about her not raping Billy is silly when she had the man locked up in a prison left to DIE. Hello!!!
What went too far was that she fell for him and slept with him. She NEVER said that she raped him. But go ahead and come to your own conclusion if you must. According to Sony (They are the ones that write the show) they have said exactly what I posted above.
Why are you quote websites? Try watching the scene where she after she gives birth to Johnny she confesses it all to Adam. I like Chelsea just fine. Nice assumption though. No need to make up what was shown on screen, Being a fan doesn’t make you oblivious to their bad actions. You Tube it if you must. She says it out of her own mouth. “I was suppose to slip something in his drink, take a few pictures, and that was it. But it went too far.”
After many years of signing off completely from soaps, I saw Y & R the day Adam proposed to Chelsea. That was it! I was sucked back in and have not missed an episode because do Chadam. I’ve since then watched several episodes on You Tube to get caught up on Shadam and Chadam histories. The whole Shadam thing is just sickening. Their “love” scenes were just yuk! I think SC and MM are excellent actors, but the whole Shadam story line was just too nauseating. It made me not like Sharon at all. I think i would like to watch her if she wasn’t with Adam. It’s hard to take her as any more than just a twit. I am so sick of hearing that Sharon “understands” Adam. I would hope that she would understand something about him, after all most people would as long as she has known him. I would like to see her move on from all the Newman’s and stop the recycling of Sharon. It looks like there could be other possibilities for her….Dylan…Cane…Dylan’s new doctor friend……..come on Sharon, have some self-respect. Her relationship with Adam should never have been more than a casual acquaintance. I like the new characters coming in as long as they are part of the lives of the vets. Back to Chadam. They are the perfect match. I know Chelsea has a pretty shady past, but no one is a better match for her than Shady Past Adam and no one could be a better match for Adam than the spitfire that is Chelsea. I see plenty of potential story lines for the two of them considering their pasts and lots of sparks flying in the bedroom as well as complimenting and challenging in all other aspects of their relationship.
Chelsea met Billy in Myanmar and had sex with him when he was drunk and missing Victoria desperately. She planted drugs on him and he was thrown in jail. (Soaps)
Billy secretly recorded Chelsea admitting that their one night stand was consenual and that her rape claim was a con she used against tourists. (Wikipedia)
Chelsea admitted to Billy that she had worked in Myanmar helping the police fill their quotas, and claimed that she and Billy had had consensual sex. Luckily Billy thought to tape her confession, and played it for Victoria.(Soap Central)
I watched it on my screen too and this is exactly what I saw. No need to make up stuff because you hate a charachter.
Adam & Sharon’s relationship needs to be the focus of these two characters. Chelsea can drop off her baby with them and run off with Dylan back to Port Charles. Shadam is Y&R’s future as far as I’m concerned. Enjoying Adam’s cat & mouse game with his sister, Victoria. I’d love to see a similar relationship develop between them like Alan and Alexandra Spaulding had on Guiding Light. The big bomb about to blow up is Nick’s big lie about Summer’s paternity. If TPTB actually prove that Jack is her real Dad, this fallout will be true soapy goodness.
Looks like the Shadam fans are worried about Chelsea.. Adam doesn’t just love Sharon anymore Shadam.. Team Chadam!
This writer DID get their facts straight. I watched it on my screen. Chelsea told Adam that she slipped something in his drink so she could take inappropriate pictures and send them to Victor. She said it went too far because she found him charming and they had sex (all while Billy was still drugged!). Then she freaked out and had her friends plat drugs on him which got him tossed in jail. Almost all the characters (including Chelsea) have admitted she “roofied” him. So yes it was a date rape. There is nothing consensual about that. You can be a fan of a character, but no need to pretend they didn’t do their bad deeds when there is video evidence to prove otherwise.
I like many of the new addition but the way they were put into the show has made me very much dislike them. They are driving too many stories and the folks who have made Y&R have been reduced to background objects. It is causing resentment.
Also Chelsea DID rape Billy. She drugged him and then had sex with him. Chelsea said this HERSELF on the screen to Adam. That is rape. No getting around that.
You perhaps need to re watch the show if you think Chelsea raped Billy. She had sex with him when he was drunk and drugged him after to be set up for drug possession. Just type in Chelsea Newman or Billy Abbott in any soap site and they will all say the same thing. If you are going to report something, at least get your facts straight.
Love your assessment of Y&R. Its spot on. Sictor and Cham were to of the worst story lines in 2012. They took two of the best characters (Sharon and Adam) on the soap and totally changed their make up. They were headed in a downward spiral. Thank goodness MAB was replaced and the total destruction of these characters was halted and has been moving towards repair. I also agree that there are way to many characters on the soap they need to stop hiring and start ending story lines and removing the ones that have no place on this soap before hiring more.
Wow, looks like the Chelsea/Chadam fans are on the defensive LOL!
Team Shadam!
MCE is a fantastic actress and Chelsea has become a favorite of mine, right up there with Phyllis where I also have to disagree with the comment about Phyllis and Ronan. To me they were an extremely compelling pairing which was wasted by Y&R. Back to Chelsea though, love her or hate her, she is one of the most widely talked about characters on the show. She is like the unconventional heroine where she was bad, is trying to be good but kinda falls off the wagon from time to time. I love how strong she is and doesn’t sit on her laurels. Life doesn’t stop because a man wronged her! Having said that, Adam & Chelsea scenes are the best on Y&R. The emotions are so raw and MCE & MM are at the top of their game when acting together!!
I totally agree that Chelsea is so boring. She ruined the character of Adam who was the most dynamic and he became a joke with her. She needs to be written off the show. That would make room for the real main characters such as Sharon who has always been our heroine. She is such a great actress and we need to see more of her, especially with Adam. Those two just sizzle and sparkle together. They belong together.
MCE is the best actress on YR riht now. Adam and Chelsea are great both know each other so well. Chelsea and Adam are made for each other. The witers should be exploring them to their fullest potential. MCE is super taented and shows this in every scene with any actor but mostly with Adam. The two sizzle just when they are on screen even when they just stare at one another you feel their emotion and it is so believable. They are the greatest. Chelsea is Adam’s one true love and soulmate and she is in his heart. they are the greatest couple. She is the reason I watch Y&R. I simply love each and every performance from her.
As another poster said Chelsea is not one dimensional. I too vehmently disagree with the comments about Chelsea. Even the experts are wrong many times. the PTB get it wrong so many times and waste millions of $$$ so comments from one person are most definitely debatable. I think some of the vets are stale and it shows in their acting when challenged they seem not to be up to
the challenge and should be cut. A brilliant actress like MCE is gold. MCE plays Chelsea brilliantly even whe the writing is sub standard, other actors look like bad actors when the writing isn’t good. She works her magic with poor writing. MCE is the best adition to Y&R. The CHADAM love story was necessary and totally believeable for the character Adam and MAB was brilliant in having the courage and vision to see that. IMO SHADAM never worked and dfinitely do not work today people just are in denial and cannot let go. SHADAM do not wok and IMO have zero chemistry.
MCE is my favourite and the only reason I tune in……believe me. Chelsea is a strong, she left her lyin cheatng husband and made a life for herself. She is not needy. She was raised a con by er mother and I love that she is still strugling to be that better person and wants to be, he repeatedly says it. she is loving and endeaing. she is human and is in a lie right now out of fear and mistrust of Adam and the Newman’s. She gave Johnny away to give her child a better life. In her mind she is doing the same with this baby. We all have lessons to learn in life. Take a good look at all the characters on Y&R. At least is really trying to improve herself as she recently stated to chloe. Chelsea needs a strong man and Adam was strong for her before and fell in love for the first time ever. Then the tru ugly side came out from Aam and I am glad she did not let him abuse her.
Chelsea is doing great acting with the story she has been given and gives life to the scripts on a daily basis. She is not a ho.
All of 2012 she confessed what she was and had done to Adam.
LOVE CHADAM This couple belong together.
MCE is doing an awesome job playing Chelsea she has become one of my favorite actresses . she is the reason i watch. i love how she portrays a character that stands up on her own feet without a man always being there for her, unlike the other women who always needs a man rescuing her. she became a great addition on this show and the chemistry between adam and chelsea is great both know each other flaws really well and when chelsea got hurt by adam she didn’t just cry and become miserable she moved on with her life trying to have a career. chelsea is one of the strongest women on this show and a fan favorite. i just hope they reunite her with adam soon they are one the greatest couple on the show.
Love Chelsea, Mce is great as this character. She is the reason I watch. Flawed just like everyone on this soap, but also very much trying to change.
While I agree with much of the article, I vehemently disagree with the commenter’s thoughts about Chelsea. Chelsea (Melissa Claire Egan) has quickly become a fan favorite and deservedly so. MCE has mad chemistry with every actor that she’s been paired with and nails every scene. Chelsea isn’t one dimensional and MCE gives her so many layers. I especially enjoy her scenes with Adam and hope they reunite soon.
I’m a huge MCE/Chelsea fan. She’s an oustanding actress who plays the role with an endearing and impassioned spark. As I started to become disillusioned with the writing/portrayal of Phyllis (a former fave), Chelsea became my sole reason for watching Y&R. I love that this character — as much as she has turned a new leaf and truly became a better person — is still flawed and misguided, at times. But there is tremendous heart to Chelsea and she is a beautiful, beaming, vibrant light on this show. Chelsea has had her whole world torn apart by an unfaithful, disloyal and disrespectful husband who she made the center of her universe and out of that pain she has gathered herself up, started a new career, developed new friendships and connections that make Chelsea a more well rounded character. I think Chelsea is an example of a character done right. Is there room for improvement? Absolute. Always. But at least she’s not begging after some man that doesn’t want her or allowing herself to be used as a sleazy sex object. Ahem.
MCE aka Chelsea has been the best addition to this soap in a long time.. The writer’s will be certainly be giving her new storylines for her to act in. I have watched this soap since in first aired and Shadam has been the most disgusting storyline I have ever seen on Y&R.. This story has been so destructive for Sharon, and has made her look like an idiot and a bad mother. She needs to be free of Adam and be salvaged as the woman she should be.. Pull her out of the gutter writer’s she’s being made to look real bad.
Love this post, Shadam are the show for me, so glad the Guest Commentator and others acknowledge it.
WARNING OVERLOAD: Too much of the grifter and “miss easy bake.” I prefer them off my screen, but will settle if they are back burned for a long while.
Where is Sharon. She should be leading the front stories. Her relationship with Adam is wonderful and up until lately the writing had been great. What happened, why have you put them on hold???? Love her or hate her, Sharon has grown up with the viewers and she has a strong connection with her fans (and her fans have been tested for the last couple of years). So why are you, the writers, burning this bridge. Give us Sharon back and get rid of those gawd awful characters. I even enjoy seeing Phyllis over those knuckle heads.
These knuckle heads have been given all the perks without paying their dues, and they still suck the big one. This just infuriates me and i refuse to watch any more Y&R when they are on. I cant even watch Adam anymore when he’s in the mix. And howdy dowdy, Dylan, eww, he is a ken doll with no personality. Get this trio off my screen, please!
All I want is to see Adam and Sharon (with baby with in tow) in a spicy, loving and intimate relationship. And I want to finally hear their declaration of love for each other. Adam and Sharon are the ORIGINAL OUTSIDERS — don’t give us any cheap imitations.
Comments are spot on. Just because my DVR is recording does not mean I am watching. Hopefully someone takes notice.
This was a very interesting read on my favorite soap, Y&R. I agreed with majority of the commentary, but not all. I do agree the cast is larger than ever and we could do without a few of the characters. I think we need Avery and Chelsea, both are pretty and good actresses, but they should not be front and center all the time when we have Sharon and Phyllis who are also pretty and fantastically talented actresses who have been on years and why Y&R have been so successful over the years and #1 for over 25 years. As far as the actors go, Y&R has the best looking men on daytime television. In this order: Adam, Nick, Billy, Cane, Kevin, Michael, Paul, Neal, Victor. Yes you do need new blood and in comes, Carmine, Tyler, Noah, Kyle, Mason, Summer, Fen, Leslie, and last but not least, Dylan. I do not want to take anything away from the character Dylan, but did we really need all the hype surrounding him when we already had and have had for years more talented, good looking men on Y&R who were and are just in need of a good storyline. Michael Muhney and Josh Morrow, Christian LeBlanc, Doug Davidson and Eric Braden can knock their socks off acting when given the right story line. Do you all agree? Fantastic acting. Like I say, Steve Burton was on General Hospital for a lot of years and I am sure he is just as talented, however, he should not be front and center over our guys who have been here entertaining us for years. We need better writing, not new cast. We need drama, excitement, get back to the edge of your seat, cliff hangers on Friday. It was good, entertaining and exciting. My request to Jill Phelps and the higher ups, is Please use the fantastic, talented cast you inherited and write good drama for them and watch them perform. You will not be disappointed.
There has not been a better love/hate love story on daytime t.v. like our Shadam. (Sharon and Adam) They have more chemistry together than any other couple I know on t.v. that are not a real Couple. They are talented, beautiful and sexy beyond sexy. I enjoy them on screen together whether they are drinking coffee, sitting, standing, talking, smiling, crying or making mad, sweet, passionate love. They belong together. Right now they are not being written true to Character. Need to check the history of these two characters.
I will admit, I enjoy Y&R better today than I did when Marie Bell was Executive Producer. Much improvement that was needed. I just hope Jill Phelps will take all Y&R fans into the next 40 years with bigger, and better story lines that are romantic, dramatic, laughter and tears good soapy entertainment and not disappointment and a real let down. We have such promise and hope for our wonderful Young and Restless. The best of the best and #1 Soap for years, and years. I will never give up on my favorite soap,
Maybe they will listen to the fans and give us a little of what we want to see. I know we will never get all, I will admit, there is a little something for everyone on our #1 Daytime Soap Opera. Very entertaining.
On a sad note I would like to add, Jeannie Cooper will be sadly missed. A great, beautiful actress. She is a legend in her on right. .
the show is SOOOO much better now, as of May. I’m loving most aspects of the show. Still not fully on the Dylan/Avery thing..but now with the possibility of Nick lying about being Summer’s father…oh boy. Melodrama is what we wanted, and melodrama is what we’re about to get!!!!
The commentary spells out everything that is wrong with Young and the Restless.. Perfectly!! If I did not know better, I would say we have a psychic connection and you are reading my mind. This is such a thoughtful and insightful piece and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Great job…. Hope to see more!!
I fully agree with everything you’ve written. The cast is over-stuffed. Unfortunately, Kevin, Chloe and Devon could be dropped altogether. Avery needs to take a backseat. I roll my eyes every time she’s on and find her over-the-top and generally hard to watch. Chelsea could leave town altogether. She could take off with Chloe for France (like she threatened to for months) and then have Victor the 3rd appear in a few years, sorased and ready to do battle with not only his father Adam, but also Victor himself. I love Leslie, but the storylines are so far from what I care about, that it makes me wonder why she can’t be integrated more into the current plot than create her own. I really thought Noah and Tyler were going to be bros, but it seems his main function in the show is to break up a fan favorite couple. Sharon needs a story line. In my humble opinion, the lady has too much potential to be back-burned for the likes of Avery and Chelsea. Give us an old-fashioned Phylis-Sharon no holds bar to stir up a sometimes dreadfully boring soap day. I often wonder if the execs for Y&R actually listen to what the fans crave. I have been a loyal watcher for 25 years, but honestly, storylines that revolve around Avery and Chelsea make me wonder why I bother. Thank you for your words and I hope that somebody listens.