Series Description

The Young and the Restless is a daytime drama series on CBS with a storyline that has changed several time over the years but mostly has always centered on the conflicts between two families and among family members. The conflict between Katherine Chancellor and Jill Foster Abbott has endured throughout nearly the entire run and is the longest lasting feud on any soap opera.

The Young and the Restless Cast

Doug Davidson .... Paul Williams (1975-2010)
Eric Braeden .... Victor Newman (1980-2010)
Joshua Morrow .... Nicholas Newman (1997-2010)
Peter Bergman .... Jack Abbott (1989-2010)
Sharon Case .... Sharon Newman (1997-2010)
Melody Thomas Scott .... Nikki Newman (1986-2010)
Michelle Stafford .... Phyllis Summers Newman (1994-2010)
Christian LeBlanc .... Michael Baldwin (1991-2010)
Eileen Davidson .... Ashley Abbott (1986-2010)
Greg Rikaart .... Kevin Fisher (2003-2010)
Don Diamont .... Brad Carlton (1985-2009)
Kristoff St. John .... Neil Winters (1993-2010)
Jeanne Cooper .... Katherine Chancellor (1973-2010)
Thad Luckinbill .... J.T. Hellstrom (1999-2010)
Michael Graziadei .... Daniel Romalotti (2004-2010)
Tracey E. Bregman .... Lauren Fenmore Baldwin (1985-2010)
Jess Walton .... Jill Foster Abbott (1988-2010)
Amelia Heinle .... Victoria Newman (2005-2010)
Christel Khalil .... Lily Winters (2002-2010)
Judith Chapman .... Gloria Fisher Abbott (2005-2010)
Jerry Douglas .... John Abbott (1985-2009)
Victoria Rowell .... Drucilla Winters (1990-2007)
Daniel Goddard .... Cane Ashby (2007-2010)
Bryton James .... Devon Hamilton (2004-2010)
Adrienne Frantz .... Amber Moore (2006-2010)
Lauralee Bell .... Christine Blair (1985-2010)
Emily O'Brien .... Jana Hawkes (2006-2010)
Ted Shackelford .... Jeffrey Bardwell (2006-2010)
Billy Miller .... Billy Abbott (2008-2010)
Elizabeth Hendrickson .... Chloe Abbott (2008-2010)
Lauren Woodland .... Brittany Hodges (2000-2005)
Kate Linder .... Esther Valentine (1986-2010)
Vail Bloom .... Heather Stevens (2007-2010)
Patty Weaver .... Gina Roma (1986-2009)
John Enos III .... Bobby Marsino (2003-2005)
Chris Engen .... Adam Wilson (2008-2009)
Adrianna Leon .... Colleen Carlton (2006-2007)
Tricia Cast .... Nina Webster (1986-2010)
Vincent Irizarry .... David Chow (2007-2008)
David Lago .... Raul Guittierez (2000-2009)
Beth Maitland .... Traci Abbott (1986-2010)
Stacy Haiduk .... Patty Williams (2009-2010)
Terry Lester .... Jack Abbott (1986-1988)
Tammin Sursok .... Colleen Carlton (2007-2009)
Michael Muhney .... Adam Wilson (2009-2010)
Ashley Bashioum .... Mackenzie Browning (1999-2005)
Hunter Allan .... Noah Newman (2005-2008)
Brenda Dickson .... Jill Foster Abbott (1986)
Shemar Moore .... Malcolm Winters (1997-2005)
Darcy Rose Byrnes .... Abby Carlton (2003-2008)
Michael Damian .... Danny Romalotti (1986-2008)
Eyal Podell .... Adrian Korbel (2006-2008)
Clementine Ford .... Mackenzie Browning (2009-2010)
Keith Hamilton Cobb .... Damon Porter (2003-2005)
Camryn Grimes .... Cassie Newman (1997-2010)
Nia Peeples .... Karen Taylor (2007-2009)
Heather Tom .... Victoria Newman (1993-2003)
Davetta Sherwood .... Lily Winters Romalotti (2006)
Rachel Kimsey .... Mackenzie Browning (2005-2006)
Michael Fairman .... Murphy (2008-2010)
Kevin G. Schmidt .... Noah Newman (2008-2010)
Tammy Lauren .... Detective Maggie Sullivan (2006-2008)
Steven Ford .... Andy Richards (1986-1987)
Robert Parucha .... Matt Miller (1986)
John Driscoll .... Phillip Chancellor IV (2009-2010)

The Young and the Restless Trivia

As of 2010, The Young and the Restless cast and series have won 7 daytime Emmys for "Outstanding Drama Series"!

The show has been the top rated daytime series on TV more weeks than any other series by a long shot! For the twenty year period from 1988-2008, it was number 1 almost every week!

The Young and the Restless episodes were 30 minutes in length from the premiere on March 26, 1973 to 1980. In 1980 the length of episodes was expanded to 60 minutes.

The series replaced another soap opera that had been canceled titled, "Where the Heart Is".

The Young and the Restless was the first daytime TV show to be broadcast in High Definition.

The original title proposed for the series was "The Innocent Years" but that was changed to The Young and the Restless before the first show aired. The producers felt that kids were not so innocent anymore in the 1970s and were more "Restless" than "Innocent".

The series was developed to compete with the ABC soaps, "All My Children", "One Life to Live", and "General Hospital" that dealt with youthful characters.

ABC used the the Young and the Restless' theme song, "Cotton's Dream" as background music for a segment that "ABC's Wide World of Sports" ran highlighting the skills of Olympic gymnast Nadia Comaneci. Nadia never actually performed to the tune but because of her huge popularity after winning 3 Gold Medals, people associated her name with it and its title was changed to "Nadia's Theme". The tune was originally written for the 1971 movie, "Bless the Beasts and Children" although a special version was written for The Young and the Restless premiere.

In an unusual move, Veleka Gray played two completely different roles at the same time in 1983! The two characters did not look alike nor did they ever appear in the same scene.

Jeanne Cooper is the only cast member who has been on the series from the beginning although she didn't get any on-air time for the first six months. When she had a real life face lift, they simply wrote it into the script instead of having her take a hiatus from the show.

Soap operas often have their timeline suddenly shifted several years into the future. That presents a problem with the cast members who are children on the show. Adults can be easy to accept as suddenly five or even ten years older but that's not possible with an eight-year-old cast member. The Young and the Restless has dealt with this problem several times over the years by sending the kids away to school or to live with a relative and then bringing back older actors in their roles.