The Young and the Restless

The Young and the Restless
Also known asY&R
GenreSoap opera
Created byWilliam J. Bell
Lee Phillip Bell
Written byJosh Griffith
Directed bySally McDonald
Owen Renfroe
Casey Childs
Conal O'Brien
Michael Eilbaum
Steven Williford
See below
StarringPresent cast
Past cast
Opening theme"Nadia's Theme"
by Barry De Vorzon and Perry Botkin Jr.
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons52
No. of episodes13,002[1]
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Matthew J. Olsen
  • Jonathan Fishman
  • Vivian Gundaker
Production locationsTelevision City Studios
Hollywood, California
Camera setup
Running time30 minutes (1973–1980)
60 minutes (1980–present)
Production companiesBell Dramatic Serial Company
(1973–present)
Corday Productions
(1973–present)
Screen Gems (1973–1974)
Columbia Pictures Television
(1974–2000)
CPT Holdings, Inc.
(1988–present)
Columbia TriStar Television
(2000–2001)
Columbia TriStar Domestic Television
(2001–2002)
Sony Pictures Television
(2002–present)
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseMarch 26, 1973 (1973-03-26) –
present
Related
The Bold and the Beautiful
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

The Young and the Restless (often abbreviated as Y&R) is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in the fictional Genoa City (named after the real-life Genoa City, Wisconsin).[2] First broadcast on March 26, 1973, The Young and the Restless was originally broadcast as half-hour episodes, five times a week.[3][4] The show expanded to one-hour episodes on February 4, 1980.[5] On March 17, 2006, the series began airing previous episodes weeknights on Soapnet[6] until the closure on December 31, 2013, when it moved to TVGN (now Pop). From July 1, 2013 until 2019, Pop aired previous episodes on weeknights.[7][8] The series is also syndicated internationally.[9]

The Young and the Restless originally focused on two core families: the wealthy Brooks family and the working class Foster family.[3] After a series of recasts and departures in the early 1980s, all the original characters except Jill Foster Abbott were written out. Bell replaced them with new core families, the Abbotts and the Williamses.[3] Over the years, other families such as the Newman family, the Barber/Winters family, and the Baldwin-Fishers were introduced.[10][11] Despite these changes, one of its most enduring storylines was the four-decade feud between Jill Abbott and Katherine Chancellor, the longest rivalry on any American soap opera.[12][13]

Since its television debut, The Young and the Restless has won 11 Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series. It is also currently the highest-rated daytime drama on American television, a rank it has held for 34 years as of the end of the 2021–22 season. As of 2008, it had appeared at the top of the weekly Nielsen ratings in that category for more than 1,000 weeks since 1988.[14] As of December 12, 2013, according to Nielsen ratings, The Young and the Restless marked an unprecedented 1,300 weeks, or 25 years, as the highest-rated daytime drama.[15] The serial is also a sister series to The Bold and the Beautiful, as several actors have crossed over between shows. The serial aired its 13,000th episode on November 13, 2024. On February 27, 2024, the series was renewed by CBS to run through the 2027–2028 television season.[16]

Some well-known celebrities got their jumpstart on The Young and the Restless, including Eva Longoria, David Hasselhoff, Tom Selleck, Paul Walker, and Shemar Moore. Many other celebrities have made guest appearances on the show, including Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, Wayne Gretzky, Il Divo, and Enrique Iglesias.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference 13,000th Episode was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "The Young and the Restless". E! True Hollywood Story. May 20, 2001. E!.
  3. ^ a b c Simon, Ron; Thompson, Robert J.; Spence, Louise; Feuer, Jane (1997). Morton, Robert (ed.). Worlds Without End: The Art and History of the Soap Opera. New York, New York: Harry N Abrams. pp. 150–151. ISBN 0-8109-3997-5.
  4. ^ Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Billboard Books. pp. 476–482. ISBN 0-8230-8315-2.
  5. ^ McNeil, Alex (1996). Total Television: The Comprehensive Guide to Programming From 1948 to the Present. Fourth Edition. Penguin Books. pp. 931–934. ISBN 0140249168.
  6. ^ Martin, Denise (March 17, 2006). "Sudser Slides to SoapNet". Variety. Retrieved July 7, 2010.
  7. ^ O'Connell, Michael (June 28, 2013). "'The Young and the Restless' Moves From Soapnet to TV Guide Network". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
  8. ^ Bibel, Sara (June 28, 2013). "'The Young & the Restless' Moves to TVGN for Exclusive Basic Cable Airings Beginning Monday, July 1". Archived from the original on June 18, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2013.
  9. ^ "The Young and the Restless 35th Anniversary Salute" (PDF). Los Angeles Times. April 9, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 4, 2012. Retrieved July 6, 2010.
  10. ^ Worlds Without End, p. 33
  11. ^ "Black Stars Heat Up Daytime Soaps". Jet. October 13, 1997. pp. 52–56.
  12. ^ "Y&R: Famous Plots – Kay/Jill Feud". Youngandtherestless.com. Archived from the original on February 21, 2012. Retrieved February 25, 2009.
  13. ^ "Y&R: Famous Plots". Globaltv.com. Archived from the original on November 23, 2012. Retrieved February 26, 2009.
  14. ^ Coleridge, Daniel (April 26, 2004). "TV Guide Editors' Blogs – Daniel's Dish". TV Guide. Archived from the original on October 15, 2007.
  15. ^ "CBS.com". CBS.
  16. ^ Rice, Lynette (February 27, 2024). "The Young And The Restless Renewed For Four More Seasons". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 27, 2024.