Today we are winding up our soap opera blog series titled “I Met My Twin When I Married My Mother’s Neighbor’s Uncle’s Grocer’s Best Friend’s Attorney Who is Also My Fourth Cousin Once Removed.” We are ending with a soap that I knew a bit about before researching this series. When I was twelve, getting ready to enter the junior high years of my life, my best friend Bonnie and I heard about a new soap opera beginning that summer. We checked it out and were fans for the first couple of years. I quit watching when I was busy with high school activities, but I would tune in on and off just to see if I knew anyone anymore. I’m not sure how long Bonnie watched it or maybe still does. This soap seemed much more realistic to me than the crazy antics on Days of Our Lives, although I admit some of the plot twists are a stretch.

The Young and The Restless was set in Genoa City, Wisconsin; little did I know when I watched that first episode in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, that I would be living in Wisconsin by September. Genoa City really does exist, and the creators of the show drove through the town when they traveled from Chicago to their lake home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

This soap features the wealthy Katherine Chancellor (Jeanne Cooper); her companion is Jill Foster (Brenda Dickson/Jess Walton) who then becomes involved with her husband; we also meet Jill’s brothers David (David Hasselhoff) and Greg (Wings Hauser). The Brook four girls (Leslie-Janice Lynde; Lorie-Jamie Lyn Bauer; Chris-Trish Stewart; Peggy-Pamela Peters Solow) intertwine with all the other families in one way or another. Later two wealthy families who both happen to be in the cosmetic business were added to the cast: the Newmans and the Abbots. Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) is a billionaire and heads Newman Enterprises and has been married to Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) most of the history; Jack (Peter Bergman) and Ashley Abbot (Eileen Davidson) oversee Jabot Cosmetics with advice from their father John (Jerry Douglas).

CBS created this soap opera to appeal to younger viewers. The network hired married couple William J. and Lee Phillip Bell to create the show in 1972 titled “The Innocent Years.” Most soap operas of the sixties and seventies focused on dialogue and story. The Young and The Restless used unique lighting techniques and camera angles; they filmed in more of a Hollywood movie style than current television shows. The lighting effects could create dark, shadowy, moody sets or brightly lit close-ups. This soap was also the first one to be broadcast in high definition.

Bell and executive producer John Conboy auditioned 540 actors for the 13 major characters in the first season. The cast was the youngest ever assembled. They looked for glamorous model types instead of known actors. Up until this point, love stories were part of the plots but not sexuality. Some of the plots dealt with premarital intercourse, incest, rape, and impotence. Social issues also were featured including alcoholism, bulimia, and controversial cancer treatments.

Two decades into the show, the first major black characters were introduced in the Winters and Barber families; Neil was a CEO for Jabot. Neil was played by Kristoff St. John. St. John died from hypertrophic heart disease last February at age 52. The cast was devastated. The crew has been together a long time and considers themselves a family.

The theme song originally was titled “Cotton’s Dream” from the film Bless the Beasts & Children, but became “Nadia’s Theme” after Nadia Comaneci’s gymnastic routines from the 1976 Olympics were set to the song by the Wide World of Sports. Perry Botkin Jr. who had composed the piece for the theatrical film arranged a version specifically for the show. A few years a jazzier remix of the song was used, but the original theme has never changed much.

The show has won an amazing eleven Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series. Directors picked up 15 wins and writers garnered 18. Another 42 awards were given out to actors and actresses with 3 Lifetime Achievements delivered.

At the end of 2019, The Young and The Restless had held the number one rating for 32 years; however, as of March 2020, The Bold and the Beautiful has taken over the number one spot. The Young and The Restless has been renewed through 2024.

Like many of the shows on television, Covid took a toll on the show. By April 23, 2020, the show was out of new episodes. Production shut down in March of 2020 and resumed in July of that year, with new episodes airing in August.

Fun Facts: (1) Eric Braeden who plays Victor Newman was in The Rat Patrol. (2) When Jeanne Cooper decided to get a facelift, instead of taking a leave of absence from the show, her procedure was written into the plot in 1984. (3) One of the show’s biggest fans is Cal Ripken Jr. (4) Jeanne Cooper as Katherine Chancellor was on the show from the beginning in 1973. When she passed away in 2013, her real son, Corbin Bernson, was brought in to play the priest who officiated at her funeral.

It’s funny how you remember certain things. When I think back to the debut of The Young and the Restless, I remember the Brooks sisters and how beautiful I thought Lorie Brooks was, played by Jamie Lyn Bauer. I remember romantic and colorful episodes. However, recently I watched that first episode. Two of the Brooks sisters were on the show, Leslie and Chris. It was very dark and had more of the atmosphere of Dark Shadows; there was very little for any of the characters to be happy about. I guess it appealed to us enough that we kept watching that summer. And almost fifty years later, people are still watching.

Regardless of what I think about the average soap opera, you have to give the cast and crew a lot of credit. I cannot imagine how much hard work they have accomplished. To be in a show twenty to fifty years is incredible on its own; then to realize that this is a show that is on every weekday and requires a huge amount of dialogue that must be memorized very quickly with long hours of filming. It truly is amazing that so many of these series retain their favorite characters for decades. Many of these actors have to spend more time with their television family than their actual family. It’s not an easy way to make a living but it must be very fulfilling since so many actors and actresses continue to develop these careers. I hope you enjoyed getting to know a bit more about some of these shows. Please feel free to share your favorites and what made them your favorites.