With over 10,000 episodes, and marking its 40th anniversary on the air, “The Young and the Restless” has now celebrated another milestone. The CBS Daytime drama marked its 1,300th consecutive week as the #1 rated soap, making it a total of 25 years. The streak began the week of December 26, 1988.
“I am so proud of the talented cast and crew, past and present, for making THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS #1 for 25 years,” said Angelica McDaniel, Senior Vice President, CBS Daytime. “A special thank you to our loyal and passionate fans for helping us reach this incredible milestone.”
Within its past 25 years at being at the top, “Y&R” has delivered memorable storylines that fans to this day continue to talk about. Who could forget the introduction of villainess Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown) and how that story between her and Lauren not only spanned for several years, but also crossed over to sister show, “The Bold and the Beautiful”?
Another memorable story consisted of David Kimble (Michael Corbett), who was once Jill Foster’s secretary, coming back to Genoa City with the word, “KILLER” etched into his forehead, and then being killed off in a trash compactor.
Michael Baldwin (Christian LeBlanc) made way into Genoa City as Cricket Blair’s (Lauralee Bell) mentor for becoming a lawyer. Only thing was…his helping her became an obsession to a point where he drilled a hole in her friend’s apartment building. Cricket DID take Michael to court for a sexual harassment claim, after all.
A heart-wrenching story plot involved Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) being shot by Sarah (Veronica Landers in disguise), and was on her deathbed, leading Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) to marry the woman he loved.
We also got wonderful introductions to other characters including Drucilla Barber, Neil Winters, Olivia Barber, Phyllis Summers, Cassandra Rawlins, and more.
Along with the course of winning multiple Daytime Emmy Awards for writing, drama series, and more, “Y&R” also broadcast several primetime special episodes, a total of 3, in 1995, 1996, and 1998.
Congratulations to the cast and crew at “The Young and the Restless’ for celebrating 25 years at being #1. Here is to another 25 years at CBS Daytime.
