The Young and the Restless revolves around the rivalries, romances, hopes and fears of the residents of the fictional Midwestern metropolis, Genoa City. The lives and loves of a wide variety of characters mingle through the generations, dominated by the Newman, Abbott and Winters families.
When The Young and the Restless premiered in 1973, it revolutionized the daytime drama. It continues to set the standard with strong characters, socially conscious storylines, romance and sensuality.
The Young and the Restless premiered on March 26, 1973, and was originally a 30 minute show. It was not until January 1980 that the show had become a one hour show like it is today. The show has ran for years at 12:30 PM on the east coast, and at 11:00 AM on the west coast.
Over the years, many things have happened, and there have been many twisted story lines, many stolen husbands, and many people dead. It has also featured character cross-overs with another CBS soap, The Bold and the Beautiful. These include the psychotic Sheila Carter, who began on The Young and the Restless and shown her more psychotic side on The Bold and the Beautiful. The same goes for Lauren Fenmore, who also can be seen on The Bold and the Beautiful occasionally.
The Young and the Restless is not like other soaps which convey a surreal way of life. This show, however, is based on the lives of people in a small town called Genoa City, Wisconsin, where the money is plentiful and so are the women. Many times, we wish that we could live in that small, mid-western town, just to see how life would really be like. Sometimes, we put our own problems aside and worry about what will happen next on the show. However, we're very fortunate not to have a world like they do on any soap!
The theme song was written by Barry DeVorzon and Perry Botkin, and originally entitled Cotton's Theme from the film Bless the Beasts, but later became known as Nadia's Theme.
cast
Amelia Heinle as Victoria Newman #4 David Hasselhoff as Dr. William 'Snapper' Foster, Jr. #2 (1975-1982) Don Diamont as Brad Carlton Doug Davidson as Paul Williams Eileen Davidson as Ashley Abbott #1 Eric Braeden as Victor Newman Jeanne Cooper as Katherine Chancellor Sterling /Marge Cotrooke Jerry Douglas as John Abbott #2 Judith Chapman as Gloria Fisher Abbott #2 Kimberlin Brown as Sheila Carter Lauralee Bell as Christine 'Cricket' Blair Romalotti Williams Michael Graziadei as Daniel Romalotti #6 Paul Walker as Brandon Collins Peter Bergman as Jack Abbott #2 Roscoe Born as Tom Fisher Sharon Case as Sharon Newman #3 Tom Selleck as Jed Andrews (1974-1975) Tracey E. Bregman as Lauren Fenmore Vivica A. Fox as Stephanie Simmons (1995)
quote
Bobby: [Jack is sitting at the AC bar] Hey, Mr. Abbott, you know the Newman's, right?
John "Jack" Abbott, Jr. #2: [he takes a long sip of his drink] Intimately.