We Need to Talk About Young & Restless — Here’s Why

Here at Soaps.com, we crank out I couldn’t even tell you how many articles in a week. But it’s a lot. And sometimes we — or I’ll own it, I — forget that there are people working their asses off on the other side of the screen to put on the best show that they possibly can. When I like the stories that they are telling and the way that they are being told, it’s an absolute delight to heap praise upon them. And when I’m not so crazy about them… Well, it’s like I’ve completely forgotten the old adage: If you don’t have something nice to say, then don’t say anything at all.

I can be blunt. Cutting. As Days of Our Lives’ Susan Banks would put it, mean, mean, mean. I like to think that in those instances I’m also not wrong, but it still doesn’t absolve me of my guilt in being nastier than necessary. (As if nastiness is ever necessary.) Maybe I’ve been benumbed by the hate mail that I receive after every other article that I post. But that’s no excuse. Or, rather, that’s exactly what it is: an excuse. I can be diplomatic. I can make my criticism constructive. And I can certainly refrain from wearing my disappointment on my sleeve.

Which brings us to The Young and the Restless, a show on which I have been particularly down. I’ve struggled with the games of musical CEOs, questioned the use of psychos-of-the-week and wondered whose romance is supposed to be the equivalent of the next Victor and Nikki’s. And I know that I’m not alone in my frustration. I recently posted a poll asking fans to grade the show, and nearly 70 percent of the readers who responded gave it a D (“It’s trying my patience”) or an F (“I know it can do better!”).

That still doesn’t make it OK that I’ve been insulting. It’s one thing to call out what could stand improvement but quite another to do so in an ugly way. And by focusing on the negative, I miss all of the positives that still make Young & Restless compelling television — from its incredible history to its blue-chip cast to the plot twists that leave us going, “Wait, did that really just happen?” (Did anyone predict that the Damian we originally met would turn out to be stand-in Holden? I didn’t!)

Do I want more from Young & Restless? Yes, lots. But that doesn’t diminish what it gives us on the daily. Michelle Stafford electrifies every scene that Phyllis enters. Jason Thompson may play an entitled jerk, but by God, he does it beautifully. Christel Khalil is the envy of tightrope walkers everywhere for the manner in which she balances Lily’s formidableness and fragility. Michael Graziadei brings an authenticity to his portrayal of Daniel that makes me forget I’m watching a soap — or TV, period. And it can’t be overstated how grateful I don’t think only I am that the iconic Eric Braeden, Melody Thomas Scott and Peter Bergman remain front and center.

Best of all, the goods are there to keep us coming back for more. Look at the way Nikki now understands Victor so well that she can roll her eyes at his Victor-ness and still snuggle up to him every night; that’s #RelationshipGoals right there. Look at the way Nick and Sharon keep circling one another as if daring us to carve “endgame” in stone… and at the same time making us fearful that that stone will crumble once again. Heck, this being LGBTQ+ Pride Month, look at Mariah and Tessa, who are daytime’s only lesbian supercouple. (That said, we have high hopes for Beyond the Gates’ Chelsea and Madison — sparks for days!)

I’ve been cross, and when I’m cross, I can be mean. But at the end of the day, I have no idea what it takes to keep the wheels turning on a soap. I may just be bitter because (shocker) I once tried to break into writing for daytime and failed; they wouldn’t have me. Big whoop. That’s showbiz. It doesn’t mean that I get a free pass to trash a show that I’ve enjoyed since I was a kid and would sorely miss if it wasn’t there for me every day. Going forward, I’ll try to remember that. Young & Restless isn’t my mom; I can’t be awful to it and still count on it to take me back time and again.