‘The Young And The Restless’ News: CBS Soap Reaches Milestone 11,000 Episode, ‘Y&R’ Continues To Be Number One Soap

All hail ‘The Young and the Restless’. The iconic steamer broadcasts its milestone 11,000th episode this week on CBS. Surviving all storms since debuting on March 26, 1973, this soap opera will always be ranked with the top serialized entertainment in television history.

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Renewed by CBS through 2017, Y&R, along with its spinoff show, ‘The Bold and the Beautiful, ABC’s ‘General Hospital’ and NBC’s ‘Days of our Lives’ are the four remaining shows from the soap opera era that began on radio in 1930. Irna Phillips’ ‘Painted Dreams’, broadcast on October 30 via WGN in Chicago, is recognized as the first serialized daytime drama. Phillips also is credited with creating television’s first soap opera. ‘These Are My Children’ debuted on January 31, 1949, on NBC. (Phillips later created DOOL.) Detergent companies were the first major sponsors of the many fictional radio and television shows that featured conversational dialogues and thus the ‘soap opera’ genre was born.

‘The Young and the Restless’ is set in the fictional town of Genoa City, Wisconsin. The Midwestern flavor has appealed to a broad audience for more than four decades. The many loves and battles of families, including the: Chancellor’s, Foster’s, Williams’, Newman’s, Abbott’s, Romalotti’s, Winters’, Baldwin’s and Ashby’s, have captured fan interest in the millions across the globe.

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Starting with the week of December 26, 1988, ‘The Young and the Restless’ topped Nielsen’s daytime ratings among all total viewers. Bell And Lee Phillip Bell’s creation has remained broadcast network television’s top afternoon drama ever since. The efforts of backstage and on-screen talent have combined to win 263 awards and garner 635 nominations within the entertainment industry.

Kate Linder (Esther) is the longest tenured cast member, having debuted on during Y&R’s inaugural year. Doug Davidson (Paul) has appeared in the most episodes (nearly 2,700), since debuting in 1978. In addition to co-creating the show with her husband, Lee Phillip Bell tops the series writing credit list with over 4,400 penned episodes. Sally McDonald has directed most often, leading 600-plus episodes. And, as this feature ends, it’s time to play Nadia’s theme once again as the credits roll.

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