Judging from next week’s promo and episode synopses, it’s clear that The Young and the Restless has completely forgotten why fans watch, and it has no intention of remembering any time soon. The business machinations happening right now between the Newmans, the Abbotts, and Cane Ashby are still taking up the lion’s share of the screentime each episode.
That was admittedly broken up by the briefly fun murder mystery when it turned out Carter was the Young & the Restless culprit who killed both Damian and Chance. Yet, even that development created more of a problem for the show, which has seemingly lost its way. Gone are the fun romances, the great characters, and the high stakes that people actually care about.
Hopefully, new The Young & the Restless producer Jill Farren Phelps can change that, but she has her work cut out for her. Next week’s episode synopses certainly don’t seem to indicate that the soap’s main focus on business will change any time soon.
What’s Happening This Week On The Young & The Restless: August 11-15
I’ll save you some time: What’s happening is more discussions about hostile corporate takeovers and shady business maneuverings. It’s disappointing, but at this point, are any of us surprised? While the move back to Genoa City has finally opened up the show beyond the French estate setting for a few other storylines, the primary focus is still on Cane Ashby and the grenade he lobbed into the middle of the incestuous business community of the town:
Monday, August 11 – Jack seeks out Victoria’s help, Sharon worries about Mariah, and Lily delivers bad news to Holden.
Tuesday, August 12 – Phyllis shares a secret with Daniel, Audra covers her tracks with Nate, and Claire takes matters into her hands.
Wednesday, August 13 – Victor retaliates against Cane, Nick loses his cool with Billy, and Jack receives an unexpected invitation.
Thursday, August 14 – Victor recruits Nick to take down an opponent, Cricket asks Lauren for a favor, and Daniel makes a confession to Danny.
Friday, August 15 – Sharon sees a new side to Nick, Cane makes a promise to Lily, and Adam loses patience with Chelsea’s loyalty to Billy.
The ultra-short promo video for this week only further serves to underscore that while there may be a few other side stories happening, the main event will still be the business brawl brewing in Genoa City.
The Soap Has Forgotten About Romance & Couples We Can Root For
It’s fair to say that The Young and the Restless has lost its way. While plotlines involving business sabotage and backstabbing can be entertaining, they’ve overtaken the entire soap opera to the detriment of everything else. Y&R now feels like it’s trying too hard to be its own version of Succession. The problem is, Succession only works if you have really compelling characters, and right now, The Young and the Restless doesn’t.
While the big companies of Genoa City have always been a part of the world of Y&R, romance and character development used to be just as important – and even more important, at least where romantic entanglements were concerned. The soap opera was beloved for its handling of slow-burn romances with couples you really wanted to root for.
The characters and the build-up made them power couples, but now that core element of the show has been stifled for cutthroat business storylines no one cares for. And when there is a romantic coupling, it’s usually brief and feels unearned. Few couples right now truly feel like they’re a match for one another, as though there’s a depth of meaning to their connection. It simply feels like the writers are smashing together dolls and saying, “Now kiss,” before swapping in another one.
Fixing Y&R’s Problem Won’t Be Such A Quick Fix
The problem is, even if Y&R starts reintroducing romantic storylines, such as the inevitable one involving Daniel catching feelings for Tessa, it won’t mean anything. Romance only works if the audience cares for the characters, and right now, it’s awfully hard to truly care about any of The Young and the Restless’ cast of characters. They’ve been sidelined and allowed to languish too long.
Compounding that problem is the fact that Y&R has reduced the focus, gotten rid of, or killed off so many of its younger characters to inject some new life and fresh chemistry into the show. As great as Eric Braeden is as Victor Newman, it’s time to take the spotlight off of him and put it on other, younger characters. For too long, he’s felt like the protagonist when a soap opera is meant to be an ensemble.
The Young and the Restless has its work cut out for it. It needs to start winding down the business drama plotlines that have lost the interest of so many and reintroduce strong character writing. Whether that takes the form of great characters who we love to root for or genuinely compelling villains, the show needs to get back what it’s always done best. Otherwise, it will continue to feel like a show that has completely lost its identity.
