Here's a look at next week's story lines on The Young and the Restless...
On The Young and the Restless this week, Gloria gets the keys to the Abbott mansion.
"He throws the keys to the house at her feet," Judith Chapman (Gloria) told Soap Opera Weekly.
However, things are far from perfect for this well-known character Genoa City resident.
"What about "all the scary stuff that's been happening to her," wondered Chapman.
How true. Guess we'll have to tune in and find out.
In a stunning revelation, Eric Braeden recently admitted that he almost quit The Young and the Restless last year.
According to Soap Central, Braeden was not only disgusted with the direction of his character's storyline, but he was also unhappy with the situations of the other veteran characters. The actor sat down with then-executive producer Lynn Marie Latham to discuss the problems, but was frustrated by what he viewed as a lack of reciprocal concern.
This 2007 meeting came just after Latham had hired a brand new team of writers, some of whom had no previous experience in the soap genre.
During this regime's reign, Braeden said he felt that Victor Newman had become a weak and diminished character, forced to sit on the sidelines while an array of "new, younger characters" took over.
"I will always rail against this chasing of the mythical, young demographic, (that) leads to the dumbing down of television," Braeden said. "It's the bane of a lot of writers, directors and actors in this town."
Fortunately, The Young and the Restless recently elevated Maria Arena Bell, daughter-in-law of series co-creators Lee Phillip Bell and her late husband William, to the head writer position. Braeden couldn't be happier with the change.
"This is the happiest I've been on the show in a long time," he said. "The emphasis is again where it belongs, with the established characters on the show."
Danny Romalotti - and his portrayer, actor Michael Damian - have returned to The Young and the Restless.
Damian recently took a few moments to reflect on a few behind the scene reunions and share what he's been up to since his last trip to Genoa City. Here's what he had to say:
How did your latest stint on The Young and the Restless come about?
"I got a call from the show. They asked if I was A) in town B) available and C) did I want to Rock and Roll Genoa City with a couple of songs. Did I want to come back for a weeklong celebration for the 35th Anniversary of the show? And I said 'Sounds like fun! I'm in."
What do you remember the most about your first day on the set way back when you first came on as Danny Romalotti?
"You're not talking about 1981, are you? Way back many centuries ago before the bible began [he laughed]. That's a quote from Joseph [and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat], by the way. My first show was with Doug Davidson [Paul]. I got a job as waiter-slash-busboy at Jonas' and Paul Williams worked there. We had a great time, became great friends. It was awesome. David Hasselhoff [Snapper] was on the show back then. David was always nice to me.
Doug and I just finished our scene together and we were just reminiscing about how much fun we had back then. Danny and Paul go back a long, long way and it is kind of sad that their friendship drifted over the whole Christine [Lauralee Bell] thing but I am very happy with how the characters have evolved now and it was a lot of fun to have them hang out. It is addressed in the script so that is good."
What is it about Danny that makes him a fan favorite?
"He's 80's hair and spandex. I think that is what did it [laughing]. The writing was just superb. The character is only as good as he is written. Bill Bell had a brilliant mind and did an awesome job. I am so sorry we had to lose him so early. He was a father figure. We always felt that he was looking after us. What I really am thrilled about is coming back in 2008 and finding the writing is still great.
There is freshness, depth, comedy and it is very layered. I don't know about all the other characters but certainly in the scenes that I have played out with Doug Davidson and Michelle Stafford [Phyllis]."
Did you interact with any of the new characters?
"I had a brief encounter with 2 new characters, Daniel's friend Amber [Adrienne Frantz] and Paul's daughter Heather [Vail Bloom]. That was fun. I had a chance to work with Josh Morrow (Nick) which is rare for me. We put our two heads together trying to remember if we had a scene together. That was a lot of fun. I enjoyed working with Bronson Pinchot. He was fantastic!
Very creative, which is fun as an actor and it keeps you on your toes. Yeah, I have been making the rounds the last couple of days. It is always nice working with Michelle, as always."
Clamoring for a few spoilers from The Young and the Restless? Take a look below:
The Young and the Restless celebrates its 35th anniversary next week. Here's what you can expect to see as part of the celebration...
With the 35th anniversary of The Young and the Restless on the way, TV Guide Canada recently spoke to show star Michelle Stafford. Here's an excerpt:
TVG: You debuted on The Young and the Restless in 1994 whats been your favourite storyline thus far?
Michelle Stafford: The storyline with Dr. Tim when I was seducing the shrink. I loved the whole relationship between them because they were polar opposites. And then, the Phyllis-Nick affair, of course. Both Josh and I loved playing that. The way it was told was very real; it was fun to play a secret.
TVG: Are you surprised at how popular Nick and Phyllis are as a couple?
MS: Are we popular? I have to be honest, I dont read blogs or anything online because I think artists dont benefit from hearing criticisms or even the accolades, for that matter. I try to stay away from it all. Its not good for me.
Read the full interview now.
Though she's believed to have fallen to her death nearly a year ago, Drucilla Winters may still resurface. So believe many fans of The Young and the Restless.
While CBS refuses to comment publicly, soapcentral.com has learned that the network is actively seeking a way to bring actress Victoria Rowell back into the fold.
The portrayer of Winters, who left the show in April 2007 amid reports of hurt feelings and frustration with the direction of the show, states that she is "open" to a possible The Young and the Restless return.
"Before Christmas, through my representative, there was a dialogue with the CBS brass regarding [the] re-entry of Drucilla Winters," Rowell said. "The ball is in The Young and the Restless court. I think it's important that the fans know that I'm open to coming back and now we're waiting for an answer. That's absolutely the case."
Entertainment Weekly recently spoke with former Perfect Strangers star, Bronson Pinchot, about his guest starring role on The Young and the Restless...
Entertainment Weekly: So what led you to take on a role on a soap opera?
Bronson Pinchot: Oh, the usual... a casting director called. [Laughs] And I thought it would be really fun. I've done opera, radio, big movies, little movies, primetime... there's no aspect of media I haven't done except soaps. I'm big on ignoring the snobbiness of genre-fication. Doing a soap is really hard. You have to get it in one take.
How'd you end up playing the character?
I ended up being kind of quirky, which won't surprise you. But it was not a case of a comedic actor coming in and taking over. There was some aspect of humor, but I don't like it when actors force themselves into a situation. I always start with what a character is trying to do and go from there. I made it up as I went along based on the characters reason for doing things. He was rather eager to please.
Would you consider a recurring role?
I'd love to come back if we could make the schedules work. It's an incredibly welcoming, warm environment. There's a unique group wisdom to a soap opera cast that I really appreciate.
Read more soap opera news from Entertainment Weekly now!
Keep in mind: The Young and the Restless will be preempted due to CBS Sports coverage of the NCAA Basketball Tournament on Thursday and Friday. The rest of the week will bring...
