Shemar Moore Will Return to ‘Young and the Restless’ for Kristoff St. John Tribute

Shemar Moore will return to his old stomping grounds for a tribute to late star Kristoff St. John. The Young and the Restless will present a week-long storyline to bid farewell to the actor’s character and a special tribute on April 29 featuring Moore, Victoria Rowell and Mishael Morgan returning to pay tribute following St. John’s death Feb. 4 at the age of 52.

Moore will be the only actor returning to the show as his original character, Malcolm Winters. The return will take place across two episodes planned for April 25 to 26, with Moore reprising his role as Neil Winters’ brother for the first time since 2014.

The two-episodes will be part of that week’s storyline and then followed by a special on April 29 featuring Rowell, Morgan, and others as themselves sharing memories of St. John alongside his most memorable moments according to Entertainment Weekly.

Moore played the role of Neil Winters’ half-brother Malcolm for close to a decade from 1994 until 2005, leaving to join Criminal Minds on CBS in 2005 followed by the revival of S.W.A.T. in 2017. His tenure pales to St. John’s 27-year run on the show, but their connection cannot be denied. Moore’s emotions since St. John’s death have not been hidden and he’s shared many thoughts on social media.

“I lost my brother yesterday,” Moore said in a video posted on Instagram following St. John’s death. “I never had a brother, but you were my brother. You showed me the way. You were my mentor, my inspiration. You showed me what true talent was. You showed me what humility was. I love you. I hate this. I love you, but I’m going to celebrate all your good.”

Moore has followed his initial post up with numerous tributes and photos of St. John, including the pair laughing on the set of Young and the Restless.

St. John’s character was last seen on the Feb. 6 episode of the long-running soap opera. The storyline addressing his character’s passing will begin on April 23, with characters gathering to remember the character throughout the week. Executive producer Anthony Morina provided a statement to Entertainment Weekly on how the show will go on without St. John.

“We all miss Kristoff immensely and are understandably still in a bit of shock,” Morina told EW. “Our hope is that this storyline and tribute airing in April will honor the legendary character Kristoff helped create, and provide our audience with the opportunity to say a meaningful goodbye to Neil Winters.”

Some fans were rubbed the wrong way by what seemed like the show’s tribute to the late actor during his last appearance in February. This longer week-long storyline and memorial special should hit a better note for most viewers.

St. John was buried earlier this month at the Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village, California. He was buried beside his son Julian who committed suicide in 2014. Medical examiners released his official cause of death on Tuesday, calling it an accidental death from “hypertrophic heart disease by way of alcohol abuse.”