‘The Young and the Restless’ Makes Big Change Amid Fan Criticism

The Young and the Restless is making a major change.

Amid criticism and complaints from fans, Soap Opera Network reports that soap opera veteran Jill Farren Phelps is returning to the genre to serve as a producer on the CBS sudser.

Since 1984, Phelps has worked on a multitude of soaps, including Santa Barbara, Guiding Light, Another World, One Life to Live, and General Hospital. She previously served as executive producer on Y&R from 2012 to 2016, but departed in June 2016, according to TV Insider. Reportedly, Phelps has been back at Young and the Restless for several months now in a non-producing capacity.

The Young and the Restless is certainly in good hands, as Phelps has received 14 Daytime Emmy Award nominations, winning 11 throughout her career. Phelps’ addition comes amid backlash over some storylines, with fans expressing their frustration on a subreddit on the show’s Reddit page, “What’s wrong with Y&R? Used to be so great now it’s just meh.”

One fan said, “The last 3 years it has been awful.Insane plots .making all of the women have mental issues. It’s become an irresponsible downer.” While another shared, “The show is so boring and repetitive nowadays that I have 9 episodes on my DVR and no real interest in watching them.”

“Yeah, I still watch but I don’t look forward to watching anymore,” said one commenter. “It’s almost a chore to watch. I’m not excited about anything, especially certain hookups that may be on the horizon. I feel like the characters do the same old things and have the same old conversations.”

The Young and the Restless premiered on CBS in 1973 and is still going strong, at least for now. With Phelps being brought on, fans are probably hoping that things will change in a good way. It is worth noting that viewership remains steady this summer, recently bringing in its largest overall audience since the final week of February with 3.171 million viewers, per Soap Opera Network.

Phelps will be reuniting with current executive producer and Josh Griffith. She worked alongside Griffith on the telenovela-style limited series Hollywood Heights on Nick at Nite and TeenNick in 2012. Griffith developed the series and also served as the head writer and executive producer, with Phelps executive producing.

It’s unknown if and how things will change with Phelps on board, but fans can always watch new episodes of The Young and the Restless weekdays on CBS.