LOS ANGELES — "The Young and the Restless" has hit the milestone of its 13,000th episode. Since its debut in 1973, the iconic soap has been a beloved staple for millions.
Among its longest-serving cast members is Melody Thomas Scott, who’s played Nikki Newman since 1979.
“When I was young, my grandmother and I used to watch "All My Children," she said. “That was the only experience I had. I never dreamed that I would be on one.”
But years later, Thomas Scott and “The Young and the Restless,” are still going strong. Across 13,000 episodes, the show has earned 77 Daytime Emmy Awards, and for Scott, it’s been 45 years filled with what feels like family.
“We feel like we’re at summer camp every day, joking and laughing and having a wonderful time. And then that leads into when we’re shooting, you know, the emotions that the audience wants to see," she said.
During a celebration at CBS’ studios, Peter Bergman, who has played Jack Abbott since 1989, talked about the show’s run, as it has aired 12,113 hours or 504 days of programming.
“That’s more television hours than all of the “Law and Orders,” “NCIS,” “Gunsmoke,” “Lassie,” “Criminal Minds,” all the “CSIs,” “Dallas,” “Knot’s Landing,” “Murder She Wrote,” “Two and a Half Men” and “Blue Bloods” combined," Bergman said with a smile.
The show’s enduring success has also provided stability for its cast, a rarity in Hollywood today. Christian LeBlanc, who’s played Michael Baldwin since 1991, says that stability is something he’s thankful for.
“I’ve been able to make a living, pay my rent, doing what I love. Now, if you put all those sentences together, it’s a rare commodity sometimes,” he said. “It’s tough in this industry alone, much less the world.”
While many productions paused due to 2023’s Hollywood strikes, soap operas like “The Young and the Restless” were able to continue, thanks to different contractual terms. According to LeBlanc, soap operas have also led the way on important social issues.
“Remember, daytime was the first one who started dealing with AIDS. I came in with a sexual harassment storyline, things that prime time wasn’t ready for,” he said.
Barbara Irwin, a professor emerita at Canisius University and media historian who has penned a book on “The Young and the Restless,” agrees that soap operas continue to hold a unique place in entertainment.
She pointed out that though the numbers have dwindled, they still make an impact. In a promising sign for the genre, a new soap opera, “Beyond the Gates,” is set to debut on CBS in 2025, marking the first new soap in over 25 years.
For Irwin, this renewal reflects networks’ hope.
“That tells me that there’s something out there that is encouraging to networks to say we’re going to invest in something new and hopefully draw a new audience in,” she said.
For Scott, the success of “The Young and the Restless” and soaps like it comes down to one thing: the fans.
“We have to thank the fans first, because without them, we would not be here,” she said.
With its recent renewal through the 2027–2028 season, “The Young and the Restless” looks to continue its legacy for years to come, proving that daytime dramas still capture hearts and screens across the world.