There's a reason that The Young and the Restless has held the position of the country's number one most-watched daytime drama for over 30 years. The CBS soap opera knows just how to capture viewers' attention and has countless episodes that have awed and entertained fans over the years. But five moments never fail to take the top spot in the list of fans' favorites, and Y&R is dedicating its next batch of throwback episodes to those five very powerful episodes.
From the CBS soap opera's first two 30-minute episodes in 1973 to Katherine Chancellor's (Jeanne Cooper) mesmerizing facelift reveal in 1984, check out the detailed descriptions of each fan-favorite episode below. For your convenience, links to our original full-length recaps of each episode are also provided in case you want to make certain that you don't miss a particular moment or episode.
Monday, July 20, 2020: Season One, Episodes #1 and #2 (Original Airdates: March 26 and 27, 1973)
The mysterious Brad Elliot (Tom Hallick) arrives in Genoa City, and viewers are introduced to the legendary Brooks and Foster families.
Fun Fact: The Young and the Restless aired as a 30-minute soap until February 4, 1980, when the show expanded to one hour
Tuesday, July 21, 2020: Season 12, Episode #2809 (Original Airdate: March 28, 1984)
Katherine (Jeanne Cooper) sees the results of her facelift, Cricket (Lauralee Bell) begins her modeling career at Jabot, Dina (Marla Adams) is suspicious of Ashley (Eileen Davidson), and Victor (Eric Braeden) and Nikki's (Melody Thomas Scott) relationship is tested.
Wednesday, July 22, 2020: Season 21, Episode #5070 (Original Airdate: March 12, 1993)
Newlyweds Neil (Kristoff St. John) and Dru (Victoria Rowell) celebrate with family and friends, and Michael (Christian Le Blanc) plots his revenge against Cricket (Lauralee Bell).
Thursday, July 23, 2020: Season 36, Episode #8914 (Original Airdate: June 2, 2008)
Katy Perry steals the spotlight at "Restless Style," Jill (Jess Walton ) pushes Gloria's (Judith Chapman) buttons, and Adam (then played by Chris Engen) pleads his case to Victor (Eric Braeden).
Friday, July 24, 2020: Season 42, Episode #10732 (Original Airdate: August 14, 2015)
On Devon (Bryton James) and Hilary's (Mishael Morgan) wedding day, Neil (Kristoff St. John) makes amends, Lauren (Tracey Bregman) offers Hilary words of wisdom, and Devon walks down the aisle with a secret.
Both The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful have been airing classic episodes since April 27, when the shows ran out of new, pre-COVID-19-filmed episodes. In order to keep things exciting for viewers, Y&R and B&B announced that they would be presenting the throwback episodes via theme weeks filled with long-lost cherished characters, epic adventures, and classic moments.
Y&R kicked off its run of throwback episodes on Monday, April 27, dedicating the week to iconic Genoa City matriarch Katherine Chancellor (played by the late Jeanne Cooper). Its second theme week kicked off on Monday, May 4, and featured Victor and Nikki's love story. Y&R's third week of themed episodes began on May 11 and centered on the show's infamous grudges and rivalries. Its fourth week, which began on May 18, focused on the iconic Winters family. Its fifth week began on May 25 and featured some of the show's best villains, while its sixth week, which started on June 1, was dedicated to the Abbott family. Its seventh week of throwback moments began on June 8 and was dedicated to romantic moments, while its eighth week, which began on June 15, saw some of the soap's best weddings. Its ninth week of throwback episodes celebrated the fact that the Daytime Emmy Awards were airing on June 26 and featured some of Y&R's Emmy-winning moments. Its tenth week kicked off on June 29 and focused on Paul and Christine's romance. Y&R's eleventh theme week began on Monday, July 6, and was dedicated to fun summer moments. The CBS soap's twelfth themed week, which kicked off on July 13, focused on the Fisher/Baldwin family.
Soap Central will be providing recaps for all of the classic Y&R episodes that aired before the Internet Age, and you can read them in our Daily Recaps Archives. That's also the place to check out recaps for any soap opera episode that has aired between 1996 and the present day.
At this time, it's unclear when Y&R will begin airing new episodes, but it might not be too much longer. The show resumed production on Monday, July 13, which means new material could hit the screen as early as August.
As Soap Central previously reported, B&B has been successfully back in production since Wednesday, June 24, and will be back on-screen with all-new episodes on Monday, July 20. The show has implemented many safety protocols, including regular coronavirus testing, a one-way system in and out of the filming area, and using a combination of mannequins and performers' real-life spouses to film love scenes. To learn more, check out these interesting behind-the-scenes details shared by B&B actress Denise Richards (Shauna Fulton), who returned to work and experienced the new COVID-19 filming rules the week of June 29.
General Hospital was tentatively scheduled to get back up and running in mid-July, but has pushed back that date due to the recent rise of coronavirus cases. Meanwhile, Days of our Lives -- which is still airing new episodes and reportedly has enough in the can to last until early autumn -- will resume production on Tuesday, September 1.
What do you think about Y&R dedicating a week to fan-favorite moments? Which episode are you most looking forward to watching? What themes would you like to see the soap opera air in the future? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
