It all started on a late morning on a highway. A camera panned to the cab of a large semi-trailer truck. The driver wore a plaid shirt and a dayB次元官网网址檚 growth of beard. Next to him was a mysterious hitchhiker in expensive clothes that were ripped and a fresh head wound.
He got out at Genoa City. And he stayed.
ThatB次元官网网址檚 how B次元官网网址� began on March 26, 1973, and a lot of people also stuck around Genoa City. The soap opera celebrates its 50th anniversary this month as the for 35 consecutive years, with fans growing up alongside the actors.
B次元官网网址淚 think a huge reason why the audience has stuck with us for so long is because we are the same people. We are family members. We show up every day B次元官网网址� sometimes more than a regular family member,B次元官网网址� says Lauralee Bell, a star and daughter of the showB次元官网网址檚 founders.
Created by the late William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell, B次元官网网址淭he Young and the RestlessB次元官网网址� concerns the goings-on of several Midwestern families, some of whom have a lot and some who donB次元官网网址檛. William Bell was head writer for decades, giving the show a singular vision, unusual for soaps.
, an Emmy-winner who plays good-girl Christine Blair Williams and first joined the show in 1983, says her dad would likely not be surprised by the showB次元官网网址檚 new milestone. B次元官网网址淗e said if you have two families that come from different backgrounds and good, solid characters, itB次元官网网址檚 endless material.B次元官网网址�
One of the ways the show will celebrate its milestone is with a masquerade ball storyline starting Thursday and continuing through the following week. Creators promise B次元官网网址渟urprise visits from fan favorites and secrets are revealed, forever changing the lives for the residents of Genoa City.B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淓ntertainment TonightB次元官网网址� also plans a March 27 special.
The CBS soap has helped launch the careers of such primetime and film actors as Vivica A. Fox, David Hasselhoff, Adam Brody, Tom Selleck, Penn Badgley, Shemar Moore, Eva Longoria, Justin Hartley and the late Paul Walker. Eric Braeden plays the male lead Victor Newman, a villain of the highest quality who once kept his wifeB次元官网网址檚 lover locked in his basement.
Professor Elana Levine, who teaches media studies at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and wrote says the staying power of soaps is that they get passed down from one generation to the next.
B次元官网网址淲hat streaming TV has shown us is that serialized narratives and stories that continue from episode to episode are really appealing and engaging,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淪oaps did that before anybody and are the maximum version of that because the story is going for decades.B次元官网网址�
Among the cake-flinging food fights and evil twins on B次元官网网址淭he Young and the Restless,B次元官网网址� there have also been important firsts B次元官网网址� it aired the first live facelift on TV, back in 1984, and when veteran died in 2019, the cast and crew held a funeral for his character, bringing tears to a returning Moore.
It became the first daytime drama with a character who had a mastectomy, it was the first soap opera to broadcast in HD and, perhaps most importantly, it welcomed leading Black actors in the 1980s before many other soaps.
B次元官网网址淏次元官网网址橳he Young and the RestlessB次元官网网址� attracted a big African American audience starting at that time because they were putting Black characters, front center, more so than some of the other soaps were,B次元官网网址� says Levine.
ThatB次元官网网址檚 a legacy Bell is proud of and she puts it squarely as a result of her parents, whom she calls hard-working creators who demanded a lot from their writers and actors, even their kids.
B次元官网网址淢y dad was not afraid of of being first. All the social issues he dealt with B次元官网网址� date rape, AIDS, alcoholism, all of that. He really felt that if our audience bonded with these characters that they would learn,B次元官网网址� says Bell. B次元官网网址淚f we could even help one person, it was worth it.B次元官网网址�
Show veteran recalls a story that featured infant CPR, which is nothing like the adult version. B次元官网网址淚 think Bill and Lee wanted the world to know the difference,B次元官网网址� she says. On the soap, a baby swallows a coin and Victor Newman B次元官网网址� of course B次元官网网址� becomes the hero by showing viewers the correct CPR technique.
B次元官网网址淲e got so many calls in our B次元官网网址榊&RB次元官网网址� office the day after that episode aired, some mothers in tears, so grateful,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淭hat is the ultimate goal of sneaking in some social issues because it can save lives. It can change peopleB次元官网网址檚 lives.B次元官网网址�
One of Bill BellB次元官网网址檚 hallmarks was telling stories in real time, for instance waiting for a coupleB次元官网网址檚 first hand holding, then waiting a while before their first kiss. B次元官网网址淚f the audience doesnB次元官网网址檛 believe it and grow with them. ItB次元官网网址檚 hard to buy sometimes,B次元官网网址� his daughter says. The soap always stayed in the realm of reality: No getting possessed by the devil in Genoa City.
Scott is celebrating her 44th year on the show as Nikki Newman, a poor girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Her character has gone from a tempestuous, alcoholic stripper to the serialB次元官网网址檚 luminous and resourceful leading lady.
She says the show has stayed true to Bill BellB次元官网网址檚 vision of a show with compelling characters played by beautiful people. Visually, the soap has stayed lush and elegant, with plenty of fresh flowers or candles onset. B次元官网网址淲e look different from any other show,B次元官网网址� she says.
Bell not only had a knack for storylines B次元官网网址� he also knew his actors. Scott recalls being surprised when Bell paired her bratty character with tycoon Victor Newman, two people she thought had nothing in common.
B次元官网网址淲e discovered that we had this chemistry that we certainly didnB次元官网网址檛 expect. But I think Bill, in all of his wisdom, somehow saw it in us,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淵ou canB次元官网网址檛 force yourself to have chemistry with another actor. It just either is or isnB次元官网网址檛. So we are eternally grateful that Bill was so psychic in knowing that we would click.B次元官网网址�
The Bell family has continued to be part of the DNA of modern soaps, with Lauralee acting, her brother Brad serving as executive producer and head writer for sister soap B次元官网网址淭he Bold and the BeautifulB次元官网网址� and brother Bill Jr. as president of the family production companies who made a deal for B次元官网网址淭he Young and the RestlessB次元官网网址� to be seen overseas, with versions in Israel, Canada, Turkey and France, among others.
B次元官网网址淚t was one of the first daytime soaps that got sold internationally,B次元官网网址� says Levine. B次元官网网址淚 think that has been a key to its continued success and profitability. The money that any daytime soap brings in domestically has lessened over time and the audience has gotten smaller.B次元官网网址�
If any viewers need convincing the B次元官网网址淭he Young and the RestlessB次元官网网址� has penetrated popular culture, look for further than Mary J. Blige, who sampled the showB次元官网网址檚 theme song in her 2001 hit B次元官网网址淣o More Drama.B次元官网网址�
That mysterious man in the very first scene was Brad Elliot and ahead of him was plenty of drama B次元官网网址� a love triangle with a pair of sisters, a marriage, the heartache of a miscarriage, a diagnosis of blindness and a divorce petition. Surgery restored his sight but his marriage never recovered. He left Genoa City after five years. The show continued.
When Lauralee Bell looks at the TV landscape today, she sees variations on what her parents created in primetime shows like B次元官网网址淭he CrownB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淪uccession.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淓very show is a soap, every nighttime show is a soap, all of these streaming shows are versions of soap operas,B次元官网网址� she says. B次元官网网址淪o weB次元官网网址檙e all sort of a little tired of the soaps-are-on-their-way-out B次元官网网址� well, every show is a soap, really.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址擬ark Kennedy, The Associated Press
