Excuse the pun, but it’s never "restless" in The Young and the Restless as storylines play out and casting shakeups continue to keep viewers intrigued. After 50 plus years on the air, longtime viewers know the show has been a revolving door to some iconic, and in some cases explosive, characters that have shaped its legacy.
We can rattle the names of characters such as Katherine Chancellor (Jeanne Cooper), John Abbott (Jerry Douglass), Neil Winters (Kristoff St. John) and Jill Abbott (Jess Walton), and The Young and the Restless audience should instantly be able to remember some great storylines in the soap’s history.
While fans continue to rely on the likes of Victor (Eric Braeden), Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) and Jack (Peter Bergman) to provide a sense of stability on the show, having been with the soap for decades, all of the major players do their part in propelling The Young and the Restless into the future. This is why it's always important to keep up with the comings and goings of cast members on the show.
Take a look at the list of Young and the Restless casting arrivals and exits.
Who's coming to The Young and the Restless?
Here’s who you can look forward to seeing in Genoa City.
Valarie Pettiford
Valarie Pettiford is heading to Genoa City to portray Amy Lewis, who hasn't been spotted in town since 1988. The character was once in a relationship with Nate's (Sean Dominic) father Nathan (Nathan Purdee), so it will be interesting to see if she has a surprise for the Winters clan. Pettiford makes her debut on the soap on October 29.
Sienna Mercuri
Sienna Mercuri's Katie is in Genoa City the week of June 17, and she's about to meet the big sister she never knew she had. Considering Summer (Alison Lanier) wasn't thrilled to have a new older cousin, will Katie follow suit and be unhappy about having a older sister. After all, she's no longer Victoria's (Amelia Heinle) only daughter.
Paxton Mishkind
Paxton Mishkind is back on The Young and the Restless as Johnny Abbott. He returns during the week of June 17, and he's slated to finally meet his older sister Claire. It's yet to be seen if their introduction will be warm and receptive, or ice cold.
Reylynn Caster
Reylynn Caster's Faith returns to Genoa City the week of June 17. While a ton of details haven't been released about her return, with The Young and the Restless set to celebrate Joshua Morrow's 30th Anniversary on the show as Nick Newman, she'll undoubtedly play a role in the festivities.
Gina Garcia-Sharp
Gina Garcia-Sharp arrives on the scene as Tucker's (Trevor St. John) new assistant Dawn. She made her debut during Tucker's time in Paris as he battles Audra (Zuleyka Silver) over Glissade.
Redding Munsell
On April 12, Redding Munsell makes his debut as Harrison Abbott. The role was previously portrayed by Kellen Enriquez. Munsell comes on the soap at a pivotal point in the story of Colleen Zenk's Jordan, as she strikes again and kidnaps the Abbott heir.
Christel Khalil
Christel Khalil is blowing back into Genoa City as Lily, and she has quite a few fires to tend to when she does. Not only is a feud brewing at Chancellor-Winters, but Lily's relationship with Daniel (Michael Graziadei) is pretty over and she doesn't know it. Look for Khalil to pop back up on The Young and the Restless starting March 13.
Judah Mackey
Judah Mackey is popping back onto The Young and the Restless canvas as Connor in the episode airing on Monday, March 4. Adam (Mark Grossman) and Chelsea (Melissa Claire Egan), with Billy (Jason Thompson) in tow, take Connor to see a child therapist about the recent troubles he's been having in school. At the moment, we aren't sure if this latest appearance will lead to Connor's eventual return to Genoa City.
Mishael Morgan
After much speculation, including her very own social media post, Mishael Morgan is back on The Young and the Restless as Amanda Sinclair. Her return appearance kicks off on February 21.
It looks like she's back in Genoa City because Jill wants the attorney to play referee as the dynamic between Devon (Bryton James) and Billy (Jason Thompson) continues to get more contentious at Chancellor-Winters. However, look for her return to make Devon, Abby (Melissa Ordway) and Nate (Sean Dominic) rather uncomfortable as they all have some bad history with her.
Will Amanda's presence do more harm than good this go-around?
J. Eddie Peck
J. Eddie Peck is reprising his role as Cole Howard. The character hasn't been seen on the soap since 1999 when he left Genoa City to pursue a career in academia at Oxford. His return to the soap may prove rather timely given the current storyline unfolding with Claire, Aunt Jordan and Nikki.
Cole is a character that has several ties to Genoa City. He was once married to Ashley (Eileen Davidson) and he twice married Victoria (then played by Heather Tom). Additionally, it's worth noting, that Victoria and Cole had a baby named Eve that died as an infant.
As of now, we just know that his return date is slated for November 21.
Since Claire first arrived in Genoa City, she's been talking about her great-aunt. Then as her sinister plot for Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) started to unfold, it became clear that Claire was being motivated to target Mrs. Newman at the direction of her Aunt Jordan. Up until now, Aunt Jordan has only been talked about, but in the episode from November 17, Aunt Jordan is revealed to be As the World Turns veteran, Colleen Zenk.
There is still plenty of mystery as to her connection to Nikki and the Newmans, so fans will want to make sure they don't miss a moment of the soap.
Greg Rikaart
Greg Rikaart is back as Michael Baldwin’s little brother Kevin. He’s been offscreen for a while, but Chloe (Elizabeth Hendrickson) has mentioned him several times. For fans, seeing Rikaart return as Kevin is a great surprise as he has a long history in Genoa City.
Like Judith Chapman, Rikaart is expected to be seen on the soap on November 22.
Judith Chapman
Judith Chapman is reprising her role as the loving, yet sometimes troublesome, matriarch of the Baldwin clan, Gloria. When The Young and the Restless fans last heard about Gloria, Heather (Vail Bloom) was relaying the message to Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) that Michael (Christian LeBlanc) had to cross international waters to bail his mother out of a legal situation she found herself in. Although there weren’t many details about what she allegedly did, perhaps her return means viewers get some insight into what happened.
It looks like viewers can expect to see Gloria on November 22.
Melissa Claire Egan
Melissa Claire Egan's Chelsea is headed back to Genoa City. Chelsea was last spotted on The Young and the Restless canvas on August 21, when she shared that she was going to leave to help her son Connor get settled in his new school by her mother's home. She's seemingly been at her mom's house all this time working remotely for Marchetti. In real life, the actress was on maternity leave as she welcomed her second son into the world.
Egan confirmed her return to the soap in the following tweet to fans. She returns as Chelsea on Wednesday, November 1.
Soon! A few more weeks;) Already shot my first episode back😋October 3, 2023
Tricia Cast
In some good news for those longtime fans of the dynamic duo of Christine (Lauralee Bell) and Nina, Tricia Cast is returning to the role of Nina in the very near future. Bell was gracious enough to tease this momentous occasion via an Instagram post.
We also aren't sure what brings the Nina character back to Genoa City, but we suspect it has to do with Chance (Conner Floyd). Will the town's new chief of police face an emergency? If so, that certainly warrants a visit from his mother.
You can check out Bell's social media announcement below. Cast first appears on November 2.
Hayley Erin
Hayley Erin is making a return to The Young and the Restless. Although longtime fans may have known her as Abby once upon a time, when Erin pops back up in Genoa City, she’ll be playing an all-new character. She’ll be portraying Claire Grace, and Claire has been teased as someone with ties to Newman Media. With all that’s going on at the company these days, will she add more chaos?
Look for Erin on your screens starting Monday, October 2.
Veronica Redd
Vernocia Redd returns to The Young and the Restless on Tuesday, September 26 to revive her beloved character Mamie Johnson. The actress briefly returned in March to help celebrate the show’s 50th Anniversary. While we don’t have many details on the length of Redd’s stay this fall, it will admittedly be nice to see the character of Mamie back on the soap’s canvas. Perhaps she’ll be the glue that reunites Nate (Sean Dominic) with the rest of the Winters clan.
Also, considering Victor (Eric Braeden) tells Lily (Christel Khalil) he sold his stake in Chancellor-Winters during the week of September 18, is it possible Mammie is the mystery buyer?
Who's leaving The Young and the Restless
Check out who's leaving Genoa City.
Vail Bloom
We're still in disbelief, but it appears Vail Bloom is exiting the role of Heather. During the week of September 23, 2024, Sharon allegedly killed her. Although to be fair, Sharon can't remember exactly how she murdered Heather, but she woke up to Heather's dead body.
If you're a fan of Heather, we have some good news. Bloom shared with TV Insider that she'd be open to returning as Heather in some capacity. We have to say, Heather would hardly be the first person to reemerge from the dead.
Michael Damian
Genoa City’s favorite popstar Danny (Michael Damian) heads out of town to go back on tour. He does so leaving behind a broken-hearted Phyllis (Michelle Stafford). While we don't have a timetable for when Damian may return to the role of Danny, we don't think this is the last fans have seen of him.
Lauralee Bell
Danny doesn't go on tour alone this go-around, as Cricket (Lauralee Bell) goes with him. The exes hope to continue exploring their reignited flame, and they figure they'll be able to do so better away from Phyllis' interference while on the road. Again, we aren't sure when Bell's Christine will return.
Colleen Zenk
As fabulous as Colleen Zenk was as Claire's deranged aunt Jordan, her stint in Genoa City came to an end when Victor had her hauled off to prison... again. Since Jordan is far from dead, there's always the hope she'll be back to wreak more havoc on the Newmans in the future.
Kellen Enriquez
Kellen Enriquez exits the role of Harrison Abbott. As of April 12, 2024, the role is now being portrayed by Redding Munsell.
Brian Gaskill
In sad news for fans of Nikki's former sponsor, actor Brian Gaskill is seemingly leaving the role as Seth. In the episode airing on March 5, Jordan struck again in her reign of terror pushing Seth in front of a car. A police officer later reported to Nikki that he died. Gaskill had a good run on the soap, and it's sad to see him leave.
Kym Douglas
On Thursday, June 22, Kym Douglas makes an appearance as Zelda. The character is Traci’s (Beth Maitland) agent and friend. Zelda will encourage the Abbott heir to heal the broken bonds in her family.
It’s interesting to note that Kym is the widow of the late actor Jerry Douglas, who played John Abbott on the soap for many years. With that said, expect to see heartwarming tributes to Jerry’s character during Kym’s brief stint on the show.
Linden Ashby
Linden Ashby reprised his role as Cameron Kirsten on May 26. Back in 2003, Cameron was introduced via a meeting with Sharon in Denver. Despite the two sharing an initial mutual attraction, Cameron grew to be obsessed with her and became a deadly nemesis to the former Mrs. Newman.
When she escaped his clutches in Denver, she returned to Genoa City only to have him follow her home and torment her. He eventually blackmailed her to meet him at a motel on New Year’s Eve, but she wound up knocking him unconscious with a champagne bottle; although, she thought she killed him at the time.
Once he awoke, he launched a plan to drive Sharon mad by pretending to be a ghost that was haunting her. Additionally, he framed her for the murder of Cassie and Mariah’s (Camryn Grimes) father.
After Cameron finally revealed to Sharon that he wasn’t dead and that he could help her avoid going to prison for homicide, she reluctantly boarded a plane to leave town with him. Thankfully for her, Nick was hiding on the plane and came to her rescue when Cameron again began to attack her. The villain's 2004 story arc ended when Cameron was hauled off to prison.
Fast forward to the present, and it looks like his brief return wrapped as of June 16, 2023. Ashby's Cameron met his fate after Sharon killed him with a knife to the chest. While that would seemingly mean the character will never again resurface, in the soap world, we can never really say never.
James Hyde
James Hyde’s Jeremy Stark arrived in Genoa City as a mischievous business associate of Diane back in the fall of 2022. He attempted to blackmail Diane, but thankfully for her, Jack and Kyle (Michael Mealor) foiled his plans, which coincidentally got him arrested.
Upon his release, Jeremy sought out revenge and worked with Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) to frame Diane for Phyllis’ “murder.” However, Jeremy quickly and violently turned on Phyllis, who wound up killing him in self-defense.
Fans said goodbye to Jeremey and Hyde on April 17.
The Young and The Restless episodes air on weekdays on CBS. Episodes can also be streamed on Paramount Plus.
