March Madness: Soap Opera Preemption Dates For The Big Dance

It’s March, which means March Madness — for those who don’t know, that’s the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament.

Unfortunately, all the insanity will affect CBS soaps The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful as hoops take over the network for two days.

According to a Soaps.com report, both Y&R and B&B will not air on Thursday or Friday, March 15 and 16. The great news is that both shows will be back on the air as usual starting on Monday, March 19.

Some good news for soap fans is that both ABC’s General Hospital and NBC’s Days of our Lives remain unaffected and will air in their normal time slots during the Big Dance — another name for the tournament. The single elimination basketball series draws huge numbers of fans each year rooting for their college or that year’s Cinderella team to make it through the crowded pack to the championship game.

The episodes leading up to the break are not to be missed as the shows may present powerful cliffhangers as an added incentive for viewers to return on Monday.

In 2015, B&B’s episode, which aired just before the sports pre-emption, showcased a dramatic cliffhanger: Nicole (Reign Edwards) revealed to Maya (Karla Mosley) that she (Maya) wasn’t her sister, but rather her brother.  The shocker kicked off the show’s transgender story.

The Young and the Restless (YR) and The Bold and the Beautiful (BB) air weekdays on CBS. Check local listings for airtimes.