Kudos For A Fresh Take on a Familiar Young and the Restless Story

The Young and the Restless is no stranger to the sudden discovery of one’s “real” parents. Adam Newman learned it about Victor Newman. Nikki Newman and Paul Williams met the son she’d given up for adoption decades earlier. Lily Winters learned that Neil Winters wasn’t her biological dad, and Tucker McCall got it in both directions: He was Kay Chancellor’s long-lost son and Devon Hamilton’s long-lost dad.

Young and the Restless Finds A Fresh Take

It feels like Y&R is going to the same tired old well again with Johnny Abbott’s (Paxton Mishkind) parentage, but the story has enough fresh twists to make it compelling and unpredictable.

Y&R Golden Age

Traditionally, Genoa City characters are either adults when they meet their new parent, or so young — like Abby Newman Abbott Chancellor (Melissa Ordway) or the late Cassie Newman (Camryn Grimes) were — that they take the news in stride.

Johnny is the perfect age to be young enough to have trouble processing what the news about Chelsea Lawson (Melissa Claire Egan) being his biological mom really means, yet old enough to be furious at the parents who kept the news from him, much less at all the other adults who knew the truth when he didn’t. He’s at an age where no one knows what he’ll do next — which means we don’t, either.

Young and the Restless: Back Story

Most of the time, the newfound family is the result of a long-ago affair. But Billy Abbott (Jason Thompson) didn’t cheat on Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle). Chelsea drugged and raped Billy specifically so she would get pregnant and extort money from Billy as a result. Explain that to a young teen. And try to make yourself sound good in the process.

Y&R: He Simply Does Not Care

And, finally, we commend Y&R for writing an adopted child who isn’t full of angst about who his biological mother might be. Johnny made it clear he didn’t want to know, and, in fact, he was angry at Billy and Victoria for telling him against his wishes. We don’t recall a similar story playing out like this on daytime, and we look forward to seeing where it leads!

The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS. For an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.

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