This week on The Young and the Restless was all about Stephanie telling Malcolm and Holden that they’re father and son. But, as part of the big reveal, Holden also learned that Lily is his half-sister — because she is Malcolm’s biological daughter, not Neil’s. Longtime fans remember exactly how that happened, but, for newer fans, here’s the story of how Lily’s paternity secret came out… straight from Victoria Rowell, who played Lily’s mom, Dru, in my book, Super Soap Scenes: A Time Capsule of Daytime Drama’s Greatest Moments.
Key Takeaways:
- Lily’s paternity reveal affected multiple characters.
- Selling a story means selling soap.
- The story had international appeal.
How Lily’s Paternity Reveal Happened
Victoria Rowell: Those were intense scenes. I recall the intensity of it, the collaboration of it, and that the audience had, for years, wanted this secret to come out. It’s very interesting how fans have an influence over what sometimes is included in the storyline.
There was a responsibility, all the way around, for the actors to do the best job that we possibly could. Obviously, being leading African-American actors in a genre that typically is not African-American in front of the camera in large numbers, I knew that this was an awesome opportunity. And Kristoff St. John (Neil), Shemar Moore (Malcolm), myself, and Tonya Lee Williams (Olivia), we worked to the best of our theatrical ability to make sure that we brought forth our best work. Because we knew the gravity of the situation. We knew that we were in a plum position. And so, when we were given this extraordinary storyline, we wanted to give it its full due. We knew the longer the story was written for us, this meant the audience was very captivated by this story, and we also knew that we were inspiring the writers to write for us.
You don’t stay in a storyline if you’re not selling a story, and if you’re not selling the story, you don’t stay employed. At the end of the day, this is about keeping a show on the air, and a show that’s selling soap. You’re selling products. I understood the business dynamics behind keeping the story alive and juicy, and performing with integrity. Those were all the behind the scenes dynamics that go through my mind when I’m working on a soap opera.
Practice Makes Perfect
I like getting my script as soon as I can. I’ve always been of the school of study and coming to work with my material prepared three different ways. You have to be flexible and you have to be prepared. I like to rehearse with the actor. Shemar was always professional and was always open to rehearsal.
The characters of Drucilla and Malcolm, they’re iconic soap figures. With no race involved, they’re just iconic. I think because Shemar and myself also navigate though primetime and film, this helped further and grow an audience for our daytime characters. I think that the characters were explosive, they were also sympathetic and vulnerable characters, and very relatable characters. They got in trouble, they fell in love, they were in a love triangle, and I believe they not only captured the interest domestically, but Y&R is licensed to over a hundred countries around the globe, from the continent of Africa to the continent of Europe. It shows twice a day in the Caribbean. It’s not an accident that we captured not only the domestic audience, but also the international audience. The humanity of these characters really resonated with the audience at large, in the millions. I thought it was soap opera at its finest. I’m very, very grateful that it endures today.
Read more at: Super Soap Scenes: A Time Capsule of Daytime Drama’s Greatest Moments!
