Three Cheers For Melody Thomas Scott: Y&R’s Trouper of 2021

Melody Thomas Scott has been playing Nikki Reed Foster Newman Abbott Newman Newman Newman et al on The Young and the Restless since the early 1980s. She has been married in a lavish ceremony and tormented on location. She’s faked her own terminal illness, lost her unborn child, been shot, developed Multiple Sclerosis, been reunited with the baby she gave up for adoption, gotten a sexually transmitted disease, fallen prey to a cult, and tinkled the ivories. And she’s done it all with enthusiasm and commitment.

Melody Thomas Scott Shines As Nikki Newman

Even now, when it seems like Nikki has nothing to do but prop Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) every time he does something less than ethical, labored to reunite him with perenially pouting son Nicholas Newman (Joshua Morrow), put up with scheming stepson Adam Newman (Mark Grossman), worried about runaway stepdaughter Abby Newman Abbott Chancellor (Melissa Ordway), or fretted over poor granddaughter Summer Newman (Hunter King), forced to marry the love of her life and take her dream job in Italy.

Melody Thomas Scott has done it all with enthusiasm and commitment. She dives into every scene, no matter how meaningless or, frankly, demeaning of her loyalty to Genoa City. Any crumb she gets thrown, she makes the most of, such as her moved facial expressions when she heard Victor and Nick making peace. She even pretends to be as worried about Connor’s (Judah Mackey) emotional health as Adam and Chelsea Lawson (Melissa Claire Egan). And they both go way overboard.

Pomp and Circumstances

So as the end of year Best of Awards gets distributed to those who had splashy scenes and front burner storylines, let’s remember the team players like Melody Thomas Scott, who went ahead and did her best, who never phoned it in, and who made every scene she was in better. No matter how little respect she got for her efforts.

The Young and the Restless (YR) airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Genoa City, check out all the latest that’s been posted on The Young and the Restless spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.