We Weigh In: As Y&R Faces Budget Cuts, Which Characters Are On The Chopping Block?

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Budget cuts are coming to The Young and the Restless (Y&R), and insiders are pointing to several actors who may leave – by choice or by force! After looking at the latest insider gossip, vote below and let us know which of these characters you think is primed to exit.

At the beginning of November, Paramount Global – the parent company of CBS – shared its third-quarter earnings. Not only did the conglomerate fail to meet its fiscal expectations, but it attributed the revenue drop to its television network division. 

In particular, “cord cutting and a drop in advertising revenue” were highlighted as primary causes of Paramount’s underwhelming performance. Unsurprisingly, Paramount’s problem has quickly become Y&R’s problem, and the CBS soap is working to accommodate incoming budget cuts.

Want Y&R spoilers? Check out Young And The Restless Spoilers For The Week (November 14, 2022)

We’ve already seen two actors – Rory Gibson (Noah Newman) and Kelsey Wang (Allie Nguyen) – get dropped from contract to recurring status. And it’s believed that more casting changes are underway.

According to one insider, Susan Walters (Diane), Conner Floyd (Chance) and Mark Grossman (Adam) are also at risk of dropping to recurring status. Reports indicate that these moves could be made to offset Paramount’s Q3 losses. 

Viewers might understandably scoff at the notion of Walters taking a backseat, since her character, Diane, is front and center in a major storyline right now. However, the timing of Gibson and Nguyen’s drop to recurring was also unexpected, given that their love triangle was just heating up.

Want Y&R plotline predictions? Check out Young And The Restless Plotline Predictions For The Next Two Weeks (November 7 – 18, 2022)

Any skepticism about Diane exiting the soap probably won’t extend to Chance, who just encountered his wife having an affair. Much like Amanda (Mishael Morgan), Chance is in a prime position to fall off the canvas for a while. 

Speaking of Amanda, Morgan made the decision to step back from Y&R last month. She voluntarily dropped down to recurring status but promised fans that she would still make sporadic appearances. 

Now that CBS’ network earnings are under the microscope, however, Morgan might get cut from the soap altogether. She just wrapped up a brief return, in which she also caught her partner having an affair. As far as story continuity goes, it would be a clean break for Y&R to cut Morgan and Floyd loose.

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Over to Adam, it’s hard to imagine Grossman going anywhere, since he portrays one of the soap’s most interesting legacy characters. Still, it would explain why Y&R writers have forced Grossman out of a popular super couple with Sally (Courtney Hope) and inserted Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow) in his place. 

These budget cuts are coming at a complicated time for the CBS soap, which just unveiled plans for its 50th anniversary season. They’ve promised an incredible year of returning characters and exciting storylines. Michael Damian (Danny Romalotti) and Michael Graziadei (Daniel Romalotti) are already confirmed, but insiders hint that Y&R has made contact with other beloved actors from the show’s past. 

There has been speculation that producers have reached out to Jessica Collins (Avery Clark), Jennifer Gareis (Grace Turner), Kelly Kruger (Mackenzie Browning), Tricia Cast (Nina Webster), Doug Davidson (Paul Williams) and Thom Bierdz (Phillip Chancellor).

Want more Y&R spoilers? Check out Young And The Restless Spoilers For The Next Two Weeks (November 7 – 18, 2022)

Again, intrepid viewers can pick and choose the names that seem viable in this list from the ones that seem absurd. In the “viable” category, it wouldn’t be a stretch to bring Nina back to the show. Naturally, we’d like to say the same of Paul – but who knows what’s happening there!

As for Avery, Grace, Mackenzie and Phillip, it’s hard to imagine these returns amounting to anything beyond token appearances. Their comebacks would celebrate the soap’s jubilee much like the flashbacks viewers can expect from John Abbott (the late Jerry Douglas), Dina Mergeron (the late Marla Adams), Cassie Newman (Camryn Grimes) and Delia Abbott (Sophie Pollono).

Basically, it sounds like Y&R will have its hands full with characters, both past and present, over the coming season. As Paramount takes a hard look at its network television future, viewers can expect a few heads to roll in the weeks and months ahead.

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