The Young and the Restless

When Jeanne Cooper (Katherine) decided to have a facelift instead of taking leave and being replaced by a temporary stand-in, the producers wrote a storyline in which Katherine was hospitalized and underwent a facelift, complete with a recovery.

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One of the show's most beloved plot devices is sending children off to boarding school or out of town to live with old characters, only to have them return as teenagers shortly afterward. Those involved in such plots included Victoria Newman (who returned at eighteen a year after leaving at ten), Nick Newman, Billy Abbott, Lily Winters, Noah Newman and Abby Newman/Abbott.

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It was the first American soap opera and daytime program to be broadcast in HDTV.

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Cal Ripken, the shortstop in the Baseball Hall of Fame, is one of the series' biggest fans.

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The theme song, "Nadia's Theme", comes from the film Bless the Beasts & Children (1971), where it was originally titled "Cotton's Dream".

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Because of the CoVid19 pandemic, the series' new episodes ended on 23 April 2020. Reruns of classic episodes were aired until new episodes could be broadcast. Production was halted on 16 March and resumed on 20 July. New episodes returned on 10 August 2020.

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Over her 40-year career, Jeanne Cooper appeared in nearly every episode of the series, apart from several periods of medical leave between 1981 and 2011.

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In 1983, Veleka Gray played two different characters at the same time: Patti's psychiatrist Dr. Sharon Reaves and the hotel manicurist Ruby. Unusually, the characters neither resembled each other nor were related; they appeared in different storylines and never shared a scene together.

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The first 1747 episodes of the series were half an hour long. Starting with its 1748th episode, broadcast on Monday, 4 February 1980, the series switched to a one-hour format.

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The porcelain from which we see Katherine Chancellor drinking for several years is a "Royal Albert" model titled "Heirloom".

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The switch to a one-hour format on 4 February 1980 forced the series to reshape more than one main character, and since the actors' contracts were for a half-hour rather than a one-hour show, it ultimately forced the original core families to be gradually replaced in favor of new ones.

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Christopher Douglas (Sean Bridges) was fired in July 2001 because of a reported power struggle between head writer Kay Alden and executive producer Edward Scott. The role was recast with David Lee Russek.

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Because of the untimely death of actress Michelle Thomas in late 1998, Siena Goines replaced her in the role of Callie Rogers Stark.

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As of 2023, the series celebrated its 50th anniversary, with at least one of its episodes featuring a 50th Anniversary special opening.

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Long before Doug Davidson and Michael Damian joined the cast, both were eager Jeanne Cooper fans who watched the series in earlier years.

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Three prime time specials aired in the 1990s: on 25 October 1995, 22 May 1996 and 10 March 1998.

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Besides Eric Braeden, six other actors appeared in both The Rat Patrol and The Young and the Restless: Steve Franken, Mark Tapscott, Frank Marth, Michael Evans, Paul Stevens and Karl Bruck.

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The classic-episode theme weeks included: 27 April: Katherine Week; 4 May: Nikki and Victor Week; 11 May: Rivals Week; 18 May: Winter Week; 25 May: Villains Week; 1 June: Abbotts Week; 8 June: Romance Week; 15 June: Weddings Week; 22 June: Emmy Week; 29 June: Chris and Paul Week; 6 July: Hottest Summer Week; 13 July: Baldwin-Fisher Week; 20 July: Fan Favorites Week; 27 July: Newman Week; 3 August: Oh My God Week.

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For its 50th anniversary in 2023, the series held a contest in which the winner was allowed to bring one person on a trip in honor of the show's 50th anniversary, in addition to a very special VIP tour of the series' sets and a two-night stay on a coastal island.

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When Michael Damian first joined the series as Danny Romalotti, it was not Jeanne Cooper — who in real life knew nothing about rock music — but the character Kay Chancellor who paid Danny Romalotti to make the video, hoping he would pay her back.

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