The Young And The Restless Analysis

942 Words2 Pages

Rachel Vasone
TV Culture
April 26, 2014
Series Project: 1970s Drama
The Young and the Restless debuted in March 1973 as a American soap opera focused primarily on the personal and professional lives of two families in Genoa City, Wisconsin: the wealthy Brooks and the poor Fosters. The show first revolved around the drama between the Brooks and the Fosters and then shifted to the forever long rivalry between Liz Foster’s daughter Jill and Katherine Kay Chancellor. It started when Jill began work as Kay’s manicurist and assistant to help pay her own bills. Kay was a wealthy boozing socialite trapped in a loveless marriage with a millionaire Phillip Chancellor. Meanwhile Jill and Phillip fall in love, that is until Kay picks up him at the airport and attempts to kill both herself and Phillip by driving off a cliff. Before passing away, Phillip marries Jill and gives his fortune to Jill and their unborn baby. In response Kay convinces a judge to declare that Jill and Phillips marriage was illegal since Kay was drunk when signing the divorce papers. From their the two women began an intense rivalry both blaming each other for the death of Phillip.
The main reason I decided to choose the Young and the Restless was because it sounded pretty familiar to me and it held some of the longest rivalries on any American soap opera. I was also surprised that it had actually debuted in the 1970s as it is still a popular series. The Young and the Restless also caught my attention due to the extensive and interesting plot line and twists throughout the drama. Originally I had not intended to pick a drama series from the 1970s and instead I wished to pick a drama series from the 1990s or 2000s. Though after further research and inquiry r...

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...hat has been ongoing for 30+ years, it has impacted the development of other soap operas and paved way for a new type of drama. Though I only viewed specifically the 1970s television series of Y&R, I immediately recognized the contribution it made to the soap opera world.
As a drama television show that has continued for a whopping 30 years, it is rather obvious why I chose the successful series. After winning 7 Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series and 56 total Daytime Emmy Awards, it is currently the highest rated daytime drama on American television. Y&R has changed significantly over the years since its debut in 1973 but it has always remained a popular American TV drama. It revolves around rivalries, romances, hopes and fears of fictional young adults and leaves audiences hanging waiting for more secrets to be unleashed and solutions to be made.

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