If you grew up watching daytime soaps, you know exactly what Friday afternoons used to feel like. The dramatic music would swell. Something shocking would happen. Then the screen went black and you had all weekend to think about it.
That tradition is coming back to The Young and the Restless.
New head writer Jamey Giddens confirmed it himself on social media. When a fan asked whether Friday cliffhangers were returning, Giddens quote-tweeted the question with a simple answer: “They sure are.”
Soap operas were built around that end-of-week punch. Friday episodes were designed to leave you on the edge of your seat, counting the hours until Monday. In recent years, with streaming changing how people watch TV, that structure faded for many shows. Cliffhangers got spread out across the week rather than saved for the big send-off.
Fans are thrilled to hear the old format is back. One viewer replied to Giddens with, “Bring back Friday cliffhangers, classic music cues, big events!” Another wrote that she lives for “the dramatic music then fade to black.”
The new Giddens and O’Connor era is also bringing some fresh faces to Genoa City. Fareed Ward joins the cast as Dr. Andrew Bishop, a colleague of Dr. Nate Hastings, played by Sean Dominic.
And there is a recast to watch for. Tetona Jackson will step into the role of Roxanne Barrington, a character last seen when Tatyana Ali, now a Dancing with the Stars contestant, left the show back in 2013.
The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS and streams weekdays on Paramount+.
