The Young and the Restless premiered on March 26, 1973. Originally a half-hour drama, it was extended to an hour in 1980.
The Young and the Restless is broadcast weekdays (12:30-1:30 PM ET; 11:00 AM-12:00 Noon PT) on the CBS Television Network and is produced by Bell Dramatic Serial Company, in association with Sony Pictures Television.
The Young and the Restless has been the Number One daytime drama series against regular scheduled programming, according to the Nielsen rankings, since December 1988.
Beginning in June, 2001, The Young and the Restless was the first (and only to date) daytime drama to be broadcast in high-definition.
The late William J. Bell and his wife, Lee Phillip Bell, co-created the series; he was head writer and senior executive producer. He also co-created Another World (1964 with Irna Phillips) and The Bold and the Beautiful (1987 with Lee Phillip Bell), served as head writer on Days of our Lives (1966-77) and was a writer for Guiding Light (1956) and As the World Turns (1957-66).
The Young and the Restless is seen daily by more than 10 million viewers around the world. The U.S. daily audience is 5.6 million.
The Young and the Restless international markets include Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, the Middle East, New Zealand, Romania, Slovenia, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey and the U.K.
The Young and the Restless is currently distributed in nearly 30 foreign countries on five continents through Sony Pictures Television International. The episodes currently aired abroad are not concurrent with the episodes airing in the U.S. and Canada.
The Young and the Restless is the top-rated daytime drama (M-F) in France.
The Young and the Restless has been the Number One daytime drama among African-American viewers in the United States since 1991, with an average daily audience of approximately 1.6 million viewers.
The Young and the Restless has been the recipient of numerous awards for artistic merit and program excellence. "Y&R" is the only daytime drama to receive 100 Daytime Emmy Awards, and has received a total of 334 nominations. "Y&R" has been awarded the Emmy for "Outstanding Daytime Drama" seven times.
The Young and the Restless was the winner of the People's Choice Award for Favorite Daytime Drama in 1992 and 1993, and winner of the 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999 NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Daytime Drama.
The Young and the Restless remains as topical and revolutionary as it has been through 35 years (on March 26, 2008) and more than 8,800 episodes (as of January 2, 2008), entertaining as well as educating its audience daily on a variety of topics, which have included alcoholism, smoking, breast cancer awareness, sexual harassment, date rape, illiteracy, HIV drug testing, domestic violence, drug addiction, Internet predators and foster care.
Unlike other fictional soap opera locales, Genoa City, Wisconsin, is a real place. The town is the setting for the popular soap opera The Young and the Restless, although the real and fictional towns are similar only in name.
"Y&R" actors who have received stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame include Jeanne Cooper in 1995 (located at 1777 Vine Street) and Eric Braeden in 2007 (located at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard).
Actors who got their start on The Young and the Restless and then rose to fame on other television shows or movies include Eva Longoria ("Desperate Housewives"), Tom Selleck, Shemar Moore ("Criminal Minds") and David Hasselhoff.
The theme song was written by Barry DeVorzon and Perry Botkin, Jr. and was originally titled "Cotton's Theme" for the 1971 theatrical film "Bless the Beasts and the Children." It is also known as "Nadia's Theme."
The Young and the Restless tapes episodes approximately four weeks in advance of the air date in two fully equipped sound stages at CBS Television City in Los Angeles.
In 1992, CBS Television City dedicated Studio 43 to William J. Bell, the series co-creator, head writer and senior executive producer and the The Young and the Restless. The dedication, in conjunction with the 5000th episode, marked the first time in the history of CBS Television City that a studio has been dedicated to an individual and a television series.
The series currently has approximately 30 stars under contract who belong to the AFTRA union.
The Young and the Restless has a staff of approximately 175, including actors, directors, writers, producers and members of the technical and production crews and support staff.
The Young and the Restless maintains its production office at CBS Television City, 7800 Beverly Blvd., #3305, Los Angeles, CA 90036. All correspondence and fan mail should be sent to that address. Questions and comments can be sent to yrbb@cbs.com. Official websites are http://www.theyoungandtherestless.com/ and www.cbs.com/daytime/yr.
In honor of their 35th anniversary, http://www.theyoungandtherestless.com/ will be hosting a special 35th anniversary mini-site which includes a family tree, classic photos, screensavers, wallpaper, a trivia game and classic clips.
01/08
The Young and the Restless logo
The popular American soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'', currently the reigning Emmy Award-winner for best daytime drama, celebrated 35 years on the air Wednesday. 

The 35th anniversary also comes after the series, known colloquially as ''Y&R'', marked its 1,000th straight week as the highest-rated soap opera in a daytime slot. In addition to keeping the #1 spot every week since December 1988, ''Y&R'' has also been the top-rated soap in the African-American demographic since 1991. 

A trend-setter since the beginning, ''Y&R'' relied on character-driven storytelling, accentuated with understated sexuality from its cast, which at that time was mostly young, in order to bring in teenage and twentysomething viewers who were ignored by soap producers and networks up to that time. These traits immediately set ''Y&R'' apart from other soap operas, and other soaps have since mimicked '''''s formulaic approach to offering something for everyone, especially younger viewers. 

Since premiering on March 26, 1973, ''Y&R'' has become a worldwide cultural institution in its own right, racking up an impressive 100 Emmy Awards between the writers, producers, cast and crew since 1974. The show has aired in over 100 countries, including Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, and Turkey, and reaches a worldwide audience of ten million daily. So far-reaching was '''''s appeal that Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci chose the serial's theme song as accompanying music to her floor exercises at the 1976 Summer Olympics. In Australia, where ''Y&R'' has aired since 1974, the show was canceled by the original network that aired it in 2007, prompting a widespread fan backlash in that country. It was quickly moved to a pay channel.

Over the past 35 years, countless characters, marriages, divorces, births, deaths, and every joy and trauma in between have visited the residents of Genoa City, where ''Y&R'' is set. To commemorate the milestone, Mike Halterman from ''Wikinews'' interviewed three actresses who have played long-running characters on ''Y&R'', and asked them to share their memories. All three responded to questions about what being on ''Y&R'' means to them, what their favorite storylines were, what they perhaps would have wanted to do all over again, and what they'd love to tell their fans directly.

Below are portions of all three interviews.